Otero County Homes in Otero County
Otero County is a little south of the Arkansas River in what is primarily shortgrass prairie country. The mountains for which Colorado is so famously known for can be seen to the west, but this is rolling prairie land. Farming dominates the landscape in a narrow corridor along the river, while a short excursion north or south of US Highway 50 brings travelers to miles upon miles of grasslands. Otero County is home of the Rocky Ford Fruit, which sells big in all of Colorado and other states. Melons were the staple of Rocky Ford. Today, Rocky Ford cantaloupes and watermelons have fans worldwide, thanks to the Arkansas Valley’s dramatic temperature swings from day to night (the greatest disparity in the country) that encourages the melons to sweeten. Lucille Ball was reportedly such a fan she had Rocky Ford melons delivered to her dressing room.