Veggie Oil-Fueled Adentures in Colorado

Written by Sarah Piper on February 28, 2013in Colorado, Events, Featured, Travel - 0 Comments

Charlene enjoying the view from the San Luis Valley

This is the second post in a series about Piper’s Epic Spring Semester Road Trip.  Read my post from last week, or about my traveling companion – my vegetable oil car Charlene.

Piper’s Epic Road Trip stats so far:

• Gallons of veggie oil used: 35
• Gallons of diesel used: 9
• Miles driven: 1,710
• Number of student group meetings/presentations: 6
• Number of classes guest lectured in: 4
• Number of American Meat Screenings participated in: 2
• Number of farm visits: 2

This past week started out with a truly amazing trip to White Mountain Farm, which grows quinoa in the gorgeous San Luis Valley. I got a tour from Ernie New, whose son Paul now runs the family business, but Ernie was in charge in 1987 when White Mountain Farm incorporated and started growing organically certified quinoa and potatoes as part of a research project with professors at Colorado State University.  They claim to be the only successful large-scale quinoa operation in North America, mainly due to the climate in Colorado, not the altitude as many believe.  In addition to his growing operation, Ernie’s family also run an organic potato processing facility, one of only three like it in the country. This was such an amazing visit that I’m going to give its own blog post, coming up next.

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