Rocky Ford Watermelon Day / Arkansas Valley Fair

Climate: Cool summers, very cold winters and low humidity, with abundant sunshine year-round. Annual precipitation of 12 inches, including 24 inches of snow a year. July averages: 93 high and 60 low. January averages: 46 high and 14 low. The literal-minded explorer Kit Carson crossed the Arkansas River at a shallow spot filled with shale and boulders and dubbed it Rocky Ford Crossing Place. The name stuck when two men traveling west with a wagon train decided to stop at the site and build a general store. The small community begun by G. W. Swink and Asa Russell in 1871 was actually about two miles from the current Rocky Ford. The town moved 13 years later, following placement of railroad tracks. Now, the town nestles around Highway 50, the only coast-to-coast highway in the United States. From the start, melons were the staple of Rocky Ford. Today, Rocky Ford cantaloupes and watermelo...