Yes, Clovis does have a pulse!  This is taken directly from

Kristin, of Bold Kreative Photography on her experience on moving to Clovis, NM.  Here is her story…

From Palm Trees to Tumble Weeds

by kristin · 2 comments

in Things to do in Clovis NM

A few weeks ago I was asked to write about my “outsider views” about Clovis, New Mexico.  I didn’t know what to write at first. I mean Clovis is Clovis, at least that is what I thought  when we first arrived.  To those who live here and call Clovis home it is so much more to them than “just Clovis.”   As I gradually meet more and more “locals”  they share the “Clovis” they know as their home with me and I am beginning to feel and experience some of the reasons they call ”Clovis” home.

Lets start at the beginning, I relocated from what one would call ‘Paradise’ aka Florida. I mean living just minutes from the beach, having ‘almost’ perfect weather, oh and did I mention the beach?!

I moved here with my boyfriend who is among those newly transplanted military personnel to Canon Air Force Base.  I LOVE to travel, I had never been to New Mexico, so I saw this as an opportunity  to explore a new area and a new culture. I never once in my life ever thought I would ever live in New Mexico, but I can proudly say I can cross that off the list!   I do at times, wish that I was back in Florida, stuck in traffic with all the tourists, versus the smell of the “dairy air”  out here but if you give this place time just like the locals that smell starts to become home.

As you enter Clovis head down Prince street , you will soon see there are places to go.  No not  a hundred plus stores, but there is at least a Mall,  Clovis may not have a Target, but they do have a Wal-mart and Home Depot! Oh the local smoothie shop makes me feel like paradise came to me!! Locals tell me to look at it like a glass half full, not like a glass half empty!  The glass just isn’t full yet! Commercializing  of Clovis has not happened still lots of locally owned and operated businesses and a short drive to get about anywhere. If you need something offered in the big city. Go. It’s a short drive and you will welcome coming home to Clovis. And the weather is always changing just wait a day or two and it will change. My favorite are the picture perfect clouds. They skies in New Mexico are not like anywhere else that I have visited yet! If you follow my photography (http://boldkreativephotography.com) you will know that I have a fascination with clouds, and love when I have lots of them in the pictures during a session! Another awesome weather feature out here is the lightning. The lightning storms are nature’s picture in the sky that will have you wanting more!

Did you know Clovis has a zoo? Yes, and it only cost you $3.00  what a deal and nice size too. What a hidden treasure to find a zoo.    I wrote a blog post about my experience with pictures here: http://blog.boldkreativephotography.com/?p=428

Within the first week here, we were fortunate enough to hit up our FIRST rodeo!  It was a blast!!  I had never experienced a rodeo:  new cultural experience my mom would say! I remember I was overly impressed with how genuinely nice people were and friendly too!   That was an eye opener to me about this town that we had just moved to!

I am a professional photographer, so naturally I am always out looking for new, creative locations to shoot for my sessions, so I spent a lot of my time the first couple of months just exploring the area.  Ned Houk park on the far side of Clovis (Continue Prince street all the way out-of-town it is on the right a few miles out) is this HUGE outdoor park, that has more playgrounds for children than I have ever seen in one park.  And if you are lucky you might be able to catch a Buffalo roaming around in the wild. Since my photography work is done on location, who would have thought I would trade the beach for cornfields and sunflower fields!   Even walking around main street in town is an adventure, those shops up and down that street are so fun to just walk in and look around.   One place I have on my list to check out is the Norman Petty museum!  I find it fascinating this small of a town has had multiple celebrities either grow up here or start their career here.

This past August I had an opportunity to have a booth for my photography at the Clovis Fair.  I knew this would be a good chance for me to get my name out there, let people know what I can offer, and my style of shooting.  I didn’t realize it would be a way for me to get to know more about Clovis and make some good lasting connections with people in the community. The support the community has for the fair was amazing,  the activities they had for the children like the boot race or the horse race loved it. Like documented in this blog post: http://blog.boldkreativephotography.com/?p=817

So my advice from one outsider to another outsider: Get out there, give it a chance, explore and let the locals welcome you in.

If you are interested, subscribe to my blog for possible other adventures that I may explore around the area. http://blog.boldkreativephotography.com

Some of the military wives have approached me with the deer in the headlights look saying, “where do you shop?”  Well, it may look bad out here, but it really is not.  We use the internet a lot and Lubbock is only an hour and a half away and we do have Dillards.  But, with careful planning you too can survive Clovis, NM and you may even like it.

In Lubbock my favorite stores to shop are Sams Club, Target, American Eagle, Hollister,Chick-Fil-A, Gymboree, GAP, Old Navy and Dillards.  I also have migraines so I get botox, yes botox and it does a wonder for my frown lines!  I like getting it from Dr. Jane Rowley in Lubbock.  She is a plastic surgeon there and her dad also does botox in the same office.  His name is Dr. Milton Rowley.  Sometimes, I can call in the morning and get an appointment in the afternoon!  Just remember they are an hour ahead of us!  So make sure what time your appointment is for, Texas time or New Mexico.   Women’s Medical offers botox in Clovis also, but they only offer it on certain Saturdays of the month.  Favorite Place to stay in Lubbock is Embassy Suites outside the Loop and Slide and my favorite restaurants include: Outback Steak House 4015 S. Loop 289, Abuelo’s Mexican food 82nd & Quaker , Johnny Carino’s Italian food 6821 Slide, Chik-Fil-A is on 69th and Slide and in the mall.  The service at the Chick-Fil-A on Slide is phenomenal!  The drive thru wraps all the way around the whole store but you still get your food quicker than any drive-thru I have ever seen!  There is a Chinese restaurant, but I cannot remember the name of it…it is on Slide by the mall.  Bless Your Heart is across the street from the hospital on 19th and serves really low-fat food.

In Clovis, we have North Plains Mall.  In that mall is Dillards, JC Penneys, Sears, Bealls, The Buckle, Bath & Body, Zales Jewelry, Gordons Jewelry, Hibbet Sports, GNC, Foot Locker, CN Express, Cell Needs, It’s a Girl Thing,Pac Sun, Maurices, Optical Source, Plateau Wireless, Radio Shack, & Regis Salon.

My favorite places to eat in Clovis are  Shogun on Pile which is a Japanese Steakhouse and they cook on a grill Japanese-style in front of you.  Leal’s on Prince is a Mexican food restaurant.  AppleBees is on Llano Estacado, Chiles is on Prince, Rib Crib is also on North Prince by Super Walmart, IHOP, Red Lobster, & Cotton Patch Cafe are all popular chains too.

Our Grocery stores are  Super Walmart, Albertsons, S & S, Lowes Grocery, and a mom and pop grocery store called Stancells that will even deliver on certain days of the week!  An old fashioned meat market is included in their store and they butcher all their meat on site.  Plus, they cook rotisserie chicken, sliced brisket, beans, and have potato salad, cole slaw, and macaroni salad.  Their brisket is one of the things I always go to when I am short on time and a friend is in need of a meal.  We also have Wholey Cow Deli which sells free range chickens, deli meat, soups and sandwiches and is downtown on Pile.

A couple of my favorite quick meals in Clovis is at Bills Jumbo Burger on Main Street in the form of a breakfast burrito.  It has eggs, onions, sausage or bacon and green chile…mmmm My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Another thing our new friends from Florida haven’t heard of is a Hailey’s Special and we get it from Der Weinersnitzel on Main Street.  It simply is french fries on a bun drizzled with chili and cheese.  No one else can make it like the Der!

So, get used to the low traffic, the friendly smiles, the trips to Lubbock, the internet, and get to know your UPS representative – Hi Jatonna! – the family friendly atmosphere and you probably won’t mind it nearly so much.  I don’t, but I am still lobbying for a Pottery Barn, Sam’s Club, and a Target <grin>.

Energy Star

Recently, when negotiating with our customers about buying a home it came down to price.  Of course, buyers also look for the bedrooms needed, number of bathrooms, even a three car garage if possible, but in today’s economy price is a major factor.  Here recently, home builders have heard a “magic” number or “sweet spot” of $250,000 or maybe even $275,000 maximum.  Having been a Dave Ramsey graduate of home budgeting I can appreciate this wholeheartedly.  I am thankful that everyone is conscious of what they can and cannot afford.  Especially since it seems several people have recently been lead astray by what they cannot afford and are now losing their homes.  Eddie and I have agreed that this would be one of  the saddest days for any of our customers.  Thankfully we have only seen that once.  We do not want any of our customers to get in over their heads and lose their home.  That could devastate a family.

So, I encourage people to also look beyond price and consider buying a home like they do buying a car;  consider the gas mileage too.  You live in your home.  You expend much more money on your utility bills than you do your automobile fuel.  When you compare houses that are the same in price, also consider future utility bills.  Xcel Energy will give the average utility bills of houses you are looking at…or if they can’t – ask the seller to provide those.

To find out that you negotiated an awesome good price on a house that has an all electric furnace with NO heat pump, NO low e windows, and bare minimum insulation is a good way to have buyer’s remorse the first month you get your first electric bill….Then you get your water bill.  Trust me – Clovis, NM does not have cheap water bills.  You want to consider everything you can into that monthly payment.  Adkins’ Construction Inc. customers’ have stated their average electric bill is $72 a month.  This was taking both winter and summer bills and averaging them out over a year.  When you are looking at a house consider what you don’t see.  Does it have a heat pump?  Does it have low-e windows?  What kind of insulation does it have?  Does it have Energy Star appliances?  Has it been rated by a LEED certified rater?   Call Sherry Adkins with Adkins Construction for more information on our new homes ready to move into and compare our utility bills!  Our homes are located in North East Clovis, New Mexico and are proudly located near Cannon Air Force Base. …and proud to be home of Special Ops.

Eddie and Sherry own Adkins Construction Inc. and have 3 kids still at home Jake (13) Josh (9) & Jolei (3) adopted from China

Behind the Walls is What Really Counts

All new homes look great from the outside. But to make sure that your next new home is truly energy efficient, it’s important to look “behind the walls.”

Homes that earn the ENERGY STAR include four “must have” features behind the walls that will make you more comfortable, reduce utility bills, and help protect the environment.

Air Sealing and Insulation That Works

Don’t pay to heat and cool the outdoors! Air leakage and improperly installed insulation can waste 20 percent or more of the energy you pay to heat and cool your home. Typical homes have so many leaks, it’s like having a window open all the time, winter and summer.

An Insulated Wall: All insulation works when
it is installed properly and has no gaps, voids, or compressed areas.

Foam being blown into a wall.

Windows are an important part of your home’s beauty. But in typical homes, windows made with older techniques are simply too cold in the winter and too warm in the summer — making you feel uncomfortable and wasting energy unnecessarily.

 

 

Low – e Windows

New homebuyers often spend thousands of dollars decorating their homes — from furniture and floor coverings to window treatments and artwork. Without high performance windows that block damaging ultraviolet radiation, these furnishings will fade and degrade over time.

In an ENERGY STAR qualified home…

ENERGY STAR windows, doors, and skylights keep your home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, reduce moisture condensation on window panes and sills, and minimize interior fabric fading.

Independent Testing and Inspection to Ensure Quality Construction

Most builders will tell you that they build energy-efficient homes. But builders whose homes earn the ENERGY STAR back up their claims. ENERGY STAR qualified homes are inspected and tested by an independent Home Energy Rater to meet EPA’s new and more rigorous guidelines for energy efficiency.

In an ENERGY STAR qualified home…

The builder’s construction crews know that their work will be tested for performance, quality, and attention to detail. Home Energy Raters inspect insulation installation, perform tightness tests on the home’s envelope and duct system, and ensure that all energy-efficient features and equipment are properly installed in your new home.

 

With new and more rigorous EPA guidelines to earn the label, ENERGY STAR qualified homes are quieter and more comfortable than ever, have lower utility bills, and help protect the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Look for a home with the ENERGY STAR, the government-backed symbol for superior energy efficiency.

Energy Star Approved Builder

Energy Star