There isn't much in the way of urban conveniences in either Loma or Mack. There's a convenience store, gas station, and post office in both towns, while Mack has a liquor store and Loma has a school. Loma is dependent on septic tanks, while Mack has an older sewer treatment system that was recently reorganized under the county and still needs time and money in order to meet the demands of development.

"If we're going to grow that area, we're going to have to do some improvement to that plant," says Connie Hahn with Mesa County Planning. Right now, the county is waiting on reports from the state before proceeding.

Although Loma has no sewer system and not much commercial development, county planners are assuming that, some day, the community will have both. That means they're following guidelines for growth that include allowing higher housing density in areas closer to town, with larger lot sizes farther out. The same principal guides development in Mack. It's the lack of basic services and roads and not a quest to thwart developers that determines the guidelines for growth adopted by the planning department.

Current zoning is based on lot size averages, which means that a development can use smaller lots as home sites as long as some of the land in the development is left as open space. In some areas, land can be developed into smaller home sites as long as some of the land is preserved for smaller density development further down the road, once more services are in place.

Ruby Canyon Estates, a development in Mack that also boasts a private reservoir for boating, is currently selling the second phase of 19 two-to-four-acre lots. The reservoir is currently 22 acres, but when all development is complete, it will be a private 40-acre lake. The lots at Ruby Canyon range between $116,000 Ð $145,000. There will be horse and bike trails throughout the subdivision, as well as a large amount of open space.

Closer in, Gold Lake Estates in Loma also has a smaller private lake for the homeowners along with gentlemen farmer home sites between two and three acres and ranging between $150,000 and $175,000.

For those that would like to enjoy a lake without buying a lot, Highline State Park near Loma is open year-round, although boating season ended September 30th. The lake is stocked and the fishing is year-round, as is the bird-watching. It's not unusual to see heron, falcons, osprey, or geese at the park.

"We're real popular with the mountain bikers that come in the fall and the spring," says Patty Hedrick, the tourist assistant at the state park. "We're close to everything out here, close to the north Fruita desert area, close to the Kokopelli trail."

The campground has no hook-ups, but does have coin-operated showers and laundry, as well as a day-use picnic area and large mature trees that will be displaying their fall glory for the next couple of weeks.

In its early years, the Loma community rivaled Grand Junction with its thriving farms and ranches. The agricultural influence is slowly fading as farms and ranches make way for subdivisions and developments.

"That area has a rich heritage of agriculture. We would like to see that heritage remain for future generations," says Rob Bleiberg, the executive director of Mesa Land Trust. Although Mesa Land Trust holds the conservation easement of over 900 acres west of Grand Junction, most of that land is in the Fruita buffer zone between Fruita and Grand Junction. The largest easement in the Loma area is a 200-acre parcel along the Colorado River.

The old Loma Elementary School was the biggest and most modern school on the Western Slope when it was built in the early 1900s. It didn't have indoor plumbing, however, so the school was happy to move to the new building across the road in 1982. Loma Elementary still occupies the 1982 building, and at 280 students, is nowhere near its capacity of 400. Last year, attendance hovered near capacity, but the new elementary school in Fruita alleviated the over-crowding.

The Loma school has a number of well-attended community events and has several families who have decided to remain at Loma as their school of choice instead of switching to closer schools in Fruita. Loma's small town atmosphere and small school population make it attractive for families.

"Our kids are very, very competetent. We have a good time, and we love to come to school, but we're all about learning," says Loma Elementary Principal Leslie Whitacre. Rising gas prices haven't dampened interested in either Loma or Mack. Wide open spaces with peaceful surroundings overrule the cost at the gas station, especially since the nearby freeway makes it so accessible to town.