Culture, Cuchara and Chicharones

Since we didn't get to bed until late last night due to the wonderful cookout we participated in, we skipped church this morning and after a big breakfast, we headed for Cuchara, Colorado for an Art Show. Bev and Larry's son, Jerry, is a very talented photographer and had 5 pieces of his work in the show. We took the "scenic route" over mountains and mountain passes (not my favorite way to go since I am the Queen of Chickens!) My Mother said the I would crawl over the cracks in the sidewalk when I was learning to walk because I was afraid I might fall and hurt myself.

On the way to Cuchara, we stopped at a little town called Stonewall and bought some Chicharones (which in English are pig skins). We always stock up on those when we are on the road because they make a wonderful snack in the car!

We arrived in Cuchara in time for lunch and ate at a little place called the Dog Bar Restaurant. Bev and I had fish and chips and the men had fried chicken ... a good healthy lunch ;-) The food was pretty good and after we finished lunch we went to view the art show. There was a lot of talent there and I saws some great paintings as well as Jerry's fantastic photography.

Since all of his pieces had glass on them, I had a hard time photographing them but I have included one of the pieces that he had entered. There was one that I fell in love with that was a piano by a window with the most subtle light you can imagine filtering through the curtains. It was entitled "Silent and Alone" and it was a very moving piece of art. Unfortunately the light was not right for photographing this wonderful piece, but I will always remember how I felt when I saw it. It was amazing. What a talent this young man has. His work is so full of feeling and emotion and I feel very privileged to have been able to watch him grow up over many years and now see how he is sharing his gift with others. What a blessing!

We had planned on looking at all the art and then picking up his works that didn't sell a little early and bringing them on back to Raton. Wrong!!! They would not let us pick them up until the show closed at 4:00, so we had a little over 2 hours to kill.

We wandered around Cuchara (which didn't take too long) and then decided to go for a drive and look for the ski run. We went the wrong way and never found the ski run which is no longer running, but did have the pleasure of seeing some wonderful scenery.

On the way back, we ran into a heard of mules so Frank got out of the car, hiked across the highway and down into a ravine and took some great shots of them.
I call the one here Nosey Parker because he wanted to stick his nose in the camera and find out exactly what was going on.

We got back to Trinidad, Colorado in time for dinner, so we stopped at a Chinese Restaurant

called Wonderful House (it's one of Larry's favorites) and had a very nice meal.
We will turn in early tonight since it really has been a very long day. I must add that the art was well worth the trip over. Wish you could have all been with us.
Pcasso