La Veta
August 22, 2002 Thursday
After fixing a flat tire in the morning, we got a scare when the car did not start in the afternoon. After getting a jump start from Sue, our neighbor, we realized that we had a dead battery. Luckily, this happened in our house. We did not waste much time changing the battery at a local automotive place. We were well on our way by 3.00 p.m. This trip was a big surprise for my wife. She did not know about the final destination. All through the three hour drive, she made numerous guesses and settled down to Santa Fe in New Mexico as our final destination. Realizing the distance to Santa Fe she got very tired thinking about it. By 6.15 p.m. the surprise was revealed and we were at La Veta, a beautiful town at the base of the majestic Spanish Peaks in the Cuchara valley in southern Colorado. The weather was cool as it had just rained. We checked in at the La Veta Inn, a great hotel of fine south-western architecture with a lot of adobe influence. The hallways and the rooms were very tastefully decorated. We decided to have Mexican food for dinner at Mission Caliante, right across the La Veta Inn. Dinner was the best Mexican food we had in recent times. The entire food and ambience was very home like. We topped it off with fried sopapia and ice-cream.
August 23, 2002 Friday
The lady at the hotel was very helpful all along giving us suggestions on where to eat, what to see and where to drive. We spent the morning going around the shops on the main street of La Veta. There were a handful of shops and surprisingly, art galleries. The town was complete with a library, a farmers market and a historical museum. The shops had interesting artifacts and we were surprised to find them at reasonable prices. I shopped for a great Kachina doll with a hood which represented the crow. This, I thought, was a great gift for my mother-in-law. We were delighted to see the fresh vegetables in the farmers market. We decided to purchase some before we left for home. We drove up the Highway of Legends, on Colorado Highway 12, to the small and beautiful town of Cuchara. All along we saw very few tourists. We were told by the shopkeepers about the bad times. The Spanish Peaks ski area had closed three years back and that brought economic gloom to the towns in the area. To us it represented a welcome change away from the mad rush of tourists. We had a great lunch of vegetarian burgers at a place called “Dog Bar” in Cuchara. It was fabulous sitting out on the deck enjoying the lunch amongst towering mountains and trees. We spent some time going through the shops. As always we were surprised to find so many handicrafts and other items from India. The lady of a nice shop in La Veta where we got the Kachina Doll had long been wanting to go to India to import all things herself. Unfortunately because of had times she did not have money to make the trip. In the afternoon, we spent time at the local historical museum in La Veta. The museum showed historical things from the era of Colonel Francisco who was the founder of La Veta in the 1870’s. The houses were very interesting as they were made of brick and mud. The lady who gave us the tour provided us a fascinating insight into the lives and times of the great wild west. There were stories of wars, fights and massacres. It was interesting to learn about the era of mining in Souther Colorado. There were all kinds of immigrants in the early part of 1900’s. The Native Americans, of course, were pushed into the reservations by then, in this land of Wahatoya, meaning breasts (mountains) of the Earth. There were all kinds of household tools, clothing, agricultural equipment, fire arms from that era. Interestingly we spotted a Deer in the courtyard of the museum. We were told about the Bear tree by the lady.
We had dinner at the La Veta inn restaurant. We sat in the courtyard which resembled like a Mexican plaza. We were treated to melodious music by a local guitarist. As the sun set, candles by our side, we enjoyed the generous servings of warm bread, tomato basil soup, salad and pasta all part of a great buffet. We just fell in love with this place as we counted the stars. The waitress told that the owner of La Veta Inn was an attorney from Colorado Springs. This was a memorable day in the Cuchara valley. During the day we had enjoyed the drive up to Cuchara. We had numerous photographic opportunities of geological marvels. There were numerous dikes, volcanic rocks that formed numerous shapes. We got panoramic views of the east and west Spanish peaks. The forests were light and dark green with aspen and alpine trees. There were wildflowers all over. The Spanish peaks really stood apart from the Sangre De Cristo mountains due west of La Veta.
August 24, 2002 Saturday
All along we have had great sleep. We were getting used to be up at 10.00 a.m. Today was no exception. We had a fabulous brunch of english muffins, potatoes, scrambled eggs, pancake, banana bread, tea and coffee at the exquisite restaurant of La Veta Inn. We had made friends with the host, waitress and cook by now. All of them were so friendly. The cook was an African American man who was really gifted. He had that fine touch. I felt that he was from the south since his food had a taste of Southern American cuisine. Everyone out there praised him.
We were surprised to hear from the waitress that the old lady from the museum had stopped by to tell us about the presence of a bear on the big old tree in the museum. People were really nice out here. We finally bought vegetables for home. The oakra was very tender and the basil was very aromatic. After spending some time at the shops, we headed back up, this time planning to go beyond Cuchara. All along there were very few cars. We passed through Cuchara and stopped at numerous places to take photographs and wonder at mother nature. The aspens and wildflowers were in full bloom. The peaks were glowing in the sun. The nearby valleys had a dreamy look. The birds chirping all over. The weather was very cool. We went pass the Spanish Peaks resort. We were surprised to find so many cabins and houses in this closed ski area. We went past Cuchara pass and then took a detour on a dirt road that went to the border town of Trinidad. We enjoyed every moment of it. Our only company were occasional cows. The valleys and mountains had different shades and color depending on the clouds and the sun. Half way through the road as we were descending down to the other side of Cuchara pass we decided to turn back. Right before the Spanish peaks ski area, we took a dirt road to the Blue and Bear lake in San Isabel National forest. By this time we went crazy seeing the nature unravel before us. We were imagining the spectacle of fall colors at this place. There were a thousand possibilities. We passed through Blue lake and came to the final stop of Bear lake, a good five miles high up in this great wilderness. We were armed with our blankets and pillows. The Bear lake like any other alpine lake was spectacular. It was pure blue in color and was surrounded by alpine forest as well as the towering peaks. We took a delightful nap after which we walked around the calm waters of the lake. I was delighted to see all kinds of wildflowers and berries. Before we departed we had a lengthy chat with the keeper of the lake and campground. The keeper was an old man who had retired. He had a wife who lived a hundred miles away in the town of Las Animas. He himself spent five days of the week in summer in his camper all by himself looking after the lake and the campground. He had a daughter in Denver who was doing something in telecom in his own words. As for himself, he truly enjoyed his tryst with nature. The only break he got was two days of the week when he went into town to meet his wife. A blessed life indeed! We then drove down to blue lake which was equally spectacular with several folks who were fishing. We walked around the lake and were lucky to spot some weasels swimming in the lake. Our drive back to La Veta was equally spectacular. My wife took the afternoon off with a nap. I spent a good part writing this journal in the shades of the town park right across La Veta Inn. My only company were a whole bunch of kids playing and a family gathering to celebrate a birthday. In the evening, we went to Mission Caliente to have a great dinner of Enchiladas and Chili Reno. There were only three restaurants in town apart from a breakfast diner. The third restaurant which we did not go to was a local bar. It was great with us since we didn’t have to decide where to eat. The food was always great at those places. That evening there was a big square dance and country dance competition in town right next doors to Mission Caliente. It was inspiring to see very elderly folks dance away. We walked back crossing the rail-tracks to the Inn. It was getting dark and the people of the town were disappearing in the darkness. There were literally bears on the street after midnight. All shops closed at 6.30 p.m. in the evening with all restaurants closing at 8.30 p.m. It was a small sleepy village in the true sense. We spent rest of the evening and night playing a great game of checkers and scrabble.
August 25, 2002 Sunday
This was the day to bid goodbye to this beautiful place and our vacation. We were able to collect our thoughts in these days. We got quality time to spend with nothing but ourselves. After packing up , we finished off with a great country breakfast at the Inn. My suspicion of the cook coming from the south became stronger since he had prepared a good old southern dish called grits. Unfortunately we never got a chance to ask him about his origins. We took our final photographs at the Inn. Before we left town, we went back to the museum to see the big old tree to spot any black bears. We weren’t that lucky or I could say unlucky! I will have to wait for some other time to see a bear in the wild. As our car went past by the town and up the hill we sighed as we saw the glorious twin Spanish Peaks and that paradise of La Veta in the valley down below. It was truly off the beaten path!
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