Road Trip Day 4: Colorado and Corky's Birthday!

Road Trip Day 4 brings us through Colorado with the most beautiful blowy but sunny day -just perfect for Corky's 62nd Birthday! We had a dynamite sunset last night in Cortez, CO (the photo doesn't do it justice), and woke excited for the sunny day to bring Mat to our #1 favorite Colorado roadside attraction, the Hogan Trading Post along Highway 160, complete with giant wooden arrows and teepees.

Sunset in Cortez, CO

Happy 62nd Birthday, Corky!

The Hogan Trading Post was closed for the season, but that didn't stop Mat from wanting his photo taken in front of those great big arrows.  Corky felt like impaling herself on the arrows as a birthday tribute to aging...

Mat feels right at home with the plastic horse and giant wooden arrows at The Hogan Trading Post, Mancos, CO

Mat and Corky "enjoy" the giant wooden arrows at The Hogan Trading Post, Mancos, CO

Upon turning 62 today, Corky felt struck through the heart by the Arrow of Antiquity!

Laird stood by with Amber the dog as we offloaded Mat and got some divine Trading Post photos. Amber was happy to make her version of snow angels while she waited for us.

Laird and Amber the dog at Hogan Trading Post, Mancos, CO

The Hogan Trading Post, while it's open for the season, is a great place to stop and take photos and pick up a few essentials like a thunder egg, a bright red dyed rabbit's foot, a "genuine faux" tomahawk with a rubber blade, or some authentic navajo rugs and native american collectibles. It's also a treat to say "hi" to the owners' two beautiful French bulldogs if they are "working" that day.

The Hogan Trading Post, Mancos, CO

Mat at the Hogan Trading Post, Mancos, CO

Just a few miles down the road is our favorite little Colorado coffee joint and natural foods store, Zuma Cafe and Natural Foods and we nearly had a panic when we discovered that they were GONE from their usual spot.  They moved two doors down. Phew! Corky would get her birthday latte after all. The lovely owner/barista, Cynthia, was there and told us that they had made the move just last month and it took only one day since community members donated their time and pickup trucks. She said that it went so smoothly that there were no interruptions in sales that day. That's some team work!

Our favorite coffee shop in Colorado: Zuma Cafe and Natural Foods with owner, Cynthia

The Zuma Cafe and Natural Foods VW Love Bus beckons from its new location
Lattes in hand, we ventured further east to Pagosa Springs, where Amber could get a nice riverside walk, and then we pressed on southward to Santa Fe, NM, for ARTfeast  (see our earlier ARTfeast post to learn about Mat's debut gig) this weekend and then several days of hanging out in the Santa Fe area before we head east toward Mat's home in Winston-Salem, NC.