Category: Event

Tarantula Fest and Paint Mines

Leslie and I went on a tarantula spotting tour during the Tarantula Fest in La Junta, Colorado. It seemed like a fun and educational thing to do; and it was!

We planned to stay two nights in La Junta (I’ve never been). The first evening was the scheduled bus tour, and we were open on the second evening. We scheduled our departure from home early enough so we could visit the Paint Mines Interpretive Park on the way to La Junta.

Paint Mines

We haven’t previously heard of the Paint Mines and were surprised by how interesting and beautiful they were. This is an area in south eastern Colorado where humans visited as far back as 9,000 years ago. One theory suggests some went there to gather colorful clay for art and other artifacts.

A panoramic view of a colorful rock formation with layers of pink, yellow, and white, surrounded by greenery and a sandy path.
A scenic view of a rugged landscape featuring colorful rock formations, sandy pathways, and sparse vegetation under a cloudy sky.
A hiker stands on a rocky trail surrounded by colorful sandstone formations and shrubs under a cloudy sky.
A colorful landscape featuring layered rock formations in shades of white, yellow, and pink, with a dirt path and sparse vegetation under a cloudy sky.
Close-up view of textured rock formations featuring layers of beige, yellow, and pink hues with visible cracks and patterns.

Tarantula Fest

After arriving in La Junta and checking in to our hotel we headed to downtown to get the scoop on our bus tour and other happenings for the festival.

The Spotting Tour

The bus tour took us about 20 minutes out of town to a couple areas where graduate students were stationed to educate us tarantulas. At each stop we got off the bus and hunted around for 45 minutes or so. While we found a few tarantulas at each location, typical years the count was more like ten to twenty. The weather was good that evening but there was rain the previous couple days which was one theory why tarantula turnout was low on the tour that evening. Since we were free the next evening we took a drive in the same direction to hunt for more. We only saw a few that evening as well.

A tarantula walking on dry, cracked soil with sparse vegetation in the background.
A close-up view of a spider on a gravel surface, surrounded by small rocks and pebbles.
A large spider on a gravel and dirt surface, surrounded by small green plants and stones.
A large brown spider with distinctive markings, situated among grass and soil.
A large brown spider walking on a gravel path surrounded by sparse grass and small yellow flowers.

La Junta

Aside from spotting tarantulas there were many fun activities for the Fest. There was a parade.

A decorated red vintage truck with spider webs and artificial spiders, featuring people dressed in red shirts, set against a clear blue sky.
A parade float for the Tarantula Fest in La Junta, featuring a decorated truck with a large spider prop and participants waving from the back, set against a clear blue sky.
A decorated car with inflatable red spider legs, parked on a street during a festival, with people and tents in the background.
A large black pickup truck decorated to look like a giant spider, complete with fuzzy legs extending from the sides, driving down a street during a festive event.
A festive parade float for the La Junta Tarantula Fest featuring a large decorative tarantula atop a hay-filled trailer, surrounded by sunflowers and a sign reading 'Tarantula Trek'.
A large spider decoration on a trailer being pulled by a vehicle, set on a street with a historic building and festive tents in the background.

There was a mural contest.

Graffiti mural featuring colorful 3D letters and a cartoonish character resembling a sloth wearing red sunglasses, set against a textured wall.
Artists painting a large mural on a wall in an alley, with ladders and spray paint cans visible.
A mural of a rabbit with human hands is being painted on a wall by two artists on ladders, with one artist wearing an orange shirt and the other a tank top. The background features vibrant colors and graffiti.
A person painting a colorful geometric mural on a wall, with a ladder and various painting supplies in the foreground. The background features vibrant blue, orange, and yellow shapes, while a second mural is visible to the right.
A colorful street mural featuring a large spider, graffiti lettering, and a cactus design, with an artist working beside a ladder.
A mural featuring a futuristic, robotic face with elongated features, set against a black background. The design includes intricate details resembling circuitry and a spider-like creature in the foreground.

And there was break dancing!

A breakdancer performing a handstand on a wooden surface during a festival, with a crowd watching in the background.

And there were all types of people.

A brightly colored person with long, rainbow-dyed hair featuring yellow, pink, and purple hues, and a long snake draped over their shoulder.

We also visited the Koshare Museum and Dances which was an awesome experience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koshare_Indian_Museum_and_Dancers

An Unexpected Takeaway: Back Roads

The issue of me not liking to drive on major highways has been festering for a while. On this trip we needed to navigate to the Paint Mines and then from there to La Junta and we accomplished that predominantly via the back roads of the easter plains of Colorado. That was awesome! So much so that it inspired my next song which I plan to publish shortly.

Inspiring Gardens from Erie’s Cultivate and CO-Create Tour

Yesterday we drove around the town of Erie to see homes that were featured in Erie’s annual “Cultivate and CO-Create Garden Tour”. There were many inspiring displays by people who really put time and effort into creating their beautiful gardens. I expect to incorporate some new ideas into our garden as a result.

While I didn’t focus on taking pictures to highlight all the cool things we saw, I did capture a few as shown below.

A vibrant garden filled with various colorful flowers, including red and yellow daylilies, roses, and other flowering plants, surrounded by lush green foliage and a decorative garden light.
A person stands in a garden surrounded by decorative rocks, artificial cranes, and lush greenery, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a light shirt.
A vibrant garden featuring an array of flowers including pink blossoms, red roses, orange marigolds, and green foliage, set against a backdrop of rocks and shrubs.
A landscaped garden featuring stepping stones, decorative gravel, an overturned clay pot, and various plants and shrubs.
A vibrant flower garden featuring colorful blooms such as roses, orange lilies, and other assorted flowers surrounded by lush greenery and decorative garden lights.
Fluffy yellow-green foliage of a plant next to a sign that says 'BE KIND' with a heart design, against a light-colored house siding.

Denver Stock Show

We typically enjoy getting down to Denver for the annual stock show. This year we got tickets to see the Mexican Rodeo. I have never seen a Mexican Rodeo (don’t think I have seen much of a USA Rodeo either), so I was intrigued. There were some fun parts as well as some cheesy parts – as would be expected, since they’re trying to please a large audience. There was a large audience: pretty much a sell out crowd in the Denver Coliseum. Of course I took some pics to share what I thought we some of the highlights.

Eerie Erie 5k

With some encouragement from Leslie, she and I participated in the Eerie Erie 5k race yesterday morning. It was a very cold morning, but participation of the race was good, and many people kept it interesting and fun by showing up with family and pets all in costume.

We both finished the race next to each other, and I was surprised given my lack of recent preparation that I beat my time from last year, as well as met my goal of finishing under 40 minutes.

We’re both feeling great for getting it done and are committed staying in shape for next year’s event as well as other.