Road Trip - April-May 2026 - #12 - A Quiet Day, and a Little Shopping

May 1, 2026

After the long, wonderful day at Arches, we decided to have a quiet day. We went out for breakfast, then walked around town for a bit. The first store we went to was a bookstore. While we were there, I noticed a group of kind of shaggy guys with funny hats standing in a group looking at the Philosophy & Spirituality shelves, saying things like, “Look at this, bro.” I was checking out the Poetry shelves next to them, and when I moved away, one of the guys made a remark about poetry. Another said, “Yeah, I read this shit.” I loved it.

I like to purchase local art on our trips, if I can find something affordable. I purchased a watercolor and a piece of poetry called a “Storyteller,” made by a Jemez Pueblo woman. Here is the story of the first woman who created Storyteller pottery, Helen Cordero. Besides loving the image of a storyteller surrounded by children, it also makes me think of Jesus saying, “Let the children come to me.”

The burro watercolor reminded me of the blue goat painting Cori bought years ago when we were in New Mexico. Randy thought of that, too. When I showed it to him, he said, “Too bad it’s not a goat.” But we saw some wild burros on this trip so it seems appropriate to me. I love the colors and whimsy. The artist is Peter Freischlag. Here is his bio, from the store’s website.

For all our photos of this part of our trip, click here.

For all our photos of the whole trip, click here.

(Click on the pictures below to enlarge.)

The bookstore guys. “Look at this, bro.” “…poetry.” “Yeah, I read this shit.”

I like the humorous creativity of a kokapelli sitting outside a home, dangling his legs, smoking a pipe, and seeing visions.

I forgot to take a picture of the Storyteller I purchased before the shop owner wrapped it. It is similar to this one.

I immediately loved this watercolor of a burro.