Partner Perspective: Pueblo, Colorado

 Exploring Pueblo, Colorado

When we’re not racing, we’re exploring.  

A couple weeks ago we checked out the southern Colorado town of Pueblo, located about an hour south of Colorado Springs.  Native Americans originally settled in this area due to its strategic location as a portal to the plains and meeting point for the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek.  Today, Pueblo contains a rich mixture of Native American, Hispanic, Italian, and Slovenian culture and is the host city for the Colorado State Fair. 

We planned our visit in conjunction with the Colorado State Fair and made this our first stop in Pueblo.  What a great way to experience authentic Colorado culture:  livestock and horse shows, rodeos, parades, country concerts, arts exhibitions, monster truck and tractor competitions, carnival rides, local foods and brews.  For me the highlights were the livestock and horses.  I enjoyed strolling through the stables and getting up close to some long horned cattle, cute bunnies, and friendly horses.

Nick getting serious

After the fair we headed downtown to the famous Springfield Cheese shop to pick up some goodies to add to the picnic lunch we’d packed.  This shop is cheese lovers’ dream!  Plus, all of their cheeses are natural, preservative and rBGH free.  After sampling a variety of unique specialty cheeses, we chose a few types of cheese to take with us as we continued our trek on to Pueblo State Park.  Our cheese selections included Chipotle Cheddar, Jalapeno string cheese, and Bacon Colby.

 

Pueblo State Park is situated surrounding Lake Pueblo which was formed by construction of the Pueblo Dam following severe flooding on the Arkansas River in the 1960s.  The lake boasts 60 miles of shoreline and a mild year-round climate making it one of the top spots for water sports in landlocked Colorado.  On this particular day it was 90 degrees so the lake was popular spot.  In addition to water recreation like sailing, motor boating, water skiing, and river tubing visitors can also hike, bike, and picnic on the surrounding 10,000 acres. 

We strolled along the trails by the lake until we found an unoccupied pavilion to set up our picnic.  Located on the north end of the lake, we enjoyed gorgeous views of the lake with the Greenhorn and Wet mountain ranges to the southwest and Pikes Peak to the north.  After gorging ourselves on fresh fruit, bread, and cheese we continued to explore the park. Our excursion took us past 200 year-old Juniper trees and up close and personal with local wildlife.  I saw my first prairie dogs, who I quickly learned do not like visitors to near their homes…if you get too close, they poke their heads up from their mounds and yelp their warning at you.   We ended the day relaxing by the water, skipping rocks, and just enjoying the scenery and each others' company :o)

Jess said it all from our trip to Pueblo.  While I prefer the close proximity to the mountains of Colorado Springs, Pueblo offers easy access to the lake and hot springs.  The area reminds me more of a desert city which is a 180 degree difference from our Northeastern residence of the past.  The state fair was crowded and provided a lot of the fattening options such as corn-dogs and fried Oreos.  The jewels of the fair were the animal displays.  The access to horses, steer, rabbits, and birds was fun.  I had to drag Jess away from the rabbits since they were for sale and giving her the buy-me stare.  Rodeo like events were accessible as well as a pole-vault competition at the fair.  I was happy to see a little track love!  
In the town, the cheese shop offered a variety of different options that were irresistible such as the cheese-surrounded bacon.  The shop is small but offers a nice area for a quick stop and snack.  We took that snack to the lake where Jess finally got her first experience with prairie dogs.  If you can't tell from above, she was looking forward to seeing the little rascals ever since we moved west.  The area offered great scenery, boating, swimming, and picnicking.  As a man, I always pride myself in out-skipping Jess' rocks and scaring her with claims of rattlesnakes.  Both of which I had plenty of chances to do in Pueblo.  Additionally, the lake offers a long trail system allowing visitors to accomplish a long run prior to a dip in the water.  

Enjoy your Adventures!