Welcome to Pueblo!

Our first guests, techincally, were Tim and Corey, who drove the truck and helped us move in. But the first people to visit a furnished and unpacked home were Dave and Cindy Grunert, who arrived on Thursday the 14th to spend the weekend on their way through their cross-country road trip. We enjoyed some rest and time at home, but also took our guests to a few places around town to show the city's flavor.

We took a long walk by the Arkansas River on Friday.

There are a lot of fountains for splash play downtown in Pueblo.

Actual cacti growing by the river:

More riverwalk art:

Angelo's downtown has a cool opportunity: kids can build their own pizzas!

On Saturday, we paid a visit to El Pueblo History Museum. We learned a lot about our adopted city.

Like, that we were living in Aztlan!

And that Latinx people in Pueblo have living memory of segregation. Several people shared stories of separate water fountains, bathrooms, etc, and of being disallowed from health clinics, to name a few examples.

We're proud to be associated with an effort like this, from CSU-P

There were a lot of cool relics from the Chicano movement in the 60s and 70s:

And the kids had plenty to engage them, from little historic play rooms to crafts to dress-up!

True story: I saw a guy wearing pants like these at the Mexican restaurant where we ate tonight:

Lots of Puebloans remember being migrant field workers.

We'll be sending Miles to school in District 60. I'm pleased to learn about the activism that led to District 60 being funded and equally supported by the state.

The three faces of mestizo: Spanish, Indigenous, and in the middle, the mestizo.

Jon and I made maps of our lives to show our family's movement:

And we toured the model of "El Pueblo," the trading post that sits where the city of Pueblo now exists.

The folks living in El Pueblo were Italians who married indigenous and used Moroccan technology and Spanish language. This is a very culturally diverse area, despite demographics which indicate that it's mainly "white" and "hispanic."

They had a place to show what neighborhood visitors represent, and also, what Pueblo means to you:

The top two are mine and Jon's.

Dave and Cindy's visit also gave us a chance at a date. We took a walk in the comfortable desert night, and then sampled the beer at the Irish brewery. The moon and the murals outside made a magic sheen over a lovely evening together.

Who will be our next visitor?

Expanding into Pueblo

We've been ticking off visits from our list of Pueblo places of interest. A week or so ago, we landed at the children's museum. I love the outside of this museum!

The inside... well... it's small. I mean, we've been regular visitors at the Strong, so it's hard to impress us with small city children's museums. But we had fun, and we visited on a free day. So, no buyer's remorse.

The dress-up area was a good time, anyway!

Miles camps out. That's the closest he's gotten to camping, I'm afraid.

The statues and fountains out front impressed me more than anything inside!

I took this just after transferring out little sprouts into the garden.
I'm sorry to say they're all pretty much fried now. I tried. July in Pueblo is just too arid and hot (101 degrees today, for example) for tender shoots. And no, I'm not going to build them a shelter. Or call a landscaper to fix the sprinkler. At this time, they're not priority.

Getting Miles to swim, that's a priority. I bought a swim pass. He's not afraid of the water, he just can't keep his head above it when his feet can't reach the bottom. In case any of you with younger children were wondering what the magic age is when most of your kids' peers will be able to swim, it's 6. Apparently.

We recently set up the guest bed, and now have a very passable guest room! Who's booking this room next??

Miles is a few chapters in to the Prisoner of Azkaban. Adele has started to read simple words!

I still can't believe we've been here over a month. Some days it feels very normal; some days, I can't believe we actually executed this feat. The daily Colorado sunshine is doing me a lot of good, though.

Up and back again

The elevation at the top of Pike's Peak is over 14,000 feet. I have already experienced somewhat the unpleasant side effects which can visit one at high altitudes, and I admittedly wasn't really keen to go. But this boy wanted this train trip up Pike's Peak more than he wanted to see a baseball game or go to an amusement park or a big city museum. And I have a soft spot for this boy. Jon was excited about the prospect too. So. We went up the mountain on July 9, by Cog Rail (see http://www.cograilway.com). 

There was a helpful sign in the depot warning about the potential for nausea, fainting, headache, fatigue, etc which may befall the high-altitude traveller. I decided I am a superhuman who would be immune to all these effects. 

Allons-y!

We were told by the train's entertaining conductor that the front of the train would be approximately three stories above the back, to give you some sense of the incline. 

I was happy just to watch the trees against the Colorado sky. 

As we gained altitude, however, far from feeling sick we felt increasingly exhilarated. I mean, just look! 

It was when we advanced beyond the treeline that I really began to thrill at the view. 

Look, a marmoset!:

In less than 90 minutes, we were at the summit. I thought the conductor was joking about the quality of the donuts up there; I wasn't totally sure there would be bathrooms. She was not joking, as it turned out. That will remain in my memory as the best donut I have ever consumed. 

Oh, and the view was fairly good too:

We made it!

The kids enjoyed the train ride a lot more than the summit experience. It was about 55 degrees and windy. But I was elated!

The beauty of the trip back was more luxurious since we had only to sit and glide back to Manitou Springs. 

Adele got into my purse and put on my lipstick at one point:
It's good to do things you're afraid of, every so often.

I did get a headache, if you're curious, but it was gone by mid morning. And that was the only side effect I encountered. What else can our family do?