Meet the Neighbors
On our last night in Cortez, we had two great experiences!
First, we decided to go in search of the "Pipe People", a folk art installation our neighbor Michael told us about. He said, "Got to Road P, turn right....you can't miss it." We had just about decided we must have missed it, when there it was. You really can't miss it — it is EXTENSIVE. It's a bit of an old West town, populated by people made of pipes and painted white...in the middle of a field with a pond.
Then, we stopped off down the road to take some pictures of sheep. We lucked out by parking right in front of Art from Arizona's mailbox while he was coming out to get his mail. He invited us back to meet his pets....cows, calves, sheep, turkeys, geese...all penned together next to a lovely pond. It was a TREAT...we just had to watch our step!
With our further ado...please meet our Cortez neighbors.
Pipe People
According to a sign at the site, the artist is not a welder. He just started playing with art in 1993, and hasn't stopped. You are free to walk all over the property, you just need to close the gate behind you — goats.
Art & Friends
Art and his wife have lived in Cortez for over 20 years, but don't farm for a living. Art just keeps the animals as pets. We were invited to come back again to fish in the fishing hole, but sadly we are on our way out of town tomorrow.
"Go on in! They wont' bother you," Art assured me. Ah....ok. In case you haven't been close to a cow lately, let me tell you. They are BIG animals!
Art and his pets.
It was a little like the Fischer Price farm set.
One of the new calves at the farm. They were a little rambunctious...I had sandals on...it was a little bit of a challenge to take pictures!
Sheep! Art counseled to not get too close to them..."They're mean."
Grandma...so named because she has an old face. She's going to have a calf soon. She spent a lot of time scratching her face on the screws at left.