Visiting the Burnett’s

Since we weren’t able to meet up with the Burnett’s in Estes Park to pick up a new pottery order, we had no choice but to drive to their studio in southern Colorado and meet them there.  Bummer, a forced trip to Salida!  We haven’t been to Salida in years and were looking forward to making a trip out of it.

Stephie was left in charge at home so we could make this an overnight trip and mix some personal with business.  The drive was stunning with yellow aspens most of the way.

It was very pretty scenery even without the fall colors. 

We decided to spend the night in Buena Vista since we hadn’t spent much time in this town.  And Andy found a hotel that he thought we’d love at a reduced price for off-season…he wouldn’t even tell me about it – it was a surprise.  We got to Buena Vista and took a little walk along a trail on the Arkansas River.

We found this cool playground that had rock-climbing and slack-lines.

Then we went to our “hotel” – Liar’s Lodge.  A beautiful B&B right on the Arkansas River north of town.  There was a mix up with our reservation, so we had to wait to get our room.  But I was also being particular.  I wanted the first room she showed me which was the one Andy had booked online.  It overlooked the river and had an awesome loft area that would been fun for Eliz and Steph to stay in (if they had a safety gate for the ladder to get up there!).  That room wasn’t ready, but others were.  But the sound of the river was worth the wait.  We slept with our window partially open and a space heater running to counteract the 30* temperatures.  But the sound of the river was so soothing.

Here’s a view of Mt Princeton from the front of the lodge.

And the next morning we took another walk along the river behind the lodge.

Then we drove south through Salida to the small town of Howard to visit the Burnett’s studio.  I was glad we took the time to visit them at their home and to see how they were able to do what they do.  They spend most weekends traveling to art festivals, leaving them with a few week days to throw, glaze, and fire their beautiful pieces.

Barb does her pieces by hand, using molds, while John uses the wheel.

John and Barb were kind enough to show us all of the different stages of the pottery-making process.  It made us wish that we had some artistic vision and talent, because it looks fascinating. 

If you are interested in seeing some of their finished pieces – just come by our store in Olde Town Arvada!  We don’t list these on the website since each piece is different and unique.  I grabbed some interesting pieces from their studio that I don’t normally see at the festivals – like a business card holder, tea bag holders, some older styles they used to make and more.

And, then we had to race off back to the office.  Traveling the open road and seeing this stunning scenery unfold made us both start reminiscing about our RVing days.  At this point in life I would be happy with a pop-up trailer and some weekends off to travel and camp again.

Lots more pictures of their studio and our short trip on October WebAlbums.