Creepy Cowboys and Other Oddities

Giant arrows and teepees outside a shop in between Durango and Mesa Verde, Colorado.

Propped up and its not even a movie set.

Forget online shopping, catalogs, t.v. and newspaper ads. Nothing says, “Pull your car over RIGHT NOW and SHOP HERE” than giant arrows and teepees! Hon, Hubby hates to shop but even he was curious about what we’d find inside.

WARNING: Do Not Proceed Reading This Post if you are an Animal Activist. It might be the 2000’s, but the West is still wild and animals skins and taxidermic animals are everywhere you look.

In my last post, Window in the Wild West, I mentioned stopping at the Roadkill Cafe and getting the heebie jeebies in the back room. I don’t know why going to the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan doesn’t bother me. Maybe its because the animals have been there so long. Maybe its because they’re behind glass. Or maybe because you know what you’re going to see. Whatever! Hubby, Tween Daughter and I gaped and gawked…all under the watchful eye of The Sheriff!

I’m not sure who would buy Buffalo Jaw Bones and what you’d use them for. The sign says, “The Historical Native American War Clubs.” Umm, really? I haven’t read any American history text books that mentioned this but, then again, those text books were probably biased in favor of the Colonists. So, maybe war clubs were kept out of the mix.

Here’s another head scratcher. I asked the saleslady what on G-d’s green earth would you use these for and she replied, “Indians used to make rattles out of them.” That’d be a mighty big rattle for little hands. Even if they were used for rattles back then, what about now?

Le’s face it, fur is warm (and feathers). I bet, if you lived in Siberia…or on the North Pole…or in Antarctica…or on some very high mountain in a wooden hut, you’d rather have fur (and a down comforter) than something made of Thermoloft. Not to knock modern technology (I have many coats made with Thermoloft), but ecology and evolution will outlive and outperform all of us humble humans.

Consider the next photos sorbet to cleanse your palette.

Not odd. Pretty rugs and wraps. — Not odd. Pretty woven rugs and wraps.

Now for the strangest things we saw.

I have three questions about the oddities above. 1) What would you do with a Varmint Face? 2) Unless you’re making a Davy Crockett hat, why would you buy a Tail? 3) Who says “Varmint” besides actors in a shoot-em-up Western movie?

And then there were the Creepy Cowboys.

The first one sat friendly-like outside a store in Old Town Albuquerque. He was strange but he didn’t scare me silly.