Joe

Colorado is a funny place to look for descansos. It has the exact kinds of roads that cause them — twisty, rural, and likely exceedingly dark after the sun goes down — but on the day we spent looking for them they were simply none to be found. It was so suspicious that I asked a State Trooper if they were cleared out or discouraged … he didn’t seem to know, but he confirmed the roads above Boulder were dangerous.

Then we found Joe.

I cannot say I was happy to see Joe’s memorial — despite my strange obsession — but “relieved” is not wholly inaccurate.

Joe is memorialized by a simple cross, lightly decorated, at a hairpin turn at the outskirts of Nederland. I didn’t have any luck on the Internet learning what happened.