We’ve been on an extended road trip the past few weeks–one of my daughters, her three sons, and my two dogs. Though the dogs didn’t go everywhere we did. They got to stay at The Keep, my sister’s mini-farm, while the rest of us headed west.

We stayed about a week with my other daughter’s family in Arizona then spent two days on the road on our way to spend the July 4th holiday with my son.

These photos were taken at the Three Rivers Trading Post Gallery located on the less-traveled state route that angles from I-10 to I-40. The stopping places along this stretch of US Highway 54 are few and far between. But I would want to stop here even if that wasn’t the case.

This blue door fascinates me. It’s such a vibrant pop of color among the desert tans and browns. Don’t you just want to open it up to see what’s on the other side?

The grandboys check out a cactus and an old-fashioned cart. (Both replicas but still fascinating to three Florida boys.)

The trading post’s covered entrance included this intriguing display. Real cacti, blooming flowers, green trees, and–surprise–a ladder.

I’m almost as fascinated by the ladder as I am by the blue door.

One room of the trading post is a combination museum/art gallery. Bronze sculptures, artifacts, and paintings fill the room. This framed newspaper article is about artist Cameron Blagg whose “oil paintings and prints of cowboys, mountain men, Indians and wildlife are based on hours of historical research” (“Palette of the Past”).

In the article, Blagg says: “I like a painting that leads you into thought, not just a pretty picture of an elk standing by a lake. People often tell me the longer they have one of my paintings, the more things they keep seeing in it.”

If you ever find yourself in the vicinity, be sure to stop at the Three Rivers Trading Post Gallery.

And if you’re so inclined, send me your photo of the blue door!

Where Treasure Hides

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