We stopped by Pueblo’s Chile and Frijoles Festival today for a green chile burger at the Hopscotch Bakery, where co-owner Richard Warner was grilling beef out in the middle of Union Avenue. We walked down B Street to the Union Depot seeking a park bench, and found people scurrying about a stage and podium. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was due to speak in a few minutes. He was on a Colorado tour stumping for Barack Obama, who also was in Pueblo earlier in the week. Soon Pueblo Chieftain co-workers Peter Roper and Mike Sweeney arrived to cover the event. I happened to have my camera and was able to get some decent photographs of Richardson, who gave a resounding endorsement of Sen. Obama, and also made the case that the country needs a new direction after the past eight years. He encouraged everyone attending to get 25 people out to vote, which is one of the reasons I am posting this on Hardscrabble Times. I encourage everyone reading this to get out and vote, and to vote early if possible.
M. and I are sorry to be missing the Chile Festival this year, but I am just back from a hunting trip to North Dakota, and we leave for Yellowstone all too soon. We still wonder, though, if Richardson might not have made a better v-p candidate than Biden. At least he could name three agencies in the Dept. of the Interior.