by: Janet Day

Big, heavy, sweet and juicy. That’s what Southeastern Colorado, home of some of the best melons in the country, is all about. Farmers in the tiny town of Rocky Ford ship cantaloupe and watermelons around the country, but they’re best purchased and eaten on-site in August and September, when the sweetness is like honey and the juice drips to the floor.

Most of Southeastern Colorado consists of grasslands broken up by a few small farming and ranching communities where stores are more likely to stock picnic fixings than high-end condiments.

Pueblo, Colorado’s third-largest city, is fiercely proud of its Mexican food. Farmers grow a local variety of green chili that’s used in the region’s spicy cuisine and sold in markets throughout the state. Each fall the annual Chili & Frijole Festival celebrates the harvest and city’s Hispanic heritage.

Westward into the mountains of Southern Colorado is the tiny town of La Veta, which in the past few years has become an enclave for artists of all kinds, including culinary artists. Bakeries vie to see which one can make the best cream puff, and the real winner is the customer.