Barela Picnic

We were honored to be invited to the Barela annual picnic this year.  Our friend, Carlos, owns 10,000 acres just east of town.  (Can you even imagine??  10,000 acres!)  Every year he gets together with some neighbors of his and they butcher a pig.  They roast it to perfection and then everyone brings something to eat.

We met with our friends in town, then caravaned out to the picnic.  We went maybe 15 miles out on a dirt road.  The land was flat and treeless.  When we finally came upon the gate to the driveway where the hosts lived, we turned in and drove about another mile or two. 

Just as we came over a small rise the farmhouse and barn lay before us surrounded by huge elm trees and a little stream.  It was such a lovely, bucolic setting for a big picnic. 

I'd say there were nearly 200 people there coming and going.  Some were playing horseshoes, some were hiking the surrounding area, some were playing ping-pong on a table with empty pop bottles for a net.  People here are unpretentious and very laid back.

There was so much food!  Virtually all of it was home-made, too.  My friend Angela told me a story about how, a few years ago, she had been recovering from an illness just before going out to this picnic.  She didn't feel well enough to bake a dessert so they just went to Safeway to buy a pie.  She placed it among all of those home-made goodies and at the end of the picnic, her pie remained untouched.  How funny! 

I brought over 4 dozen deviled eggs I made that morning and they were gone quickly.  It's chili time in this part of the world so there were lots of dishes with green chilis and some with jalapenos.  Many salads, fruits, vegetables, beans, rices -- the tables were packed!

I peeked around the corner to see several teenage boys, completely covered in mud from 4-wheeling, hovering over the dessert table.  They wanted to make sure they got all of the good stuff first.  But that was fine... there was plenty for all.

One of my favorite parts was to see a big, old, Ford pickup completely loaded with pumpkins, watermelons and cantaloupe.  Everyone was ordered to help themselves to all they wanted.  This part of the country has some of the best cantaloupe and watermelon I have ever tasted.  We've been enjoying that watermelon for a few days already... yum!  And I'll be cutting into the cantaloupe later this afternoon.  Oh it's so tasty and sweet.  Delightful!