Salida, CO

Tuesday, September 28

This morning we woke up at the Wilderness RV Park in Salida, Colorado. We had a half-day of work and school, and then we were anxious to check out the town.

The weather is definitely shifting to fall in Colorado. Mornings are cool — in the 30s — but Andi graciously offered to sit outside at a picnic table for his work calls while the kids and I stayed in the RV to do school. It was 30 degrees this morning, so much appreciated!

Once we all finished, we hopped on our electric bikes and took the paved bike by our campground to downtown Salida. We love towns that have designated bike paths — it’s always a sign of an active community — and we especially like RV parks that are positioned close to them. This was an quick, easy ride into the heart of town.

Salida is such a great town! I can’t believe we’ve never been here before. It’s always been on our list to visit in south-central Colorado, but typically we stay in Buena Vista. Salida is a bigger than BV, but not in all the good ways. There’s several restaurants, parks, shops and a library. We stopped by a few parks on our bike ride to let the kids play and met a few locals who told us they made the move from Denver to Salida for a slower pace of life. No traffic!

Later that afternoon, we stopped for a quick bite to eat at a bar/restaurant. I introduced our cheese-loving girl to queso and chips on this trip and now she’s hooked, so Tory and I split a bowl of chips & cheese while Andi and Aden shared chicken wings. We had a great table overlooking the Arkansas River. Thrill seekers flock to Salida in the spring and summer to go white water rafting. This area of Colorado is known for the sport. Today though, the river was pretty low.

Around dinnertime, we rode our e-bikes back to the RV Park. Andi grilled us pork chops and artichokes while I blogged and Tory and Aden built a fort out of sticks outside. We have a prime campsite right on Arkansas River, so it was only fitting to sit outside and enjoy our beautiful spot.

Tomorrow, we start our long trek toward home. We are stopping overnight at my cousin Jen’s house in central Nebraska along the way, and then in Iowa for a RV repair.