There are so many places in Colorado that we want to see, it would take months, not week to see them all. We decided to take a short trip down into the valley to Coaldale. The ride was amazing. As we left the higher altitude of ranches and with grasses and trees, we dropped into a valley with rock formations on both sides and the Arkansas River. No, not the Arkansas as in the state, well yes the same name but it has nothing to do with the state. It actually begins high in the mountains and flows through this beautiful area. There are lots of activities that involve the river from fly fishing to rafting to swimming and probably other things that we just did not see.
We stayed at the Big Horn RV Park right on the banks of the river. Our site was on the end directly adjacent to the river. Here the river runs through a small canyon and the water is crystal clear; I can report that is was cold too!
There were lots of things to see and do in the area. One day we visited Salida. We ate lunch at the Boathouse Cantina. It sits right on the banks of the river. The perimeter is lined with garage doors that were opened to allow the clean air to cool everyone. Outside, the river was full of activity. There were swimmers and rafters and lots of families and children, everyone was enjoying the day. Of course there was shopping too. Lots of wonderful, quirky shops to browse through. I found a small wine shop that had some interesting red wines. I bought a couple of bottles to try later with some grilled meat, mmmm mmmm mmmm.
The next day we went in the opposite direction to Westcliffe. Westcliffe is up in elevation once again. The land we drove through was barren of trees but great for grazing cattle. The little town is alas, slowly declining. It seems that the harsh climate and lack of tourist and other traffic is slowly eating away at the population. Still, it was an interesting little town to walk about and browse — yes — shops. We found one shop that handled great hand made wood art. These wonderful pieces were made of Aspen wood. There were pieces of all sizes and shapes. Some of them were left natural finish with just a light coating while others had a shiny finish. I was drawn to the natural ones. We usually purchase something from places we visit that are representative of the culture, these certainly do. I ended up with a unique vase made from Aspen that has burls, something most Aspen trees do not develop. It is stressed and beautiful.
It was a lovely trip. Tuesday morning we packed up and prepared to go back to the ranch. Before we left, we heard music — specifically someone singing and the echo through our little canyon. We walked toward the sound and found a woman standing facing the rock face singing. What an amazing sound; her voice was angelic. She turned as the echoes of her last song faded and was surprised to see us watching. It turned out that she comes here every day to pray and sing. At our urging, she agreed to sing another song for us. It brought tears to our eyes. What a spiritual way to end our trip to Big Horn RV.
We headed back to the ranch glad we had visited this special place.
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