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This road trip came about as I had to retrieve my unsold art from the Cañon City exhibit, so I decided to go and see Salida while I was in the area.  Salida is about an hour away from Cañon City on Hwy 50, which runs alongside the Arkansas River.  A quite beautiful trip through twists and turns.  It was rather frustrating as there weren't many places to pull off to take some photos, and you know how I love taking photos!

The first stop I made was at Cotopaxi as I could get out of the car and take pics of the river rushing by.  A tiny place with lots of character.  I often wonder what people do for work in these isolated places.  I would imagine tourism helps as Hwy 50 is en route to skiing areas and there's river rafting, ziplining, camping and endless people fish in the river.

I knew Salida was also an artsy community so I was looking forward to seeing what was on offer.  I arrived around 4pm on Friday, unpacked at the Mountain Motel, and was directed towards Downtown.  The turnoff (Hwy 291) was diagonally across the street from the motel and just as you enter Salida from the east.  The drive to Downtown takes you through a little suburb-type area with some pretty homes to enjoy.  Before long I was slap bang in the middle of things, and was it exciting!  I spotted lots of restaurants, bars, gift shops, and of course, art galleries.  By the ton!  I parked the car and headed towards the river.  Downtown is made up of a few streets; I hovered around 1st and 4th Streets and between E and G Streets.  In this small area I found some wonderful art galleries complete with resident artists to answer questions.  I stopped by Stephen Smalzel's gallery and also the Brooks Gallery, both worth checking out.

I also stopped in at any number of shops to have a quick look around.  Mainly geared for the tourists but some had the most fun items on sale that it's very worthwhile stopping wherever anything takes your fancy.  I looked in at the Dragonfly Gifts store, the Fabulous Finds Emporium (stuffed with goodies), and the Bead Song (if you can't find anything beady here, forget about it!) among others.

I was fascinated by the ornately (and clean) decorated buildings.  Also, take note of the many, many murals scattered around not only Downtown, but also along Hwy 50 (or Rainbow Blvd as it's called as it passes through Salida).

Salida is an active city with cyclists all over Downtown.  There are quite a few bike shops where you can rent a bike (and fix a bike), so if you're in the mood to cycle along the river, do so.  Work up an appetite for any one of the many restaurants here.  You could also pack a light supper to enjoy in Riverside Park with the river just below.  I came down again in the morning to see what a Saturday morning was like.  It was buzzing with people and activity.  There was also a wine tasting going on in the park.

I was up early on Saturday morning and I went in search of breakfast as last night's supper consisted of a frozen meal (Indian) which I picked up at Safeway and just warmed up in the microwave in my room.  I was once again looking for a good huevos rancheros breakfast, and a couple staying at the motel recommended The Eatery, just a couple of blocks away.  Mmmm, their omelets looked very tasty but my huevos rancheros wasn't much to write home about.  It was a "tortilla topped with refried beans, two eggs, green chili sauce (not a piece of "green" anywhere to be seen or taste), onions and cheese".  However, the "onions" consisted of eight tiny pieces of chopped fresh onion and a sprinkling of finely grated cheese.  Served on a melamine/plastic plate which I didn't like as I could see scratches from past users which didn't look too hygienic to me.  There was also a little salad of greens and tomato, but I don't like salad for breakfast.  My meal was lukewarm and any "heat" from the chili was non-existent.  If I didn't douse my meal in green Tabasco, it would have been beyond bland.  The refried beans dominated the dish but my eggs were perfect.  At $7 I thought it over-priced.  Also, $2 a cup of coffee or tea (with free refills) was outrageously expensive I thought.  Perhaps I should have chosen something else from the menu like a Hearty Breakfast (flat iron steak, pork chop, chicken fried steak and gravy, or even corned beef and hash!) or pancakes.

This trip was doubly exciting for me as I found a gallery interested in selling my original art greeting cards!  Linda at the Four Winds Gallery took some, so do visit and see not only my work, but some of the other really wonderful art she has for sale.  The Art Matters Gallery will be closing down but still operating via their website, so if you miss this gorgeous gallery (which is for sale), keep up with Gloria online. If you're not planning on staying in Salida, do make the detour to Downtown just to have a look.  The buildings alone are worth it.  The visitors' center was closed by the time I arrived in town late Friday afternoon, and wasn't open on Saturday morning, strangely enough!

Don't just stick to the main road, take a little detour here and there.  By heading down an unknown street, I came across this deer (one of two) in someone's yard, having a nice little munch in the garden!

Around 3pm I headed back towards Cañon City but took a right to Iron Mountain to spend the night at a friend's house in the mountains.  There were a few of us so it was lovely to visit with friends again.  Along the way I passed by little places like Wellsville, Howard, and Texas Creek.  The weather was warm, food wonderful, company great, and an endless amount of investigating around my friend's property.  I loved the hummingbirds who worked those feeders like I've never seen before.

On Sunday, after a superb early breakfast and a quick drive in a 4-wheel drive up the rugged mountain to see the views, I headed home via Florence.  I stopped to say hi to the lovely people from the Florence Rose B&B and also to see Svetlana at her Raindrops Gallery in town.  We had coffee and chatted as I watched her work a commissioned piece for a customer's wedding anniversay present. 

Around 1.30pm I thought I'd try Jess' Best BBQ for a burger so that I wouldn't be hungry during the afternoon drive home.  Mistake.  I ordered the pulled pork burger with a side of coleslaw.  Both were unappetizing and completely devoid of taste.  The pork was a pale and insipid color and not very hot.  The bun had no texture to it and disintegrated under the meat.  Thankfully I had a choice of about five different sauces, which I tried, in an attempt to inject some flavor into what I was eating.  The coleslaw looked as though the sauce was milk it was so runny.  Once again, no flavor whatsoever.  If I was blindfolded, I honestly couldn't tell you what I was eating.  I waited about 20 minutes for my meal despite there being only three other tables that were occupied.  Also, there were only knives and spoons and I don't like eating coleslaw with a spoon or my fingers!  The decor was okay and they had a bar.