Salida, Colorado and FIBArk

June 19, 2010.
Another beautiful morning with cool temps and bright sunshine. We got a late morning start but decided to pay a visit to Salida, Colorado about 24 miles south. Salida was hosting it's annual FIBArk festival over the weekend and everyone said it was worth checking out.

FIBArk stands for "First in Boating the Arkansas" -- it's a festival that started in the 1950s. The history actually began in 1949 when two friends bet each other who'd win a race from Salida, CO to Cañon City, CO on the Arkansas River. Since that race almost killed both contestants in subsequent years the race was shortened to about 26 miles of whitewater from Salida, CO to Cotopaxi, CO. It became a community-wide festival that serves as homecoming from many who have moved away. Today the festival draws over 10,000 people yearly, around the 3rd week of June, and includes a variety of events on the river and in town.

FIBArk features many events such as boating, music, attractions for children, and a small amount of shopping. Some bands from Salida's area perform on a local amphitheater. There are many boat races, including the Hooligan race, which is a race where people make boats out of anything they can find, and race them down the Arkansas. Some of them sink, some of them float, but everyone agrees that it's fun. The children's attractions feature inflatable slides and obstacle courses as well as one or two motorized rides. Some vendors in the area set us small stalls to sell their wares in the park that borders the Arkansas.

We arrived downtown and after some searching for a parking space, we found a field with parking for $5. We then walked pased rows of vehicles with kayaks toward the Arkansas River where the FIBArk festivities were in full affect.

At the river, folks were gathered along the banks to watch the various kayak races and events.

We stopped to watch a few races.

These races were preliminary races for the main events.

A pretty good crowd, but I'm sure the crowd swells when the main event races take place.

There was live entertainment in the park on the banks of the river. 

We took a walk in down town Salida after enjoying the river front festivities.

The City of Salida is a Statutory City that is the county seat and most populous city of Chaffee County,Colorado, United States.^[5] The population was 5,504 at the U.S. Census 2000.

The town's name is pronounced /səˈlaɪdə/ sə-LYE-də in English and [saˈliða] ('exit') in Spanish.

Founded in 1880, Salida was originally a railroad town and was a significant link in the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. After World War II the railroad began pulling back its operations in Salida. Many residents in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s worked either in local ranching operations or commuted north to Leadville to work at the Climax Molybdenum Company. Today the most prominent business in Salida is tourism, consisting of skiing at Monarch ski area, whitewater rafting, kayaking and outfitting, particularly on the Arkansas River. Salida is home to the annual FIBArk kayak race, one of the oldest whitewater races in North America.

It was interesting to see how friendly the towns and Colorado in general appear to be towards cycling and dogs!

After walking through the town and enjoying the FIBArk activities, we decided it was time to make a trip out to Walmart in town. After that we called it a day.

Buena Vista, Colorado

June 18, 2010.
Temps were cool overnight and we slept in till after 8;00. We left some windows open and the temps inside the rig when we got up were in the upper 50's. Nice sleeping weather! The sun was shining brightly and we soon warmed up to a more moderate 70's.


We decided it was a good morning to wash the layers of dust off the windows on our rig. So using just water and a collapsible handled squeegee, I washed the outside windows and then dried them with a towel placed over the squeegee. Joyce worked hard on cleaning the inside windows.


Around noon, we decided to load up in the car and go into the town of Buena Vista, Colorado, just a couple miles down the highway from us. We had a late lunch and then walked around the town, concentrating on the more interesting historic part of town.

Straight off the Chamber of Commerce website:

Buena Vista is considered by many the capital of whitewater rafting for the United States. The area is also popular for snowmobiling, cross country skiing, mountain biking, backpacking, animal watching, and just about any other outdoor activity that comes to mind.
The economy and population are steady and healthy. The beautiful scenery, tree-lined streets, year-round mild climate, clean air, and clear sparkling water are just some of the things that make Buena Vista a truly great place to live, work, or visit.

Travel Day to Buena Vista, CO. Snowy Peaks Rv Park

June 17, 2010.

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Today was a travel day. We woke bright and early to cool temps. We quickly got packed and hitched after taking Maggie and Rico for their morning walk.

After getting hitched, I decided to back up and drive over to the dump station as my sewer hose was almost stretched to the limit in our site and the elevation for draining was not in my favor. The day before I had closed my gray tank valve as per my usual routine. As you know when camping you shouldn't (should not) leave your black water tank valve open during your stay. If you do then the liquids drain from your black tank leaving solids to further solidify on the inside of your black tank. It wasn't difficult to manuever over to the dump station so that appeared to be the best option. So the reason I close the gray tank valve the day before we move is to have cleaner water to rinse the sewer hose out after first dumping the black tank. After taking care of the dumping chore we were ready to hit the road.

We were on the road by 9:00. Joyce followed behind my father and Karen for a while. We immediately began gradually climbing till we were at an elevation of about 8K ft. Todays trip was expected to be 187 miles so we were sure to fill up the day before.

Before long we were crossing into Colorado. We passed a couple of Prong Horn Antelope on the side of the road. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos.

We were in the mountains and could see the snowy peaks of mountains over 14K feet known as "fourteeners. Some of the climbs were becoming long and steep. My rig handled the climbs and descents beautifully.

After about 3 hrs. we arrived at our destination, Snowy Peaks RV Park just north of the town of Buena Vista, Colorado. 

Buena Vista is a Statutory Town in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,195 at the 2000 census.

Buena Vista is located in central Colorado roughly midway between Salida and Leadville in the Upper Arkansas River Valley at an elevation of 7,965 feet (2,428 m). The area between Buena Vista and Salida is often referred to as the "Banana Belt," due to its relatively mild winters. The term "Banana Belt" actually refers to the fact that Buena Vista lies in a wide valley and is a high mountain desert with milder temperatures than nearby communities such as those on the I-70 corridor. The town lies at the base of the 14,000+ peaks of the Collegiate Peaks, Mt. Princeton, Mt. Yale, Mt. Columbia, and Mt. Harvard, of the Sawatch Range.

I'm not sure which mountain is which at this point, but I think the picture I shot above is of Mt. Harvard. The town and Snowy Peaks RV Park is surrounded by these beautiful mountains.

 In summer, Buena Vista is a popular access point for world-class whitewater rafting, kayaking, and fly fishing on the Arkansas River, and mountain climbing and backpacking on local 14ers and the Colorado Trail. Sizable elk and deer herds attract hunters in the winter months, andbighorn sheep, mountain goats, and antelope are also indigenous to the area.

Buena Vista incorporated in 1879 and grew as a railroad town serving the local silver, gold, and lead mining industry, with three rail lines including the Denver & Rio Grande, South Park & Pacific, and Colorado Midland railroads. Many of the existing buildings of Buena Vista date back to this era, and were built in the 1880s and 1890s.

Note: The name "Buena Vista," Spanish for "Beautiful View," can often be heard pronounced locally as "Biewna Vista." This Americanized pronunciation was specified by Alsina Dearheimer, who chose this name for the town, which was officially selected over other names (Cottonwood, Mahonville) on the occasion of the town's incorporation. Alternate pronunciations include "Bwena Veesta" (Spanish pronunciation) and simply "Biewnie." Many residents simply refer to the town as "BV."

We got set up and registered for a week at Snowy Peaks RV Park. Our sites are "standard pull through" side by side 11 and 12. We are paying $216 for a week, $232 with tax. The rate includes full hook-ups, cable and wifi.

The park is small and nearly full. There are some festivities this weekend in the town of Salide. At nearly 8K ft. above sea level, the nights should be very cool and the days warm and breezy. Below are the views up and down our row.

And out our back window. There's a lot to see and do, so we will have to get busy!