Buena Vista, Colorado

Despite never quite getting the hang of the pronunciation, we had a wonderful week in Buena Vista. Some say Bew-nah, others Bwee-naw and maybe the easiest is simply B.V.  Located on the Arkansas River and at 7,965 feet in the foothills of the Collegiate Peaks, it might not be the most famous town in Colorado, but those in the know love it.

View of the "road"to BV from Cabin

Entrance to Cabin - The Four Mile River Ranch

View of the Collegiate Peaks from the Cabin Front Porch
BV is several miles in the distance

The Log Cabin - our home for a week

 

Living Room and Kitchen

Cabin Close Up

The log cabin we rented for the week was about five miles from town, up a dirt road where we gave the potholes names like "axle-buster" and "transmission remover".  Our nearest permanent neighbor was probably three miles away.  The views from the front deck of Mount Harvard, Yale, Princeton - hence the Collegiate Peaks - was spectacular.  These mountains are part of the Sawatch Range of the Rockies and boast several peaks over 14,000 feet.  The cabin is set on 60 acres with state owned land either side, so the hiking opportunities were unlimited.

We had planned to fly fish on the Arkansas but due to a late winter snow season and some occasional summer thunderstorms, the river was a boiling raging torrent running at close 5,000 gallons per second.  Lemons to lemonade: what makes for poor fishing makes for great white water rafting.

The Crew of SS Rubber Dinghy

Taking on the mighty Arkansas with Matt at the helm

Fly Fishing Near Cottonwood Pass

Kevin - Master of the lake trout

Not that we did not fish, we found several lakes where the trout were hungry and if they were not taking the spoons on the boys rods, they were hitting the flies on mine.  We pan fried the biggest and they made a tasty dinner.

On our first full day we were treated to a small town rodeo.  We found snow high up in the Cottonwood Pass at 12,126 feet and straddled the Continental divide.

Team Roping

June in Colorado

A side trip to Denver to see Belle & Sebastian at Red Rocks, easily the best venue I have ever been at.  Next day we had great seats for an afternoon Rockies game.  On the way back to BV we stopped at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs but failed to find the Air Force Academy.

Red Rocks Arena with Denver in the Background

Coors Field - Home of the Denver Rockies

Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs

On our last full day we made a quick trip to Fairplay to see their fine collection of frontier buildings and hit Salida on the way home to see FiBArk, their annual whitewater competition.

Downtown Fairplay

Contestant on the Arkansas in Salida

A word on the cabin.  It was perfect.  Solid log construction, no electricity, phone, or TV.  The lights and refrigerator ran off propane gas and there was a solar panel to provide power to outlets if needed. We played board games every night and I have developed a love for Monopoly.  The well had some of the best water I have ever tasted and the Eddy Line Brewery in town makes some very good beer from the same source.  Our only disturbance was late one night when we thought we heard a mouse scratching - the footprints on the deck the next morning revealed it to be a coyote.  Deer were everywhere but we do not see any of the elusive mountain goats, bighorn sheep or elk - although there was plenty of scat all around the cabin.

The cabin was heaven on earth in June - be interesting to see what it is like in January.  I get the feeling winter could be a rough at about 9,500 feet.

Representin' at Royal Gorge

On our way to BV we stayed in Santa Fe, NM and made a side excursion to the Great Sand Dunes National Park.   They have to be seen to be believed.  On the way from Taos, we got to see that everyday sight of a peacock, in a cage, on the roof of a Fiat 500, going about 55 MPH, on the highway...

Great Sand Dunes, Colorado

Every Peacock should own a Fiat

Our last day consisted of a 780 mile 13.5 hour drive from BV to Southlake through the glorious - not - panhandle and the flat plains of of Texas.  Always good to be home though!