We had long since planned to dedicate some time to beautiful Colorado and the time had finally come. Unfortunately everything was muddy as it was spring but we made the best of our time there. We explored the area from mid June to mid July. We enrolled Eloise in a week-long art camp which she absolutely loved. They were each tasked with creating a paper mache ‘art car’ by the end of the week which culminated at Salida’s art festival. All the kids artwork was on display. She had a fantastic time. Guess who had the largest most colorful art car: the girl who lives in an RV. (In fact we still carry this art around with us haha)

One day we took the ‘big truck’ to a side trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison for 2 nights. It was a beautiful National Park. Of course Eloise did the Junior Range Badge and a starry night program. It was very scenic and would highly recommend you go if you get the chance.

Also in Salida we attended a week-long RV rally for Xscapers over 4th of July at the local fairgrounds. All the rally attendants marched in the local Salida 4th of July parade. Our entry was Kevin’s big tractor trailer truck pulling our RV which was pulling a friends Jeep pulling a Casita trailer which was pulling a wagon which was pulling a rollerblader. It was quite the site to see. We were at the tail end of the parade and everyone was so excited to throw candy to the crowd that they thew all their candy in the first half of the parade. Everyone had a great time. Also during the rally we went jeeping, attended a brewery party, saw a comedian, participated in several pot lucks, did a kids cookie decorating activity, and Kevin went whitewater rafting but the water was too high for kids to go. One week while in Salida I covered over much of the wood interior of our camper with peel and stick wallpaper. It really brightened it up and gave it a more home-y feel. 🙂

There were a lot of outdoorsy activities to do in this area and we also enjoyed several hikes, jeeped up to the continental divide, attended a tiki birthday party in the middle of BLM land, and more jeep trails. Kevin hit up a few mountain bike trails here and there and unfortunately on a group ride had a piece of his frame snap. Salida has a small town feel but with plenty of amenities and I dare say we enjoyed this area so much it made our top 5 favorite places list.