Dirt Holiday

This past weekend was Craig's birthday, we took a long weekend and headed down to the Arkansas Valley for some camping, riding and a little fly fishing for the birthday boy. It was fantastic and just what was needed for our dirt lusting souls. We haven't been able to get away as much as we normally do lately and we both have been feeling an extreme desire to get away and be outside. So we enthusiastically packed things up and drove out Thursday after business hours, heading just the two of us toward our resting place for the night along the Arkansas River above Buena Vista. This is one of my favorite areas because of it's beauty, energy and countless variety of things to do. It was great to be just the two of us and of course Josy and Ringo too.

Craig and Ringo on Craig's birthday morning. He was able to fly fish all day while I dropped off some artwork at Culture Clash and did a ride up on the trails behind the S in Salida. A shout out to local rider Travis for showing me around, sweet!

Late that afternoon we headed to Cottonwood Hot Springs for some soaking. It had gotten stormy and much cooler that afternoon so this felt great. Who are those two old folks?

Craig in the hottest tub, we had to keep alternating between this one and a cooler one. After our soak we headed back to Salida for some tasty food on the river and then back to camp for some birthday cookie bars.

To my amazement the next morning while out in the woods I stumbled upon a very uncommon site. A indigenous Colorado Orchid. This one is called Calypso Bulbosa or Fairy Slipper. These beauties take very specific growing conditions and apparently the mulchy, shady and damp spot next to the stream was perfect. I felt so fortunate to view one of these in its natural setting.

After having some breakfast we headed down the dirt road to meet up with Kim and Dan who had left bright and early from Boulder. We drove back to camp and geared up to ride the Rainbow Trail from Silver Creek. I didn't take many riding shots this weekend, but fun was had in large amounts. The views on this ride are out standing!

Craig and Dan on Rainbow.

After the ride we hung out at camp, Craig doing some fishing on Silver Creek and in its beaver ponds. He managed to catch a small 6" Brown Trout. A fire was built and we all sat around talking and sipping on some tasty tequila liquor which made me quite sleepy. The next morning dawned sunny and warm but weather was moving in as is the pattern. We were going to do a section of the Colorado Trail by Mt. Shavano but when we got to the TH it was dumping rain and cold with a very high Sogg factor. The weather does hold up against these mountains, so there was only one thing to do.

Dan waving through the rain, bummer!

We headed back to the southeastern side of Salida for a ride that Dan had done before. It was another section of the Rainbow trail to Methodist Mtn. I believe. A long and incredibly fun ride with more huge views, it reminded me of riding in Durango. We got a little wet but not too bad. I didn't want the weekend to end, just keep going, exploring and being outside. I'm glad that Kim and Dan were able to get out and meet us, it was a great time and I'm already dreaming of the next weekend mission!

Aspens in the Rain.