Quick trip

Thanks to Henry alertly finding a great deal on flights to Denver (and an even better deal on a rent car) we were able to make a short trip to the mountains last weekend.

We did get some work done, making arrangements to get a much-needed new roof on our "cabin" this summer. And a quick visit with some of our Denver relatives (see right) was such a treat.

But I might have to say that the best thing about the trip was being able to skip out of town just as San Antonio's unusually pleasant spring temperatures regressed to our mean of 90+.

Yep. We even saw SNOW one morning, quite a backdrop for our deck's aspen trees just starting to leaf out. What a refreshing change-of-pace!

Other highlights of the visit were trips to "our" nearby waterfall with two separate sets of guests...

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The fall is on the north fork of the South Arkansas River, just a ways up the road from the Angel of Shavano Campground. It also occurs not too long before this fork joins the south fork, which is the stream that runs beside our cabin. Down in the valley near Salida the SAR joins the big Arkansas for its long journey to the Mississippi.

Yes, it has a long way to go, but I can't imagine its scenic setting ever surpassing what's at our waterfall...

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Since we've never been to central Colorado at this particular time of year, we weren't sure what to expect, vegetation-wise. So, along with the pretty new aspen leaves, the extravagantly-blooming fruit trees in town were a pleasant surprise.

We saw the beauty on the left when we took a walk along the river in downtown Salida.

Another attraction of this metropolis (5236 in 2010 Census) is its surprisingly diverse array of eateries.

This trip we really splurged and hit our favorite, Amica's, not once but twice. (Well, the aforementioned two sets of guest both wanted to go there, and we had to be good hosts...)

And we also worked in another favorite, the unimposing Thai Mini Cafe, right out on the highway, and Los Girasoles for a shot of Colo-Mex.

We also made a couple of stops at The Ploughboy for their amazing bread and cheese. However, our culinary diversity didn't quite extend to trying their ground yak. Although we've made a note to see about that this summer.

Not too bad, variety-wise, for such a tiny town, eh? Yes, I think we could probably survive there very well in our golden years....

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NOTE: if some of these photos seem of better quality than those I've been showing you lately, it's because they were taken with Henry's real camera. No, I still don't have one and am limping along with my phone. Maybe by our next Colorado trip, this summer?