You have gotten a taste of the Central Colorado experience and now you would like to see more?! Look no further! Here is your itinerary for Day 2 in Central Colorado.

Breakfast: The last time we were in the area, we developed what we coined the “Colorado Breakfast.” We would make overeasy eggs, and place them on top of toast with guacamole, garden fresh tomatoes (from our garden in Iowa) with cooked ham and melted cheese. We would have some fresh Colorado peaches on the side to end the meal on a sweet note. 10/10 recommend. We got our Palisade peaches from the Merrifield Garden Hut/Greenhouse on Main Street.

Morning: Speaking of Main Street– there is a great public library in Buena Vista just off of the main drag that has a kid’s library section with a great selection of books and some play stations with various toys. This is a great place to visit for a short time or for a rainy day activity! After visiting the library, one can check out Mcphelemy Park just off of the main road. This park is along a river and has a variety of playground equipment under the shade of mature trees. On the opposite side of the river, the park has an old train depot where you can schedule a tour, or you can climb on the caboose and snap a picture. This is the last remaining authentic depot in Chaffee County (follow this link to learn more: https://www.buenavistaheritage.org/depot-caboose).

Lunch: While you’re near downtown Buena Vista, we would recommend Crave BV for pizza! Michael recommends trying their BBQ Chicken Pizza.

Afternoon: Your afternoon can be well-spent exploring the nearby town of Salida! It is 28 minutes south of Buena Vista and is known for its downtown. It boasts the largest historic district in the state and has many beautiful historic buildings to admire. There are many art galleries, boutiques and little shops to check out in the main street area. The Arkansas River also flows through downtown, and there is a park next to the river where you can watch stand up paddle boarders, rafters, etc. A super unique feature at this park is their Scout Wave 2.0, which is an artificial surfing wave where people can “river surf.” We watched people surfing the last time we were in town and it was super entertaining! Salida also has one of the country’s largest indoor hot springs pools at the Hot Springs Aquatic Center.

Dinner: We absolutely love dining at Currents for a tasty meal. It is very popular and there is usually a short wait, so we like to have a drink at Benson’s Tavern & Beer Garden prior to dinner. Benson’s is a cool dive bar with a variety of beers on tap complete with a large mounted moose head on the wall. Once at Currents, we recommend trying the breaded chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, the fish and chips or the cod tacos. Their food is all so delicious and we have never been disappointed with our experiences there!

Evening: For fun in the evening, you can check out the Fun Street Family Arcade in downtown Salida for old school and modern arcade games. There’s also often live music in downtown Salida and Buena Vista depending on the time of year. During the summer months, you can watch movies, old -school style, at the drive inn movie theater on the outskirts of Buena Vista!