Route US 285 shoots straight north from Santa Fe, where I live, to where it intersects with I-70 near Vail at the core of Colorado ski country. It’s a moving panorama of beauty all along the two-lane highway, from the broad plateau that looks east towards Taos’ magic mountains to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. After a low pass, it skirts the upper reaches of the Arkansas River for about 60 miles until it climbs past Leadville at 10,000 feet. Along the way, 24 of Colorado’s 53 14,000 foot-peaks punctuate the scenery. With the greatest density of high peaks in the lower 48 states, it’s stunning.
Since I usually drive the road in winter, I decided to explore the Arkansas River valley from Salida to Buena Vista, its two main towns, with my wife and two friends at the height of summer. Until recently, they were ranching towns with some recreational tourism based on running the river’s rapids and scaling the high peaks. Salida’s outdoor cred has been soaring for some time — a friend likened it to Aspen back in the 60s — but lately its more northern sister, commonly shortened to BV, has jumped into Colorado’s outdoor recreation industry in a big way. Now the two vie to outdo each other in river-running / mountain-biking / mountain-climbing / beer-brewing bona fides.