Salida stands where the Arkansas River leaves its mountain valley and starts to spread out, a former railroad town of about five thousand in central Colorado, at about seven thousand feet. The old brick downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places, and has the kind of independent bookshops, galleries, bakeries and brewpubs that make it a pleasant place to spend an evening. The river runs right through town, and in summer it is full of kayakers, rafters and paddleboarders enjoying a whitewater park.
To the west, the Collegiate Peaks rise like a wall. This part of the Sawatch Range holds a cluster of the highest summits in the state, over fourteen thousand feet, and several of them are named after Ivy League universities, which is how they got their name: Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia. Geologists from Harvard surveyed the area in the 1860s and gave their college a mountain, and the others followed. The peaks are often snow-capped into July, and their sharp outlines are visible from many points on the ride.
The byway runs through the valley of the upper Arkansas, a wide, open landscape of sagebrush, cottonwoods and ranches, with the river flickering in the distance. The road is mostly straight, with gentle curves and the occasional climb, and the surface is good. This is a relaxed road rather than a technical one, and the views are what matter, especially in late September, when the aspens on the lower slopes turn yellow. Weather can change fast at this altitude, with afternoon thunderstorms in summer and a chance of snow outside it.
Fuel is plentiful in Salida, and so are restaurants, and it is worth taking time to wander the old streets. The Mount Princeton hot springs, up the valley, offer a soak after a day on the road. Buena Vista, the next town north, has its own services if you need them. Salida means exit in Spanish, and the name suggests the way the railroad once escaped the mountains. A cup of coffee on the riverside patio is a good way to begin the day, and the long summer evenings suit a slow dinner.