The Mighty Arkansas
I left the free boondocking at the wildlife reserve, and after an hour and a half of leisurely driving, I have lowered my sails and hove to in the Walmart parking lot in Salida, Colorado.
I took a few pictures of the town and the beautiful river that runs through it, but since it's been a very dry winter and the snowpack is excruciatingly low, what should be a raging torrent of a river looking for someplace to go during the middle of March, the Arkansas river is so docile that even the most pitiful white-water rafter can make it through the rapids with both eyes tied behind their back.
This time of year, the mighty Arkansas should not be a trickling stream; it should be a raging torrent that strikes fear into the hearts of would-be river rafters who travel from all over the world in an effort to navigate the boiling rapids and giant boulders that smash rafts, kayaks, surfboards, and many bones in an attempt to show the celebrated river who's boss.... Those folks often end up discovering the importance of "Flight for Life", helicopters.
But the lack of life in the river today made it understandable why there were no rafts, kayaks, or even surfboards challenging it. And I can only imagine that once Summer arrives, the river is going to be even more pitiful in its speed and volume, further dissuading the tourists on which towns like Salida depend to spend their meager vacation money elsewhere.... And that analysis is based on years of experience fighting for the tourist dollar.
Theboondork
There are many long, lonesome roads in Colorado. But no matter how long and lonesome they are, I much prefer them to roads anywhere near Denver. The Collegiate Mountains are in the background.
The Collegiate Peaks from the top of Poncha Pass
Downtown Salida, Colorado. It's a really neat place, it's small enough to still look like an 1800s mining town, it's big enough to have a Walmart.... And it's friendly enough to let boondockers spend the night.
The Arkansas River should be raging this time of year, and the locals should be worried about it overflowing its banks.
But nothing like that is happening; there's just not enough spring melt coming off the mountains to fill up the local rivers.
And that does not bode well for all the rivers downstream from the high country, which are already suffering low flows, and this winter certainly did nothing to help that problem.