The area around Salida in Chaffee County offers some phenomenal mountain recreation and is a mecca for four-wheeling. The trails here consist of loose rock, sandy and rocky water crossings, and steep off-camber passes. Most people we've spoken with who visit the trails around Salida are usually hooked for life.
Salida is nestled between three amazing mountain ranges: the Mosquito Range to the north, the Sangre de Cristo to the south, and the Sawatch to the northwest. This year, the town was homebase for one of Colorado's oldest and largest four-wheel events, the Mile-Hi Jeep Club's annual All-4-Fun. The area is also rich in Old West and mining history, so there are plenty of sites to visit off the trail.
Along the way to the trail, we visited a few other interesting sites like the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park in Canon City. This is the world's highest suspension bridge, hanging 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River. For some people, driving the 1,260-foot length of the bridge is a little unnerving, but we thought is was a blast as the boards under the Jeep's tires squeaked and creaked from the vehicle's weight. In some sections of the bridge you can actually see the distant river below between the spacing in the planks. The conditions of the unmaintained trails in this area sometimes change drastically due to the harsh winters. After quite a few hours on the trail, it was evident that we just weren't going to find the linkup between the two trails we were looking for. What we did find was some good trail action, conversation, great scenery, and the always-necessary escape from the rigors of everyday life. We would like to thank Jeff Leonard and Dave Gauthier of Rokmen Manufacturing for an exciting time on the trail and another cool adventure. We are sure we'll be back for years to come.
As adventurers, we can look at trails and areas like this and find a million things to do. What's up around the corner?! | 
The Arkansas River is an excellent fishing, rafting, and kayaking destination. | 
The owners of Rokmen Manufacturing, Jeff Leonard and Dave Gauthier, work very well as a team both in the office and out on the trail. This is quality team-building time in our book. |