Before arriving in Salida, Chris and I made a detour to Colorado Mountain Lavender, a farm near Cotopaxi, Colorado. We ordered chicken salad from the lunch counter and then took a short walk around the fields while our lunch was being made. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite prime lavender time. There were a few purple sprigs on some plants, but the best time to visit will be in a month.
We enjoyed our lunch (the lavender lemonade was probably a little bit too potent) and then explored a little more of the small towns in the area.
It was 3 pm when we arrived in Salida and quickly located our rental. We were just in time for the 4 pm parade and only had to walk a bunch of blocks. Chris and I even found a spot in the shade, opened up our camp chairs and settled in for the parade.
The parade started at 4 pm and was done by 4:10 pm! Short and sweet.
We followed the crowd to Riverside Park, found an open spot of grass in the shade, planted our chairs once more and enjoyed some live music in the park.
After about an hour, we started to get hungry. We found a few places but settle on Mo Burrito (ate here last time we were in Salida). Unfortunately, we got in line just after a wedding party group and waited at least a half an hour. We could have left to find something else, but figured with the 4th, anywhere else would be just as busy.
The fireworks were to set to go off at 9:30 pm from "S" mountain.
All we had to do was walk out into the middle of the road and we had a perfect view. We did have to move out of the way for traffic every so often, but enjoyed the show. I think it was done by 9:45!