May 2026 - July 2026 -- Salida
Written By: Wendy
It's been a while, but I'm back to write some updates. I found blog writing therapeutic for me while we traveled to be able to reflect on all that we did and be able to relive the highs and lows with a simple re-read of what I wrote, and I realized that I've missed it over the past year, so here I am again, back to writing. I don't care if anyone ever reads it except me, but here it is, and here are some updates (in case anyone happens to be reading this!). As I write this, we are back from our 2.5 months in Costa Rica, we are back from our whirlwind of spring travels to see family and friends across the country (flying this time!), and we have moved out of the house we were living in and back into our camper. We are still in Salida, CO, and we have settled comfortably into the community here, feeling like we have built some solid relationships and continue to connect with more people and parts of the community. Most days when we go to the park, Caroline immediately sees someones she knows, and runs off to play yelling, "Mom, I know so many kids here! I just have to go play and say hi!"
Coming back from Costa Rica, we weren't sure exactly how we would feel. We were so happy in Costa Rica and created a solid little community there in such a short time with deeper connections than most other places we'd been. But after returning, we were reminded of why we fell in love with Salida last summer, and how great of a town it truly is.
The town goes quiet in the fall, winter, and early spring. About a month ago, around Memorial Day weekend, there was a sudden energy that revived the town and shook it out of its long slumber. The streets were suddenly packed with cars, sidewalks were loaded with people, bikes were everywhere, surfers were in the river, and kid were at the park...mid-week in the middle of the day. Kids of all ages at the park! It renewed my energy, and I looked forward to the returning summer with eager anticipation. We had friends that began to complain about the return of the tourists and how crowded everything was, but I was thrilled. I loved the energy, I craved it, and it breathed a whole new life into me. I also loved the return of kids of all ages to the park at all hours of the day. I still feel a bit of a stigma around homeschooling, and Parker is now at the age where he sticks out if he out at a park or at the store with me or hiking at noon on a Wednesday. I always get a lot of question or stares or unnecessary comments. But the return of summer meant 3 solid months of of no one questioning a 7 year-old out and about mid-day during the week. I didn't fully realize how much that had been weighing on me, but I was glad to have a reprieve of it, if even for a short time.
Although we have come to love and appreciate Salida the town and the community we built, we just could not see ourselves buying a house. There were too many adventures we wanted to take, and we didn't want a house to tie use down, nor did we want to have a mortgage again. So our time was up in the house we were in at the end of June, and we began to make our next plans. We would move back into our camper and travel around Colorado and Utah for a while we decided. We were mildly excited about that, but knew it was necessary if we didn't want to buy a house or rent at the moment, so campgrounds were booked and routes were mapped out. Until that is, Scott saw a intriguing facebook post. The fish hatchery just outside of town was looking for another host to give tours at the fish hatchery, and the gig came with free camper hooks up for the summer. That meant would we be able to stay in Salida for the amazing summer here for free! Sign us up! Scott immediately applied and got the job a few days later. Campgrounds and routes were cancelled, but it felt good and refreshing to know that we would be able to stay here for the summer. The fish hatchery is a 10-15 minute bike ride into town along a path that follows the river the whole way. Our site backs up next to a large lake that also has a path around it for walking or biking, and we knew endless hours could be spent on the lake fishing, paddle boarding, or playing in the surrounding nature. It seemed perfect.
And here we are, mid-July. We've moved out of the house and moved back into our camper. We are living at the fish hatchery, and the kids are still so thrilled and proud to be living there. They tell everyone that we live there and still find so much excitement and joy in living in such a unique location. We are able to see our friends all summer, listen to live music in the park on Thursdays, do dance and ninja classes, and continue to grow our community here. It's great, and we love it, but we also do know that there is more out there.
Although we truly love Salida, we know that there is whole big wide world out there, and Salida is not the end all, be all for us. It's the perfect home base for us, and maybe we'll stay here permanently someday, but we have not forgotten how alive we felt and truly joyful we were in Costa Rica. So we choose not to buy a house or rent in Salida. Our time here is temporary, and maybe that's what makes it all the more meaningful and fulfilling for us. As of now, we plan to be in our camper through the end of October, and then we'll be international from November through June-ish. Life's an adventure, so we're just going to keep adventuring while we can.