Last Detail--Arkansas River Guide

Today was very long, but I found the last place there was to find for my Arkansas River Guide.

I want to include a launch area for people who like to float from Florence (near Cañon City, CO) down to Pueblo Reservoir. I've never done this float, but it's said to be a very nice trip through wild country. I don't think there are any rapids down there, but there are low hills, groves of cottonwood trees, and a real feeling of isolation. You don't do this trip in high water, because sometimes when the water is up, a whole tree will crash over into the river, making a very dangerous situation for a raft. It would be a superb trip in autumn.

This isn't even an integral part of my river guidebook. It begins about eight miles after the main part ends at Cañon City. But it's an extra detail that will make this a more useful book for a few people, and that's why I drove down there today.

The state park people in Salida told me about a launch area there, but they only knew approximately where it was. River access has long been a problem in the Florence area. In the first edition of Arkansas River Guide, I had to say that finding a launch site depended on knowing a landowner! This time, I wanted to say more.

So I drove into Florence and checked one possibility I thought I saw from one of the river bridges. No, that wasn't it. Then I saw a group of three ladies who were out for a walk together. I lowered the car window and asked them. They consulted with each other, and then explained where I should look. It was about where the state park people had suggested, plus I got the name of a street to turn on.

It involved finding "River Road" and then the Florence sewer plant. There, I drove out behind the plant and found a dirt road along the river. And I came upon the launch site I'd been seeking! The road turned out to be a big loop through bottomland trees and vegetation. I figured out better directions to the place, and I need to fit it into about half an inch of space that I've been saving for the purpose.

Even when I lived down there, I'd never eaten at the well known and popular Merlino's Belvedere restaurant. But I drove by it between Cañon City and Florence, and told myself that if I found the launch site I was there to seek, afterward I would go eat at the Belvedere. Since I found the site, I rewarded myself. And because I have about half that excellent dinner in a box, it'll be my dinner tomorrow night, too.

Now I can wrap up this river guide and take it to the printer Monday, right on schedule. Just a few more details tomorrow, and I'm done. I'm very deliberately NOT working on it tonight, as would normally be my habit. It's 11:30, I'm tired, and I'm going to save it for morning.