The Nomad’s Guide to Buena Vista, Colorado
buena vista, you have our hearts.
quick guide
water refill | buena vista public works | 755 gregg drive, buena vista, co 81211
recycling center | right next to the water refill station | 755 gregg drive, buena vista, co 81211
laundry & showering | wally lala’s | 211 us hwy 24 n, buena vista, co 81211
propane refill | true value | 29785 us-24, buena vista, co 81211
grocery store | the lettucehead food company | 545 us hwy 24 n, buena vista, co 81211
auto care | ron’s diesel dawg diesel & automotive | 30028 n, us-24, buena vista, co 81211
food & drink | bv roastery, house rock kitchen, eddyline brewery
as our year continued to change & our google calendar began to become best friends with the delete button, we realized that our first few months in the van could actually be spent adjusting to this new lyfstyle instead of the traveling we had originally planned for. so far, being able to live nomadically in a general area for a few weeks has been super grounding & has helped make the already big transition a smoother one.
whenever people would ask us where we planned to take off to first in the van, buena vista, co was always our answer. we hadn’t really discussed or thought hard about where we wanted to go—it just happened naturally that both of us felt so drawn to this little town. we had driven through it & stopped for a beer or lunch on numerous trips to the mountains & there was just something about it. it’s spirit always lingered with us. so, it felt right once we had officially moved out of our house & into santiago full time to head this way & really see what buena vista was about.
our hearts were right. they knew this was a golden spot full of kind people, local businesses, & everything we would need to thrive in this new path of life. so, after having lived in our van full time around the buena vista area for about a month, i give you, the complete nomad’s guide to buena vista, co.
// also, you don’t have to be a nomad for this guide to be beneficial. if you are driving through buena vista or wanting to visit for a trip, there will be several spots included in here you should definitely hit up. trust me, you’ll meet the best people, feel that bv magic, & you’ll be better for it //
water
ah, agua. the number one thing we as humans need to survive. buena vista public works has ya covered here. whether you are looking to just fill up your miir water bottle or your 50 gallon fresh water tank, your 50 gallon grey water tank, & your 50 gallon black water tank, this is your spot. for $2.00, you can get up to 267 gallons of potable water here. you will need a hose to connect to the spigot (something we did not have the first time around—luckily, the person in front of us was nice enough to let us borrow his). payment is by credit card only. with 24 hour access, bv makes sure you don’t miss an opportunity to be hydrated in the co heat & altitude.
755 gregg drive, buena vista, co 81211
recycle
located right next to the water refill station is the recycling center. this is a classic one-two combo. caleb refills the water while i walk right next door & recycle. boom. efficiency. okay, i’ll stop bragging. but it does feel really nice to be able to complete two tasks in one stop. you won’t find an address for the recycling center online, but if you go to the water refill station at the buena vista public works (see address above), you will see the big blue recycling bins right next to it. reduce. reuse. recycle. ♻️ be good to mama earth. 🌎
laundry & showering
another combo stop, wally lala’s. wally lala’s is a laundromat with several different sized washers & dryers. they only accept coins & have a coin machine that will exchange your dolla dolla bills for some silver. each size washer & dryer has a different price tag on it & the great thing about here is while your laundry is going, you can get in a shower, too! showers are coins only as well // $7 for 10 minutes.
211 us hwy 24 n, buena vista, co 81211
propane refill
true value is where you will want to go to get your propane refilled. they have a station outside where they will refill your tank for you.
29785 hwy 24 n, buena vista, co 81211
grocery store
this is one of my favorite buena vista stops. always good vibes here — the lettucehead food companay. this is the local health food store & the employees here are the best — super friendly. we love being able to buy as locally & seasonally as possible & this spot fulfills that desire. even though it’s a small space, we are able to buy anything & everything we would need for a full grocery trip. we are vegan, so i’m not sure what their meat selection is like. it is probably pretty small since i don’t really remember seeing much, but for everything else (especially produce & quality packaged items), this is your go to!
545 us hwy 24 n, buena vista, co 81211
auto care
you will not meet a nicer person on the face of this earth than ron from ron’s diesel dawg diesel & automotive. one of the most stressful parts of living in a van is the drivability of the van itself. if something is wrong with the van, we quickly become homeless & carless in a matter of seconds—a pretty vulnerable spot to be in. we discovered ron one afternoon as we were driving over monarch pass & our turbo hose blew (note: we didn’t know that’s what it was at the time, all we knew was we were driving up a steep mountain pass with no cell service, our check engine light came on, & our van started not being able to accelerate over 20 mph😬). we slowly, slowly, slowly made it over the pass and coasted down the other side into the nearest town—salida, co. i am picky about who i let work on santiago. one of my stipulations is that the place has to mention working with (preferably specializing in) diesel engines. there was a place in salida that met these requirements, so i gave them a call. they said they couldn’t take us in for at least two weeks. that definitely wasn’t going to work for us as we had places we needed to be before then. since buena vista is just about a 30 minute drive from salida, i found ron on google & gave him a call. even though he was closing soon, he told us to come on in & he would take a look at it & see what he could do. ron found the problem right then & there & was able to fix our turbo hose as soon as the parts came in. his friendliness & willingness to take us in on the spot left me feeling so much more relaxed about the situation. i could tell he cared about us as people & genuinely wanted to help us get back on the road as soon as possible. i could also immediately tell how knowledgable he was when it comes to working with diesel engines—this guy knows his stuff. he is a genuinely kind & caring person, which is what i appreciated most about him. obviously, i cannot recommend ron’s diesel dawg diesel & automotive enough. i have never had such a good experience with a mechanic. this is where we will always go to get work done on santiago when we can. i would even make a trip to buena vista just to get van work done here.
30028 n, us-24, buena vista, co 81211
(719) 221-9170
food & drink
when we need to plug up & get some gold wifi, you’ll find us at bv roastery. their patio has several outlets, which is always a plus! also, good coffee & friendly staff. the blend is our smoothie stop, house rock kitchen our spot to stop in & have a meal at, & then you can’t go wrong with eddyline brewery for some brews.
this list is ever updating, so make sure to keep on checking back!
did we miss one of your favorite spots? let us know!
