MAYESVILLE, Colo. — It’s a little bit different in Salida, Colorado.
You’re more likely to hear the Arkansas River roll through town than rush hour traffic in the city, and coffee brewing at Brown Dog Coffee instead of an occasional frustration honk in downtown Denver. It seems Denver drivers honk for two reasons, if they honk at all.
“It’s either the double quick friendly honk or the long get out of my way honk," said Parker Loyd at Subculture Cyclery in downtown Salida.
“You kind of hate to use the horn unless I see a friend, then it’s the beep beep and wave," said Salida realtor Martin Epp.
But if you ask the question about honking in Salida, it seems everybody knows.
“They’re talking about the Honk House,” said Ray Kitson, owner of the Boathouse Cantina on the Arkansas River in downtown Salida.
Eleven miles west of Salida on Highway 50 in Maysville, drivers have been honking as they pass the yellow house for 80 years or so.
The current owner has been there for seven years. He said he’ll hear honks all day and night, and it’s not annoying at all. He knew what they were getting into when he and his family bought it.
It’s like a doorbell at 55 miles per hour. In fact, it’s helped him in his recovery as he heals from a two-month hospital stay. The homeowner said it's healing to sit in the window and wave to people as they drive by.
Meanwhile, it’s a connection for everyone else. It produces smiles in the car, at the cantina, and at the bike shop.
We can all use that connection to each other anyway.
