Most folks don't think Amish country and Colorado in the same breath. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, sure. But there's a real Amish community out in the San Luis Valley, down around Monte Vista, and they run some of the best little markets and general stores you'll find anywhere in the state. Ever After in the Woods put together a list of 10 of them worth the drive this year, and I read through it twice because half of these places I hadn't heard of either.

The one that jumps out is Worth The Drive Bakery, and no, I didn't make that name up to be cute. That's actually what it's called and from everything I hear it earns it. Fresh bread, pies, the kind of baked goods that come out of an oven and not a warehouse. The smart play if you're headed that way is to pair it with the other Amish businesses clustered around Monte Vista. Make a morning of it. Hit the bakery first while the good stuff is still on the shelves, then work your way through the rest.

And tell you what, the drive down there is half the point. The San Luis Valley is big open country, the kind where you can see weather coming from forty miles off. You come in over the pass or down the valley floor and the whole place just spreads out in front of you. My kind of driving. No traffic, no billboards, just road.

What I like about stores like these, and I've said this before about flea markets and roadside stands, is that everything in there was made or grown by somebody with a name. The cheese came out of a vat somebody stirred. The jam came off a stove. You don't get that at the big box store and you sure don't get it shipped next-day in a cardboard box.

If you're already thinking about a fall trip this lines up nice. September and October in Colorado is the prettiest stretch of the year, aspens turning gold, summer crowds gone home. A loop through the valley hitting a few of these markets beats another weekend of mowing the yard. Grab the full list from the article, pick your route, and take a cooler. You'll want the cooler.