La Junta -- which roughly translates to "the meeting place" in Spanish -- is aptly named. Half a dozen national and state highways meet at this historic crossroads, along the Santa Fe Trail and the shores of the Arkansas River. A pleasant small town, La Junta offers services for travelers and frequent cultural events such as the traditional Koshare Indian dances.

The key nearby attraction is Bent's Old Fort a few miles east, a recreation of an important trading post from the early 1800s. Other pioneer and Native American structures can be seen in the Comanche National Grassland to the south, which is also home to a large section of preserved dinosaur tracks. To the north is a series of lakes and reservoirs, popular with boaters and anglers as well as animal watchers.

La Junta is in southeastern Colorado, about 65 miles east of Pueblo.