Oh I love that part of the state. I can tell you a lot of places to go and things to see, mostly during the warmer months. This time of year you are pretty much limmited to the more developed places.
In Salida (actually Poncha Springs just before you head over Poncha Pass there is a resturaunt called Gimo's, wonderful italian food, lasagna worthy of a long drive on a summer afternoon.
Buena Vista has a few places to eat and you have been told about the hot springs (oh so many places to go on trail rides and in the fall to see the changing leaves around here too)
Leadville has some very interesting history, spend some time walking around and learning but dress WARM! it will be very cold this time of year
Minturn (small town right off I-70 on your way to vail, eagle etc) eat dinner at the Minturn Country Club, a small resturaunt where you can cook your own steak and have a great time, and there is a small diner at the north east part of town that has wonderful (and ample) breakfast (wish I could remember the name).
Eagle is another area that has a lot of interesting history but has really grown and become very yuppiefied the last 15 years or so. Too bad to, it used to be amazingly quaint but now is a bedroom comunity to the ski town of Vail etc. Still a lot of fun wheeling to do, but once again a long way for day trips. It would be a fun place to go on a weekend trip in the summer. Fishing and hunting in the area is outstanding.
If you make it to Glenwood, stop in Glenwood Canyon and take the hike up to Hanging lake if the weather is good. It is not too difficult if you are in any kind of decent shape (Andrew my 14 yr old did it when he was 3). Good trail but it is steep. I have not been up there in years but there have been improvements to the trail I am told. Hand rails etc in the steep areas. Take a day pack with lunch and enjoy it. THen in Glenwood, there is a huge hot springs pool and the Colorado Hotel is a place where Teddy Rosevelt stayed. It is actually where the "Teddy Bear" was first invented. maids in the hotel made him a stuffed bear while he was there on a hunting trip. Hence the term "Teddy Bear".
A nice trip would include Durango, Teluride and the Western Slope including Aspen, Maroon Bells (Almost every picture you see of the Colorado mountians seems to be shot there) and many more. In a week you can not even begin to see everything but you can have fun skirting the area and chosing places you want to explore more.
I am a native of the state and have hunted or
ed much of it but there is a great deal that I have never even been close to, a great deal that I would love to explore.