At the Confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers

I’m not quite sure when the last time I was in Grand Junction was, but a few years ago when we traveled with another couple on The California Zephyr train from Illinois on our way to Gateway, CO a few years ago years there happens to be a wonderful resort. We got off the train at Grand Junction and rented a car for the final leg of the trip. Before that, my son, a couple of buddies, and I did a week-long mountain bike trip starting just outside of Grand Junction. Five days of riding and quite a few miles later, the adventure ended in Gateway. On both occasions, I was able to explore Grand Junction and the Colorado National Monument just outside of town. This time, Sherrie and I chose to stay in a KOA close to both the town and the monument.

Colorado National Monument is an amazingly beautiful landscape that covers over 20,000 acres of land above the Colorado River in the western part of the state. The Monument is known for its incredible rock formations, rugged canyons, and expansive vistas that offer a snapshot of the natural beauty of the region.

The twisted juniper trees seemed to grow out of parched rock.

The most popular way to explore the area’s unique geological formations is by taking the Rim Rock Drive, which winds its way through the monument and provides stunning views of the surrounding landscape.

The monument is also home to a variety of unique plant and animal species, including desert bighorn sheep.

Besides the scenery, there happens to be a very robust wine industry in the area centered around Palisades, CO., just east of Grand Junction. There are more than 30 wineries within ten miles of the KOA. The Princess forced me to visit a few. At the intersection of E ½ Road (right after E ¼ Rd) and 35 ½ Road, we found Colterris Estate Winery. It came highly recommended to the Princess by somebody.

Thank you both for the tip; the wines were top-notch, a little pricey, but very good.   There once again, a gentleman talking to the Princess recommended Bookcliff Vineyards. (I’m starting to worry a little here) The wines at Bookcliff were even better.  We met the owner/winemaker in the tasting room, which led to a little education about the soils and weather producing superior grapes in the Palisade area and then to a little more wine tasting which led to a little wine buying. It was a good day all around.

Along with the beautiful scenery, great vineyards, and good restaurants, the Princess managed to find a cute boutique clothing store that had to be explored.  We are one week into the trip and about three weeks into the budget.  If I remember correctly, there was shopping going on years back when the train dropped us off here. I needed to quickly move on to the next planned stop in Moab, UT before things got worse.

Dennis

Believe it or not, this is actually a trail the Princess encouraged me to try. It really was as sketchy as it looks. As the trips went on, the trails got harder with steeper drop-offs.