Welcome to Colorado!

Monday morning the fam tour ended at SLC Airport and a little after 10 am we were sitting in our big rental "truck": a Chevrolet Traverse, 6-seater, AWD, with a ski rack, large and comfy and heavy (in case another snowstorms should come up). Departed for Colorado on Hwy. 6 through the San Rafael Swell, on the Colorado Plateau, through endless wide landscape with only few villages and people. With one short pit stop, we arrived to Grand Junction after about 4,5 hours driving time, about 290 mi (460 km) in total. Checked into the modern Springhill Suites in downtown GJ - nice large rooms with a comfy seating area - and soon headed out again for dinner at our friends' Barb's and Wayne's home. We had great conversation, a delicious meal and spent a very pleasant evening.


Tuesday morning: sunny and cold (about 15 deg. F. or -9 deg. C). After breakfast, we first visited the Colorado National Monument, a fantastic, not too well-known park with pinion and juniper forests and a wide range of wildlife. Rim Rock Drive, which winds along the plateau, was unfortunately closed for the most part, due to snow and ice removal on the road, but we were able to reach a couple of observation points nevertheless - from which the pics below are taken - and stopped at the visitor center.

Views were gorgeous: dramatic red rock landscape with the snow-covered Bookcliff Mountains in the background, down below the Colorado River and the Grand Valley, where GJ with a population of about 60,000 people, is situated. It's not only known for its rich culinary offerings, but also for its outdoors: mountain biking and hiking, whitewater rafting on the Colorado River and much more. Originally home of the Ute Indians, it became a major fruit-growing region in the late 19th century. Today the "metro region" - consisting of Fruita, GJ and Palisade - is proud of many peach, cherry and other orchards as well as dozens of wineries, seven breweries, a cidery, a distillery and many fruit stands. More about that tomorrow.

But, culture first: The Dinosaur Museum and the Museum of Western Colorado were interesting, especially, the latter, thanks to our great guide David Bailey and the great stories he told. Especially interesting was the one on Alfred Packer, who was accused of cannibalism, but was only acting in self-defense as David as part of the "Western Investigations Team" found out when he found his pistol (pic).

After pizza at the "Hot Tomato" in Fruita, which was founded by two very adventurous girls, and coffee in their new coffee shop & roastery adjacent, we went for a tour with the brew master and for a beer tasting at Copper Club Brewing Co. This tiny microbrewery in Fruita is pretty unique, considering the space they are occupying and the great beers they are brewing. Real beer, not 4 % drafts like in Utah.

Dinner at Bin 707 on GJ's Main Street - famous for its public artwork (see pics below). The meal was fantastic, highly creative food, nicely presented, using mostly local produce like lamb, elk, goose, beef, fish etc. Our shared appetizer, a cheese & charcuterie plate with chicken patée, salami, ham, cheeses (pic) was terrific as well as my lamb (pic) and the Colterris Malbec from a local winery.