Colorado's Western Slope

An Outdoorsman Mecca

Fruita is a place like no other. With beautiful landscapes, a wide variety of recreation for all seasons, Fruita is truly a unique place to spend time in.

We try to spend a few days in Fruita every time we pass through. The Kokopelli Trail and Fruita North Desert have been our go to for mountain biking and hiking in the past.  With so much to offer, we had to try some other trails.

Fruita is a paradise for outdoor-lovers with many activities to choose from. The arid climate means that winters are short and mild, so spring and fall are great times to get outside with world-class mountain biking for all abilities, hiking trails with stunning views, the Colorado River and its rafting.

The area reminds us of Sedona or Moab without the crowds.

McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area is a public land space located just outside of Fruita. This conservation area is home to the second largest concentration of natural arches in the United States, as well as home to a 25-mile stretch of the Colorado River. With a variety of trails, McInnis Canyon offers great views for everyone, no matter how far you hike.

We took the Devil's Canyon Loop Trail, a 6.7 mile heavily trafficked loop trail and is rated as moderate. The further we hiked, the more amazing the scenery.

We entered the Black Ridge Canyon Wilderness area as we hiked further into the Devil's Canyon.

There is almost an endless number of trail combinations in this area. There are trails that lead to Kodels Canyon, one that takes you to Flume Canyon and many different routes around the Devils Canyon area. We appreciate our Hiking Project app to help us see where we were and wanted to go
with all of the options available to us. Fortunately, the trails were well marked.

Colorado Monument

The Colorado Monument is high above Fruita on the plateau, connecting to Grand Junction. From the visitor's Center next to the campground the road continues to climb opening up to some amazing views.

The pullouts along the Monument were a good place for rest stops disguised as photo ops.

While riding the bike path along the Colorado River, we met a couple of local ladies that recommended the Hot Tomato for salad and pizza considered to be the go to for cyclists. We had to say that they were right about the hole in the wall we almost missed.

We hiked through Dinosaur Hill to explore dinosaur history. During the mile-long trail, you can stop at 10 different points of interest for dinosaur bones, informational plaques, and great scenery.

Palisade, Colorado

We always miss the Palisade Tour de Vineyards bike ride through the orchards and vineyards every mid September. We arrived the middle of October and rode the well marked route on our own and loved it. There happened to be a pie store on the route which meant a peach empanada was in order. Palisade is known for its fabulous peaches.

Grand Junction has a great paved trail system with over 30 miles along the rivers extending to Palisades to the east and Fruita to the west. We ended up cycling more than hiking this stay.

We stopped in Palisade's Fall market and filled our little bag with peaches pears and the last of the mouth watering tomatoes (I am going to miss them this winter) while we listened to a pretty good band playing in the park. It definitely feels like fall.

This is the wine region of Colorado's western slope so of course we made a stop at a winery. Every thing was on sale 25-40% off since the season is winding down. 

It has been a treat to be here since we are usually in Arizona this time of year. The winds have been rocking us awake at night as we plan which day would be the best to avoid the snow and get over Vail Pass.

It has been a great trip from Oregon. But I am missing Kyle and Tyler and am ready for a couple of  big hugs.

Dinosaurs

Things are heating up! 

The temperatures were heating up and wild fires burning in the west as we arrived in Vernal, Utah. Since we were driving by Dinosaur National Monument, we thought we should stop and check it out.  

Dinosaur National Monument

Dinosaur National Monument includes one of Earth's richest known dinosaur fossil beds. These remains from the Jurassic period150 million years ago. During a drought, many dinosaurs died near a river's edge. When the rain returned, floodwaters carried the jumbled bones of over 500 dinosaurs, representing ten species, here. Ancient river sediments, now called Morrison sandstone,

entombed the dinosaur bones and cast them in stone. After faults pushed up the earth, erosion eventually exposed the fossils.

We took the short ride on the shuttle to the Quarry from the visitor's center. The bones looked unreal with a couple for us to touch.

The campground host told us that most people just visit the quarry and leave. She suggested that we take the drive to the end of the road. We picked up and auto guide as we entered the Monument and made several interesting stops.

 

There were hikes to petroglyphs.

 

Elephant Toes Butte from eroded Nugget Sandstone.

Fremont people carved petroglyphs into the cliffs. The six foot long lizard is considered to be 1000 years old.

Then there was Josephine Morris's cabin.

Josephine Morris is a legend that lived her life on her own terms. She chose to too settle here in 1914 and built several cabins on her homestead after marrying five times and finally chose the single life. She was accused of cattle rustling twice (never convicted) and an alleged associate of Butch Cassidy. In 1964, while feeding her horse, it nudged her and she slipped on some ice. She suffered a broken

hip. Alone, she dragged herself into her house where a friend found her several days later. She had no phone to call for help. On her trip to the hospital she knew she would never again see the home she built. She died that spring at 89 years old.

We hiked into the two box canyons Josie used for corrals and could imagine her life. There were  small and medium sized bobcat prints in the sand. The canyon was protected from the sun making a much cooler walk.

Turtle rock is the same type of sandstone which forms the arches in Arches National Park.

The Green River runs through the valley beneath the sandstone cliff with two very nice primitive campgrounds long the banks of the river.

 

One evening while we were walking, a bug stung me in the eye. Boy, did it sting, giving me blurry vision in that eye for a few days. No driving for Debbie for those days. Darn....

Colorado National Monument

Back in Colorado again.

The drive to Tom Robb State Park in Fruita, Colorado was short and near the entrance to the Colorado Monument. That gave us time to take a peaceful evening walk in the Monument. We hadn't seen it from this perspective before.

Now, we head to Ridgway State Park.