Salida to Grand Junction, CO August 17 - 26, 2017

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THE BASICS

We arrived in Salida on August 17 to spend five days visiting with Susie, Brady, and 18 month old Eliza. We hung out in their yard, visited the Farmers Market and local parks, and watched people play in the Arkansas River in the heart of town. We left on a Tuesday and drove over Monarch Pass to Gunnison,CO. The next day, we drove up to Crested Butte, a charming old town, and its nearby ski area. We explored the Hartman Range nearer Gunnison, an extensive area of trails for all sorts of vehicles and hiking. On Friday we proceeded to Montrose, with a five mile side trip up to the Visitors Center for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park - not a good idea in the RV... This morning we came along to Grand Junction and it is to be 90+ for the next several days (yuck), so we plan to go up to the Grand Mesa and to the Colorado National Monument, both of which we especially enjoyed a couple of years ago. Our route changed slightly because of unavailability of sites at campgrounds at this end of summer; John was quite busy making phone calls and making "new best friends" to secure sites.

THE FLUFF

The drive from Leadville to Salida was only about 60 miles and it was lovely, so on future visits to Salida we will consider day trips to Leadville. We stopped for coffee in Salida at the Roastery, a very sophisticated venue. Then we drove to Salida and checked in at Four Seasons, by now an old familiar haunt. Eliza is now on a schedule of napping once a day, from 11:30 to 2:00 or so. Susie phoned us when Eliza woke up and we headed to their house, and simply sat in the backyard watching Eliza and Huck the dog play.

Our days in Salida were wonderful. Just hanging out was fun, but we went to a park where Eliza swung and then sifted sand through her fingers, visited the Farmers Market on Saturday morning along with dozens of young Salida families, and best of all, watched Eliza frolic in the river. There is a beachy area right in town. Eliza approached the Arkansas waters tentatively at first, but after awhile she was brushing aside her parents’ hands and stepping in nearly over her head. The second time there, she loved being heaved in the air by Brady and performing near-splits to climb on the rocks. We were glad to be able to babysit for Susie and Brady a couple of times so they could go to a movie and also visit some dear friends in Buena Vista. Because Eliza’s schedule is so consistent, and she got used to us, it was almost too easy; e.g. one afternoon John napped in the hammock in the back yard and I napped on the couch inside.

Then we were very happy to get a bonus day in Salida. Sunday night, Susie received a call from the babysitter that she had pink eye. So she asked us to help, and it was a wonderful day. Very peaceful and lots of fun playing in the yard until I brought her inside to assure that she wouldn’t look at the sun during the eclipse. We didn’t have the glasses but Susie had made a box viewer so we got the idea, and John watched the live stream from Casper, WY. We are enjoying wonderful photos of the eclipse posted by family and friends; thanks!

Leaving Susie's splendid family on Tuesday was not easy, but we are very lucky that we enjoy being just the two of us as well. Since it is stressful for the RV to climb Monarch Mountain's 11,000', especially towing the car, we drove separately. Coming down the west side of the slope, we encounter some agriculture. We arrived in Gunnison for a lazy evening, enhanced by a brief stroll in the town. It is neat that although we are ringed by mountains, the sky is immense. And so varied! Huge gray clouds in one section, bright Colorado blue elsewhere, with huge puffy clouds here and strata ones there.

Since Crested Butte is only about 27 miles north of Gunnison, we drove up there. We strolled along the six blocks of town, past colorful shops and restaurants that were quite charming. Crested Butte made its money with coal mining, and after an interim after the mining faded, it became a ski town. Many of the houses are Victorian style, painted in five or six surprising yet harmonious shades.

A very memorable stop was for coffee at Camp 4 Coffee, where we also indulged in the best chocolate croissant we have ever had. We sat on chairs out front and I got chatting with a couple from Atlanta who were seated next to us. After awhile, I happened to ask them, "What's next for you?" The answer was, "We're getting married later today." I was so charmed by this experience that I later bought a photo of that coffee shop, with snow on the chairs.

We drove the few miles up to the ski area, which has dozens and dozens of massive dark brown condo buildings. We drove a ways past there, but had to turn around when the roads got narrow near precipices; my height fear hasn't fully subsided. Back in town, we enjoyed half pound hamburgers and excellent fries at The Last Steep. (Sorry, we didn't learn the meaning of that name, but it must refer to skiing somehow.)

Next day, we drove up to Hartman Range, which starts right near our campground but is an immense area of BLM land with dozens and dozens of trails. As happens often out here, we were awestruck by the bicyclists who take on the steep hills all over this state. (By the way, our neighbor that night had a trailer full of DeVinci demo bikes which he unloaded, washed, and reloaded. They are apparently worth thousands each.) We had a pleasant little hike on the BLM land.

We have a casual approach to making reservations which works most of the time, but not for our preferred next itinerary. So instead of heading north back toward Wyoming, John managed to find campgrounds in towns where we've been before, Montrose and Grand Junction, and some new spots in Colorado and Utah (Green River). After hours on the phone, I think we have learned a lesson about paying more attention.

West of Gunnison is the huge Curecanti Recreation Area, with an enormous lake, many boats, hundreds of RV's, etc. On our last trip, one of John's chief goals was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (river), and we rode a boat in the canyon and viewed it from above. So, as we traveled west toward Montrose and spotted the sign to the Visitors Center, up we headed. But five steep miles on narrow, windy roads, in the RV, pulling the car, were a mistake. We finally got to the Visitors Center parking lot and had to unhitch to park, and even had trouble doing that. Whoops. But the view, on a sunny day, is still breathtaking.

By the way, the last two campgrounds (Gunnison and Montrose) were KOA, and very very pleasant.

Today's drive from Montrose to Gunnison was only about 70 miles, through rolling hills covered with little but scrub. There was a dramatic difference once we got north of the irrigated farmlands. We stopped in Delta for coffee, and it is another of those lesser-known but quite charming towns. Now it's late afternoon, and we are going to dare to venture out of our nicely air-conditioned RV. Best wishes to all, Linda and John

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