We spent a few days in Grand Junction trying to sit out some colder weather farther north and were somewhat successful not knowing we were going to get hit with a cold blast once we got to Buena Vista. As I sit cuddled up and cozy writing the blog, a storm has rolled into the Buena Vista area and could drop up to a foot of snow on us! But I digress a bit. First, Grand Junction, Fruita and the Colorado National Monument. We had originally only planned on staying a night or two but after we started looking around and seeing all that there was to do, we added a few days to our stay.
After we got settled in, we wanted to do a hike with Remi, and the Colorado National Monument, like the last few national parks we have been in, was not pet friendly. So I used a new ap I downloaded called AllTrails. It uses GPS and locates you then comes up with a list of hikes with details, directions and some reviews. I found one that sounded interesting as it was a canyon with a creek, a waterfall and many sightings of mountain sheep AND it was pet friendly so it seemed to fit the bill. The canyon is called Dominguez Canyon and it was a little over an hour away. The drive was nice and we hit the trailhead with great expectations. However, other then it being a nice day and a well worn path, the hike was a bit disappointing. You only hiked next to the creek for about a mile then it veared away. We stopped and looked frequently on the rocky side for mountain sheep but we never saw any. Lastly we kept waiting to see the waterfall and we never did see that either. We thought that maybe what the ap was referring to was what looked like could be a waterfall during a rain or maybe once the snow pack starts to melt, but for now it was just a rock carved out. Even Remi seemed a bit disappointed since we were the only people on the trail and he didn't get to see any other dogs. But it was 7 miles of sun and forest so one really can't complain!
Maybe that was the waterfall?
The next day was very windy and chilly so we did some grocery shopping and a drive by trip of the Colorado National Monument. We stopped and looked at a few things but after having just been to the Grand Canyon and Arches, this monument paled by comparison.
We saw this rig in Arches too. We think he may be ready for the zombie apocalypse.
The next day we decided to check out Fruita and some of the local winery's. We wine tasted at two winery's (however there were many, many more) and shared a calzone at a local eatery. We also walked around a bit and checked out the local architecture. Fruita had some really cute old Victorians and many orchards. I would like to be here during the harvest season as I know you can get some great fruit and other produce. My sister in law Yvonne, grew up in the area and I remember her and my brother coming here and getting tons of fruit she would take home and then can. I have not canned and certainly won't start now, but I would love some fresh peaches!
The next day was our final day and the weather was still iffy so we decided to stay close for our hike and did one in the monument. It was a beautiful hike and as we were almost to the end and we thought we might get cheated on the wildlife watching again as there were about 60 or so kids broken into three groups hiking and mountain climbing. However we lucked out and spotted this snake. He was going pretty slow due to the cooler temps so we could snap some photos.
The next day we packed up and headed onto the final leg of our trip (at least until September) and were shocked to see so much snow on Vail pass! Colorado got plenty of snow this winter and on into spring. The locals are hoping for a banner rafting season.
We got to our summer work camping job at Arrowhead Campground and met our summer bosses Joe and Cathy. They are close to our age and very nice. We moved into our spot and got set up and ready for the snow storm that is here today and tomorrow. Yesterday we drove to Buena Vista and Salida to just reacquaint ourselves with the area. We lived in Canon City which is about 80 or so miles away back when the kids were little. The area hasn't changed too much and it was sort of weird being back where we had camped so much with the kids. We saw this sign in Salida and thought it was words to live by!
Wow, snake and big horn in one hike...very cool!
ReplyDeleteAnd speaking of cool...a foot of snow, that's crazy! I hope your workamping experience is a good one and that the snow melts soon!