I Heart Grand Junction

Day 11 – July 9, 2016

Glenwood Springs, CI – Grand Junction, CO

95 miles/1 ½ hours

Temperature - the high in GJ was 101! But dry.

Today was a day that was full of surprises – good ones. We got an early start this morning, heading west to Grand Junction, CO, which is a city located at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers. Upon first impression, I was very nervous. The eastern end of town is very industrial. I kept wondering what I’d gotten us into, but felt palpable relief upon pulling up at our hotel, which was located downtown on Main Street. Downtown is a very cute area, with shops and restaurants.

Grand Junction made the itinerary because it’s closely located to the Colorado National Monument. Since we’d arrived before check-in time, I decided to head over to the monument. I’m not certain what the distinction is between a National Monument and a National Park (but I definitely need to research it). I thought we were going to see one thing – a “monument.” However, in my opinion the Colorado Monument is more like a park. Visitors pass through an entrance gate and experience more than 20,000 acres of natural wonders. It’s pretty freaking awesome. The monument is part of the Colorado Plateau, which is a high desert land. The valleys of the plateau are populated with juniper tries and the contrast is quite stunning. The winding roads of the park take you to the top of the plateau, where you drive along the rim rocks and are rewarded with some breathtaking views. When you’re driving, if you look down over the edge, you’ll get vertigo. Pretty scary.

The temperatures were hovering at around 100 degrees, and the heights of some of the trails caused me to abort any plans I had for hiking. We did stop at many viewpoints though, and Cammy was quite funny. Hunter had to be dragged out of the car to look, but Cammy was quite enthusiastic about it. He insisted that we all follow him, “Because he was quite good at navigating the trails.” Hmm…I guess he preferred these conditions over the sand dunes!

As we left the park, there were signs for a dinosaur museum along the highway. I held my breath and sped up, but not quick enough. Cammy saw the signs and begged me to stop. We did, and he loved it. The museum was kind of cheesy, but it was worth it to hear Cammy rattle off the names of the various dinosaurs (along with all the boring facts).

We ate dinner at a little downtown Italian café and sat outside. It was utterly charming and I have to admit, I fell a little in love with Grand Junction. And our dinner was fabulous!

Cammy in Dino heaven!

Rocky Mountain Mishap

Day 8 – July 6, 2016

Denver – Rocky Mountain National Park – Denver

110 miles (roundtrip) 2 ½ hours

Today was a rough day. SO this update will be brief.

The day started off good. It was a beautiful day and we took a gorgeous drive over the mountains, on our way to Rocky Mountain National Park. We were all excited to go hiking and see the sites. Okay – that may be an exaggeration. Momma was excited to go hiking.

The park is beautiful. See some of the pics below. We were going to drive to Grand Lake – on the other side of the park, but it was going to be a four hour round trip drive and I don’t know, I decided to have mercy on the little warriors. Thank the Lord above I did, because...

We chose to drive to Bear Lake, and then hike to Bierstadt Lake. I will spare you a play by play – but at about ¾ of mile in, disaster struck. Everyone is alive, and we have no broken bones, and no one went to jail. Oh God, I really can’t tell you anything else, other than to say someone has either a virus or is experiencing wicked side effects from some new medication. We had to abort the hike and leave the park. That it is all…

Catch you tomorrow.

Day 6 – July 4^th, 2016

Colorado Springs – NW Denver

101 Miles/1 hour 40 minutes

Fourth of July. We kicked off the holiday in a patriotic way. We visited the United States Air Force Academy. The campus is beautiful, although, of course, I was the only one impressed. To be fair, even I was bored during the 20 minute introduction video. We snuck out early.

I do have a funny Allie story to tell. In the visitor’s center we were waiting on Audrey, who was in the bathroom for an unusually long time. I went in and found her hiding in a stall - texting! I told her that we were going to leave, and she insisted that she had to use the bathroom. “Then go!” I told her and watched her go back into the stall. I told her she had three minutes and left. I collected the boys, who were in the gift shop, and then returned to the bathroom. I walked back to the stall where I’d seen her enter. “You better hurry the H*** up Miss Thing. You’re messing with our schedule.”

The toilet flushed, and out walked a bewildered woman I’d never seen before. I was mortified and mumbled my apologies. Audrey wasn’t even in the bathroom, but in the gift shop looking for me. 

Oops!

We drove up to Denver and stopped to have lunch with some old friends of mine from Fort Lauderdale, Deb & Steve. I worked with Deb and Steve at Shooters, right after I graduated from college. Shooter’s was/is a restaurant on the inter-coastal in Fort Lauderdale We had a lot of fun working there - and we made a lot of money, which is why I didn’t jump into the professional world after getting my Master’s. I wasn’t ready to take a pay cut. Anyway, Deb and Steve were my ideal couple. They were so in love, and yet so down-to-earth. They’re good people who always looked out for me. I was dating someone at the time who really wasn’t a nice guy. Steve constantly asked me why I was going out with him and I couldn’t give him a good reason. Finally, I promised him I wouldn’t. Bets advice ever!

After lunch we explored downtown Denver for a little bit. Unfortunately, the capitol was closed - I guess because of the holiday. In fact, the streets were empty. Then we drove to the hotel, which is located hallway between Denver and Boulder. We worked out in the gym and then had a Fourth of July dinner at a restaurant across the street from the hotel. It was a really good. Finally, we ended the night watching fireworks from our hotel.

Chapel at the USAF Academy

Lunch with the Dotys

The Shooter's Crew (circa 1994)

The Denver State Capitol Building