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Not sure why Grand Junction got posted below Telluride….

June 5 – 7

We were stopping in this town because of Dinosaur National Monument. It was going to be hot here too so we opted for a short stay and plug in RV spot, Outlaw RV Park. 

June 6 – Went to Dinosaur National Monument. Took the bus from the visitors center to the quarry. Their wall of bones was great! So many bones and some skulls still with vertebrae. 

Drove to a few other spots in the park that included a homestead and some petroglyphs. Amazing geology in the area. 

June 7 – 14

June 7 – We got to the Campground just a the storm clouds opened up. Big pieces of hail rained down followed by a lightning storm that was over the reservoir, less than a mile away. 

June 8 – Drove to the dam and its visitor center to gather information. Swam back at the reservoir near campsite. 

June 9 – Drove to red canyon visitor center and hiked the rim trail to greens lake. Great views of the red canyon from the visitor center and the hiking trail. Dexter enjoyed taking a swim in the lake. Also, drove Sheeps Trail Geological Drive which was fantastic. The rock formation and layers were outstanding. Finished the day with more swimming. Even got Benat to wear his life preserver and try floating in the water. He was kind of ok with it. 


June 10 – Toured the Sweets Ranch. It started from a 19 year old who was homesteading. He only used horse driven equipment on the farm. 
Discovered we have a family of mice living in the hood of the car. Above the engine between the hood and the heat shield! We chased 1 away, killed 1 accidentally and saw 3 others…. this meant we had them for well over a month! Must have gotten the parents between AZ and St. George, UT!!

June 11 – Ridge Line hike. After crossing a pretty meadow filled with wildflowers the trail became rugged and went up, up, up. 

June 12 – Went on the tour the dam.  Interesting that it is a hydroelectric dam but they built it and created the reservoir for recreational reasons. The fish are huge. 

June 13 – Mellow last day. Went to breakfast and played around the campground. Worked on getting rid of the mice…

May 25 – 29

Such an amazing mountain town!

May 25 – Drove into town to check it out. Very cute historic downtown, started with mining gold and silver. The Mountainfest film festival was happening and the town was full of people. Patagonia had a truck parked on the street fixing people’s clothes (for free!). Benat’s blue jacket had a busted zipper and we were able to have it fixed while we chatted. Great service they were offering, trying to keep clothes out of the landfill. 

Deer in a field of wildflowers 

Behind the Matterhorn campground. Admiring some beaver dams.

May 26 – We parked at the ski resort and took the gondola into town. So much fun (and free!) Did some window shopping and walked the waterfront trail. Had a snack and beers at Smugglers Brewpub. 

May 27 – Matt went for a mountain bike ride along the Galloping Goose trail. The rest of us hiked from the campground to another primitive one down a dirt road. Some snow was still on the road!

Some interesting plants growing. 

Priest Lake. Had some old, abandoned houses around it. 

May 28 – Went back to town and played at the playground. Walked the riverfront trail towards the waterfall and power plant while Benat napped. Finished the afternoon with some beers at the Telluride Brewing Company. So delicious and interesting scene. Ordered at a small bar in the area they are brewing, tried to pay but bartender said “pay when you’re done.” There was also no official area to drink the beer, we were all scattered around the parking lot. Wouldn’t happen in Cali!!

May 29 – June 5

It was HOT when we were at Grand Junction so our activities were limited. 

May 30 – A mellow day and I spent way too many hours reprovisioning. 

May 31 – Went to visit Steve in the morning. Lovely to swim in his pool. Watched storm clouds in the distance. Went to Fruita in the afternoon for beers at Copper Club Brewing  and pizza from Hot Tomato. Fruita is a fun town. Big for mountain bike tourism. There was a piano on the street that we played with. 

June 1 – Matt went for a ride with Steve while I went to Snoops, a small lake where dogs can be off leash and swim. Only a mile to walk all the way around and Dexter had a good time playing with other dogs. 

June 2 – Visited the Colorado National Monument. Some interesting rock formations and views of the valley. Quite hot that day so we did a shorter hike to Devils Kitchen. 

June 3 – Matt and Steve went out early to ride lunch loops.  Went back to Snoops so Dexter could swim. That afternoon we went back to Steves for a swim and into Fruita for the Mike the Headless Chicken Festival. No joke, google it. Typical small town festival, the Smitherens played a set that we left a few songs in. 

Benat had fun swimming!

Benat was not happy about meeting the Headless Chicken. 

June 4 – With the temps so high this week we weren’t able to hike for Dexters sake. Which also meant all of Benats naps were in his sleepy tent. So on this morning we went back to the town park (Canyon View Park) which had a huge play area for Benat and a doggy area with swimming hole for Dexter. That afternoon we met Steve at the Palisades Brewery in Palisades. More delicious beer and food.