First off, allow me to extend a heart-felt thank you to all of you who commented on my last post. I appreciate your warm thoughts beyond words and hope Rhonda and family have found some comfort in them as well. Rhonda wrote a final post sharing Wayne’s last days and a selfless act. That post can be viewed here for anyone interested. Thank you again for your care, concern, and friendship.
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With Moab in the rear view mirror, it wasn’t long before we pulled into site #3 at the James M. Robb State Park Campground near Grand Junction, Colorado. We really enjoy staying here and since we pass through Grand Junction regularly this has become our go to stop for spending a few days while in the area.
The stunning Colorado National Monument acts as a beautiful backdrop to the James M. Robb State Park…. a sight that never gets old.
During our ten-day stay, we had a couple of things to tend to, but most importantly a lot of catching up to do. You see, my brother and his wife live in Grand Junction, and a year had passed since our last visit.
First on the agenda was dinner with brother and sis-in-law, which became a recurring event during our stay. Yum, is all I have to say as sis-in-law is a great cook. Unfortunately, due to the combination of my brother’s work schedule and the ever fickle weather, we weren’t able to take any memorable hikes together during this visit. You can click here to read about one of our epic hikes a couple of years ago. The thought of that hike still makes me laugh.
It’s impossible not to explore the “Monument” and for any first time visitor I would highly recommend the 23 mile Rim Rock Road scenic drive. The road takes you to the top of the mesa with numerous scenic overlooks giving a visitor a bird’s eye view of some spectacular scenery.
After taking in the scenery from the car, next up is hitting the trails. One of my all time favorite hikes was one I did with my sister-in-law almost 2 years ago and ever since then, I’ve wanted to share that trail with hubby.
So on our first rain free day, Al and I set out around nine in the morning to tackle the Lower Monument Canyon Trail.
After a 2 1/2 mile trek, we found ourselves at the base of the stunning 450 foot tall monolith named Independence Monument; our destination. The post from the hike with my sister-in-law offers a little more info. If interested, you can click here.
After spending a little time taking in the sight of the beautiful canyon, we retraced our tracks back to the trailhead making for a great 5 mile hike.
Toward the end of our stay, we met Mike and Linda for lunch at the Edgewater Brewery and on our last evening we met Pam and John for a quick bite at Suds Brother’s Brewery.
Let’s see….. we took care of a couple of scheduled appointments, took in the fantastic scenery, got in some exercise, visited with family AND visited a couple of brew pubs with fellow bloggers.
All in all, it was a great visit to western Colorado. Now it’s time to move on. I have a feeling there could be a little more social gatherings in our near future. You never know who we’ll bump into in Denver this summer!
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51 responses to “Catching up”
Gorgeous scenery and places Ingrid . Dipping in and out of your posts and LuAnn’s makes me want to book a flight and get my boots out 🙂
Happy travels !
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Come on down and join the fun 🙂 The west is filled with more stunning scenery than one could explore in a lifetime. Sure is fun trying. Always nice hearing from you.
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Wonderful photos! I so want to go there.
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You would definitely enjoy yourself. The town of Fruita has some sort of festival happening all summer long. Lots to see and do around here.
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just seen your reply Ingrid … we stopped at Fruita and picked apples with a funny old fashioned contraption from an orchard nearby. We loved the original little Fruita school !
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We really enjoy Fruita and last summer even considered by a home there.
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Can imagine why Ingrid ! Beautiful area .
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That looks like yet another great place to camp! So, is that rock named “big mouth?” 😉 Also wanted to make sure the weather there hasn’t treated you badly. Heard from a friend that a big hail storm recently hit the Denver area? Hope all is well!
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It’s been raining every afternoon and we did have some pea size hail the other day, but nothing serious at our current location at Chatfield SP (Denver). Other parts of Denver Metro didn’t fair as well. Thank you for your concern 🙂
I know that rock was funny. I thought it looked like a giant frog.
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Fun times for sure for all of you. You are looking fantastically fabulous!
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Awe, aren’t you sweet. The fun continues….I just went to a Luke Bryan concert with my daughter. Not used to staying out half the night with a 25 year old 😉
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I saw him concert a few years back…! I also went with a “young thang!” My friends niece.
Oh and I can feel your pain about staying out late! I just can’t do it anymore!
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Thanks for the great post about Fruita and the state park. All I know of Grand Junction is St. Marys Hospital and oncology as that is where Joe was diagnosed with cancer and started chemo after major surgery to reattach his lungs. Hopefully that is all behind us and our next visit to the area will be following your footsteps.
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I do remember your posts about Joe’s treatments. Hopefully you can go back and have fun exploring the area. Perhaps take that fantastic Jeep of yours down to Ouray for some high country adventure. Black Bear Pass should be a treat.
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There is no doubt this place is on our trajectory this fall. Great photos as always Ingrid.
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You will love the hiking there and you know to email me for more info 🙂
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Wonderful photos of stunning scenery! I love the rock formations. We missed this part of Colorado last year and will add it to our list of places to check out. Thanks so much for this post.
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Thank you Holly. I love Colorado’s western slope. The scenery is exceptional pretty.
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And another location has been added to my list of places I want to camp – thank you.
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You welcome…. western Colorado shouldn’t be passed up 🙂
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I can tell how much you love this place.Beautiful scenery! Reminded me the hiking we had in AZ. 🙂
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We do really enjoy this area and have even thought about buying a house here some day. Need to get the travel bug satisfied first 🙂
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🙂
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Fabulous scenery and very different to anything we have in the UK – we do have fab scenery, just different!!!
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Very true…. there’s a lack of lush, green gardens around this part of America. Ah, but when I go east this summer, I’ll be back in farm country – rolling hills of green 🙂
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Easy to tell how MUCH you enjoyed your stop here! We just discovered the Colorado National Monument on our way West in ’13 and I’m hoping that next spring when we anticipate our daughter wanting to meet up with us near Moab that after she leaves I want to spend some time in GJ, and return. Lovely shots!
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After GJ you’ll need to venture south toward Ouray if you already haven’t. I just love the western slope of Colorado; Crested Butte, Telluride, Black Canyon of the Gunnison…. the list goes on. Let me know if I can offer any suggestions.
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I’ll hit you up during the winter when we are sitting in Bosque thinking about next year’s plan. You can count on it! Thanks.
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Would love to get back to Colorado, but our only trips will be in the Winter so we may help our elders the rest of the time…Back road to Cripple Creek was one of our more harrowing drives. That was about 30 years ago..It’s probably all paved and 2 lane by now.
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Nope, Phantom Canyon Road hasn’t changed and with the recent excess of rain around CO, the road experienced some mud slides and damage. That’s one road I’ll NEVER take again. Colorado is so pretty in July when the mountain wildflowers are out…. some thing to consider down the road 🙂
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I did some checking on the campground. It is a winner for sure. Love your last photo! And very jealous you were with Pam and John…hehe
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Thank you Marsha. It’s always a joy connecting with fellow bloggers at fun spots.
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This looks like a great place to hike. Wish we were in Denver with the rest of the group.
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The hiking is great in the Monument. I’m sure you’ll be running into lots of bloggers along your summer travels in the Pacific NW 🙂
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I think we will be meeting up with a few of them. 🙂
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Stunning photos. I love to ‘walk’ but I’ll leave that hiking to you since I’m directionally challenged and I’d probably still be out there looking for the right trailhead. 🙂
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Thank you. The beauty of this trail was it was out and back and very clearly marked so no need for a map. Some of the others, not quite so easy.
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Looks like a fabulous spot to visit Ingrid. The views are spectacular!
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We do enjoy our visits here and yes, spectacular views 🙂
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Fantastic photos, Ingrid — thanks for the informative post and rich vistas.
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Thank you Jet. I just wish we had seen some Bighorn Sheep on this hike.
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Great post, Ingrid. Made me want to grab my boots and hit the trail. Really miss those long scenic hikes that we just don’t have around these parts of Michigan.
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Thanks Judy. Yep, the Midwest is quite different than the west. We’ll be visiting the UP in August and hitting a SP or two that you blogged about. I hope the weather holds for us.
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Thanks for this. We’re planning a few days at Grand Junction in Sep and look forward to your posts about the area,
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You welcome Larry. Let me know if I can help with any ideas or info.
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I’m so sorry about the loss of your blogging friend. Sometimes life is so very sad. It looks like you’re enjoying your time in Colorado and keeping busy!
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Thank you Cheryl. Colorado is a great state to meander around in the summer… plenty to keep us busy.
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I am so glad you did blogs on this area. We had a wonderful time exploring the Monument. It made feel like I was still in Utah:) Of course, having time for a get together with you and Al is always a fun time:) Looking forward to seeing you before we leave Denver!
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GJ is a beautiful area with a continuation of that Moab red rock. We always have a great time in the area and meeting up with fellow bloggers was icing on the cake. See you soon!
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What a beautiful area. We must get over that way some day.
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You would love Colorado’s Western Slope. You wouldn’t be able to put the camera down 🙂
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