Our first full day in Fruita, Colorado. I’ll tell you a bit
about Fruita, before I get into our day’s events. Fruita offers a diverse array
of things to do. Ride your road bike across the Colorado National Monument and
discover amazing views of monoliths, big horn sheep, and the entire valley.
Walk where dinosaurs once roamed and see their tracks and bones. Hike in the
second highest concentration of arches outside of Arches National Park. Saddle
your horse and enjoy the peace of miles of trails among wild desert flowers and
old mines. Ride your cruiser bike downtown and take in a free concert in the
park or shop fresh, local grown produce at the Farmer’s Market. Enjoy the Fat
Tire Festival or experience Mike the Headless Chicken Festival, you have to be
there to understand. Want to learn more … I won’t spoil it … be here at the end
of May … 2019 will be their 21st festival!
The first permanent residents, were the dinosaurs, but after them, the first homesteaders in today's Fruita area were
possibly Mr and Mrs Albert Lapham, when they settled in late 1882, they took
up residency in a cabin. They
were followed by other settlers, nearly all of whom were farmers. Attempts to
organize a community in the Fruita area were unsuccessful until the present day
town was established in 1884, by William E. Pabor, who formed the Fruita Town
and Land Company for the purpose of selling town lots. Years later he spoke of
his dreams that came “In the spring of 1884, lying on the bare floor of a log
cabin on the site of what is now the town of Fruita”. Not only as a poet, but
also as a scientist, Pabor recognized the great promise of the Grand Valley. He
wrote a 300-page volume, “Colorado as an Agricultural State,” in which he spoke
glowingly of the fruit growing potential of the area. Having worked with the
Greeley colony, he founded the new town along the same lines, including the
provision that no liquor was sold or manufactured in the town. This provision
lasted until it was voted out in the late 1970's.
The original town site was planned to take in eighty acres
with a park in the middle. In the 1930's Fruita participated in several
government projects including the Grand Valley Resettlement Project, later
known as the Western Slope Farms. Settled in groups of two or three families
per area, thirty-four families were relocated by 1937. Another program was
Rural Electrification Project which brought electricity to between 800 and 900
farms. Fruita also had a Civilian Conservation Corps several Works Progress
Administration projects including the town library, a federal loan for the new
central school and the construction of the spectacular Rim Rock Drive to the
top of the Colorado National Monument, at an elevation of almost 8,000 feet.
Some
of the best-remembered personalities associated with Fruita were Elmer Riggs,
paleontologist from Chicago’s Field Museum who made major discoveries of
dinosaur bones in the area during the early 1900s; author and naturalist Will
Minor and popular African-American cowhand Charlie Glass, who passed away in
1936.
We met Charlie’s cousin, Frank and his wife Davene for breakfast at Starvin’ Arvin’s. Their website raved about the size of their cinnamon rolls, so that intrigued Charlie right away! Well, they were not exaggerating … they are huge! They gave you a choice of toast, fresh fruit, pancake or a cinnamon roll … well, you know who, picked you know what. If you all are thinking it is Charlie, well … you are wrong! It was Frankie … I guess overnight, Charlie forgot about that cinnamon roll! But, it was big enough that Frankie shared it with everyone!
We went back to the camper and visited for a
while. Frankie was hoping that Tim would show up, but they drove all night to get
here. So, they were trying to catch up on a little sleep. We promised Frankie
that we would get Tim over to see him, before he headed back to Phoenix.
Tim and Robin showed up later and we visited in the camper,
for a while … Colorado is having a major heat wave! Then it was time to eat
again, yes … eat again … I am thinking we are back on the caravan … eat, eat,
eat! Charlie suggested we go to the restaurant of Tim’s cousin, Mike. Everyone
was in agreement with that. So, we headed to Munchies. It is a pizza and deli joint,
here in Fruita. We split a pizza for lunch. They have a famous Fruita
Hamburger. It is the longest operating restaurant in Fruita. They use all fresh
ingredient and cook your meal when ordered. They have been serving Fruita for
Over 36 Years. Mike and Kim are in the process of building a new building to
house Munchies, on the other side of the 4-lane highway. It is quite an
undertaking, but they hope the gamble will pay off. The restaurant is currently
on the “downtown” side of the expressway. But the “new” side of the expressway
caters more to travelers and others.
After lunch, Tim and Robin were heading back to Tim’s
cousin, Mike’s house, to help Mike do some work on his truck. We promised to
head over later. Charlie was in a pizza coma and needed a nap. I tried to catch
up on work and blogs. But, true to our word, we went over and spent some time
and Mike and Kim’s house. We enjoyed visiting with everyone, but made it an
early night and let the kids enjoy their time together.
We made it an early
night and just relaxed! tomorrow is another day and another chance to see Tim & Frankie!
No comments:
Post a Comment