Two Lane Adventures: Day 86 of 117 on our “Go West, Young Man” Two Lane Adventure

Today is our big move from Fruita to Parachute, Colorado. I am not sure how many rest stops we will need for this 44-mile day of travel! As we departed Fruita, we found sheep in a residential area. Well, who knows who was here first, the sheep or the people?!

I had to snap this picture, I loved the look of the golf greens, the American flag flying and the reds of the plateau.

We skirted around Grand Junction, as we headed east along I-70. Grand Junction is the “big” town that everyone from Green River, Utah to Rifle, Colorado come to for big box stores, chain restaurants and the like.

Mount Garfield offers several trails where the reward for a steep hike is unparalleled views of the valley below. You might even be able to spot wild horses roaming around. Mt. Garfield is the high point of the Book Cliffs, north of Grand Junction, and overlooking the town of Palisade. Two classic hiking trails ascend the mountain. The mountain was named after President James Garfield a year after Garfield's death.

Palisade, Colorado is tucked in between Grand Junction and the Grand Mesa National Forest. But there are plenty of reasons to visit this quaint Western Slope community besides the annual festivals. Visitors may enjoy the local wineries all year round. Most of them, Plum Creek Winery, Garfield Estates and a dozen others, have tasting rooms, and many offer on-site tours.

Palisade also is home to some of the best peaches in the world. The local bounty is celebrated during the city’s annual Peach Festival, in mid-August, with more than 100 vendors, a peach-eating competition, an ice cream social and more. Some of the area’s earliest settlers were fruit farmers, and that agricultural tradition continues today. The town of Palisade is dotted with roadside farm stands that are filled with fresh, local produce during the summer months. In addition to peaches, you’ll find apples, cherries and more. There’s also a variety of locally made salsas, jams, honey and snacks. To find the Grand Valley’s bounty all in one place, drop by the Palisade farmers’ market, which happens Sundays June through September.

Visitors will find festivities throughout the spring and summer and Palisade, including a Bluegrass & Roots festival in mid-June and the Lavender Festival in mid-July. Spring festivals include the Honeybee Festival each April, and a Brews & Cruise Festival in early May. Even if you aren't a wine aficionado, you can taste other locally made beverages. Palisade Brewing offers a variety of local beers, including their popular "Dirty Hippie" dark wheat beer. Peach Street Distillers serves up a variety of craft spirits, including gin, bourbon and brandy. For something a little different, try the Meadery of the Rockies, which produces honey-based wines across the spectrum of sweet to dry.

This is the Grand Valley Diversion Dam. It was constructed between 1913 and 1916. It is the key structure of the Bureau of Reclamation's Grand Valley Project, which provides water to 42,000 acres of semi-arid land. At the time of its completion in the spring of 1916, the dam was one of only three American dams to utilize innovative gate technology first employed in Germany in 1902. The Grand Valley dam would later serve as the prototype for the Army Corps of Engineers' massive system of locks and dams on the Mississippi River. The dam's roller gates were built by American manufacturers, from German design, during the early years of WW.

We passed over and traveled along the Colorado River, for most of the morning.

These tunnels were not built, when Charlie last traveled these roads. There was a road that went closer to the rocks. It had a dangerous corner, which had many accidents, so the tunnels were dug and the road straightened.