9-11-16 - Heat Escape - Day 31

                                               Good Morning from Grand Junction

 Fernykat threw a fit when we left Pam and Chuck's this morning.  She loved it there.

Lauren sounded like a tour guide as we were traveling I 70 West.  He was really getting into the scenery, saying, "70 degrees, at 10:30 am, Colorado National Monument on the left, Book Cliffs on the right." It seemed to calm Fernykat down a little bit.

We stopped in Fruita, Colorado to empty the tanks.  A really nice welcome center with a Vietnam Memorial.

We traveled across Douglas Pass.  It is one of the roughest, tightest, curviest, passes we have been on.  Fernykat usually does not care about the road, but this road added insult to injury.  First off she had to leave Pam and Chuck's, then she had to deal with this.  She was a lot happier once we were over the pass.  And so were the rest of us.

We are camped at Buck "N" Bull Campground in Rangely, Colorado for a couple of nights.  The campground has a little more industry surrounding it than we prefer, but we have all the comforts of home.

We took a gusty, windy, ride to the Dinosaur National Monument starting at the Canyon Visitor Center and ending at Harper's Corner.  Lauren stopped for a break from the wind at a boondocking campsite on the way out of the park.  Then the wind calmed.  It was a lot more pleasant ride out of the park when the wind calmed down. WHEW!

                           

On the way back, we saw several pronghorns, several deer, then a herd of pronghorns with a big ole buck herding his harem to safety.   Beautiful.

When we made it back to camp, Ferny had to come out.  She spotted a rabbit in the driveway.  It kept her interest for a while.  This campground is almost Ferny approved.

We ate chili cheese burgers tonight while watching the sunset.  It was a really pretty sunset, the only problem is all the industrial buildings that are between us and the sunset.  Oh well, it's only a couple of nights, and we can't expect a perfect view every time.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/jx4WNERcH4oDDQR78

9-10-16 - Heat Escape - Day 30

                                                                 Fruita,Co.

We lazed around on this beautiful morning then left the asphalt queen at home and rode in the truck to Rabbit Valley and hiked the 1.6 mile Trail Through Time.  It is a unique place where they found dinosaur skeletons.   According to the signs, some of the bones are still there.  Most of the time, the bones looked like rocks to us.  Guess we aren't Paleontologist.

                                                                 Colorful

We stopped at Graffs Dairy on the way back home.  I had a banana split and Lauren had a wild berry milkshake.  They were both very pretty and very good.

                                                                    tasty

This morning, Lauren announced he wanting to do something we had never done.  To my shock, he wanted to go wine testing. Chuck took us to a couple of the vineyards this afternoon.  The first place we stopped was Whitewater Hill.  The wine server knew her wines and was very informative.  It was a little bit awkward at first, but it didn't take us long to get into the wine tasting. When we left, the server told Lauren that he was no longer a virgin to wine testing.

We visited Ptarmigan Vineyards for wine tasting then went to the actual vineyards.  They had just finished cleaning up after picking the grapes.  The cooler was filled with bins of grapes.  The grapes were smaller in size than what we expected and were very sticky feeling.  We tasted the actual grapes and there were very sweet and good.

                           

It was another fun filled day, doing things we have never done (looked at dinosaur bones, wine tasting, and visiting a vineyard). We finished up the evening with a good ole shrimp boil, after watching another beautiful Colorado sunset.

Tomorrow is moving day.


Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/JxsxfZxQ2YcaBnMdA

9-9-16 - Heat Escape - Day 29

It was a beautiful day to ride the 23 mile Rim Road Drive through the Colorado National Monument.We looked for big horn sheep but didn't find any.  The temperature ranged from 72 degrees to 86 degrees.  A very pretty ride with gorgeous overlooks.

 

                                                       Kim sliding down a little hill

We came back, did some shopping, and fried white perch for dinner.  You just can't beat the Rez White Perch.

Oh, and Sophie, (Pam's and Chuck"s Schnauzer,) finally almost likes us.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/mvJLYJ387xSvrhNYA

9-8-16 - Heat Escape - Day 28

A gentle breeze blowing through the open window and hearing the sound of crickets makes for a great night's sleep.

We took the Palisade Fruit and Wine Byway route to the Grand Mesa.  A beautiful, peaceful ride through vineyards and orchards.

We started the day at 72 degrees, at the summit  it was 59 degrees, then we made the loop through Delta along Hwy 50 to Grand Junction.  It was 88 degrees.  I'm sure this would have been hot for the locals, but these rednecks were happy in this low humidity.

We went to Grand Junction to the Farmer's Market,  We got there a little bit early, (like an hour), stopped for a couple of beers at the Rockhouse Micorbrewery while waiting for Main Street to set up shop.  We had a great slice of pizza and got some tomatoes.  It was a really great time with plenty of vendors and great music.

When we made it home, Fernykat was waiting on us.  She was ready to go out.  As I tidied up in the camper, she demanded that Lauren take her out.  Lauren looked like he was the one on the leash, as she showed him where she wanted to go.

It is another beautiful night,watching the beautiful sunset, and the twinkling lights at our moochdocking site.


Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/NVJfVMubpTc8eaWR7

9-7-16 - Heat Escape - Day 27

                                                                  Our View

We are moochdocking at Pam and Chuck's in Grand Junction.  They have a really nice place overlooking the Book Cliffs.  Gorgeous!  Unfortunately, Pam is not here.

We took a ride to check out our surroundings.  We went to Grand Junction Harley Davidson, the visitors center,  Cabelas, (our 1st time ever at Cabelas,) and a stop at McDonald's for a chocolate dip ice cream cone and a strawberry milkshake.

The temperature got up to 88 degrees today.  Perfect motorcycle weather.

We came back to the camper and Fernykat was ready to go out.  She absolutely loves it here.  This is her's and our kind of place.

                                                                   Ferny approved

Chuck cooked us delicious burgers and sweet potato fries.  We had an absolutely gorgeous view of  the sunset on the Grand Mesa, AKA "Purple Mountain Majesty."   We have a beautiful star filled sky with the glimmer of lights of downtown Grand Junction.

                                                Grand Mesa (purple color during sunset)

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/GQuYRVSFKStK4yrA8 

9-6-16 - Heat Escape - Day 26

We left the beautiful, we absolutely love, Blue Mesa today.  It is bittersweet, but it is time to move on.

We are camped at Centennial RV Park in Montrose.  A really nice park with great views of the San Juan Mountains.

We have moved toward warmer weather, and believe it or not, the cooler temperatures in Gunnison were a little bit chilly at times.  It was 81 degrees here today.  It was nice weather for  riding, except windy at times.

We rode to Ouray and Silverton. The Million Dollar Highway must be the curviest, big ole drop offs, most beautiful road in the world.  The temperature dropped into the 50's going across Red Mountain Pass.

We will move to Pam and Chuck's tomorrow in Grand Junction.

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/DKUVmpjQUfN7wQBd7

9-5-16 - Heat Escape - Day 25

                                                 Panorama of the campground/cabins
                                     
Happy Labor Day!

It was a beautiful, nippy, 37 degrees with a few patches of light frost this morning.  What a way to start the day.

We washed clothes today, had our picnic lunch at the camper, and took a ride toward Gunnison.  We explored several roads that we have never been on. Most of which we don't want to ride again. but, it was a gorgeous day for a ride. It was in the mid 70's with blue bird skies and it is an absolutely gorgeous lake

We came back grilled corn on the cob (that our camper neighbors gave us), they freshly picked this corn fresh off the stalk yesterday,

We  had hot potato salad, and ribs to go with the corn. Delish!

Today was the most beautiful day at the Blue Mesa that we have seen this trip.

We have the Harley loaded up.  Time to travel tomorrow.

                                                                    Moon usie!!!!!

Pictures: https://goo.gl/photos/bXkGK2CrGm2egHo68