We Have Tasty Water

We are very lucky here in Grand Junction. Not only is our water good
to drink, it is very good to drink. You would think that with the
Colorado and Gunnison Rivers flowing nearby, we would get our
water from there. We do, but those sources are strictly for irrigation.
Our drinking water comes from pristine streams and reservoirs on
Grand Mesa, just east of town. Grand Mesa gets tons of snow during
the winter and much of that trickles down via Kannah Creek and the
Purdy Reservoir flowline, straight to our taps. This summer, there is
still snow up on the Mesa. That means that there will be no shortage
of our favorite tasty beverage this year.

Sunday Drive on a Thursday

In my grandparent's day and even in my parent's day, people
would take Sunday Drives. However, I take into account three
things in this day and age:

1. Life is too short to wait for Sunday
2. Our car gets good mileage and GJ gas is "fairly" reasonable
3. Trips don't have to be long...in fact, they can be in the vicinity

A small trip we take occasionally is on B /4 Road to 26 3/8 Road,
which turns into 26 7/8 Road. Yes, the naming of roads in the
Grand Valley is semi-mundane, but it does make it fairly easy to
get around. Anyway, along this road is the myriad of cemeteries
(Catholic, Oddfellow, Masons, etc.). Lynn likes to take drives through
cemeteries and look at the dates and imagine what kind of lives
the people resting here had. Just down the hill is the Department
of Energy offices. All gated and "secretive". At this point, you turn
onto 26 3/8 Road. Paved at this point, there are large bluffs on
your left and the Gunnison River on the right. There is a Potter's
Field on the left. This is a cemetery for indigent people who
apparently couldn't afford a "proper" burial. The last person
was buried here in 1936, so I wonder where indigent people are
buried now? Just a few yards away is the City Police Department
Firing Range. Maybe that's why people aren't buried in Potter's
Field anymore since they wouldn't get any rest. As 26 3/8 Road
veers and becomes 26 7/8 road again, we've seen a small
waterfall flowing from the top of the bluff on the left. Not so
today though as it's hot and dry. Before the last stretch of road
leading to the Redlands Dam, you cross the Union Pacific train
tracks. We've seen these before farther down the Gunnison in
Dominguez Canyon, but I can't help but wonder each time I
cross these tracks, where they end up headed south. At the
end is the BLM boat ramp into the river. There are sometimes
cars sitting along the road, some with people in them and
sometimes not. Today we saw someone sleeping in their car.
Adds mystery to the area I suppose. This isn't the best Sunday
drive in the world, but it's away from the traffic and one pretty
much has the whole road to one's self.

Driving to Delta

Because we get pretty good gas mileage, it's fairly cheap
entertainment for us to go for a ride occasionally for a
change of scenery. Just a short drive south from Grand
Junction is the small town of Delta. There's certainly not
much to see between Grand Junction and Delta as it is
mostly desert and not until just before you get to Delta
do you see the mountains that are just east of town. It's
a mostly agricultural area, with the farmland being watered
by the Gunnison River.


Once you get to town, it's pretty typical of most small towns
in Colorado, with a central Main Street and surrounding
neighborhoods. You can see that modernization is coming
to Delta though, either good or bad. Chain stores and fast
food restaurants line the roads leading into town. It's not
a bad little town though. The people seem friendly enough.
However, there's not a lot to do there. However, they do
have the Western Slope's only Drive In Movie theatre. We
plan to check that out when it opens later in the summer.

Grand Mesa National Forest

We see Grand Mesa every day from Grand Junction but
until now had never taken a drive through this beautiful
part of Colorado.


Water seemed to be one of the themes of the day as we
saw streams and lakes everywhere.


Wildlife was abundant and had very little fear of humans.


Lots of people were out on the many lakes, enjoying
some early autumn fishing.


There were lots of trails that we want to check out and
hike next summer.


Deep thoughts...with Tom Hamann...LOL


There were hillsides at every turn that were on fire with
color.


The views were awesome!


At Land's End one can see all the way to Utah from almost
11,000 feet altitude. That's Grand Junction in the center
of the photo.


These little guys have obviously played the "pose for the
tourist" game before.


Each direction had fantastic views. This is overlooking
the Gunnison River valley and Uncompahgre Plateau to
the southwest.


Somewhere in the middle of this photo is our house!


Even more birds were practically begging to have their
photo taken.


Gold and Green apparently aren't the only fall colors in
Colorado.


Some of the Aspen were holding onto summer and were
stubbornly staying green.


Although it was a bit hazy and warm in the valley (84 degrees),
the air was clear and a crisp 51 degrees on top of the Mesa.
That's what 6000 feet of altitude will do for you!


One of the few buildings at Land's End is the Observatory,
built by the CCC during the Depression by World War I Vets.

Dominguez Canyon

One of my favorite reasons for living in Western Colorado
is that you can take a short drive away from home and
be in the middle of a desert wilderness. We took a short
half hour drive today south of Grand Junction and found
ourselves in Dominguez Canyon. In 1776, Spanish Franciscan
missionary Silvestre Velez de Escalante traveled through
this area in search of an easy route between Santa Fe
and California. Much earlier, dinosaurs roamed the area
and several large remains have been found. The Gunnison
River (pictured) also flows through the area and provides
a steady flow of water through an otherwise very dry area.


On our way back to the highway, we encountered this very
long and powerful Union Pacific coal train. The conductor
matched our honk with his own horn and a friendly wave.
It's next stop...not sure, but it was definitely traveling
through Grand Junction...only about 20 miles north.