Isn't it Grand?

6:55 am - Saturday - May 23rd - Grand Junction, CO - 52° F, 23% humidity, wind 6 mph out of the east by northeast......partly cloudy skies today with a forecast high of 75° F.  The view this morning......↴

RV parking at the Elks in Grand Junction, Co

We only had 86 miles to cover Friday to the Elks Lodge in Grand Junction so we were in no great hurry to getting rolling.  Our Jello plan was to leave between 10 and 11 am, but we also had a lot to put away, plus dump our black tank, which was getting fullish after 8 days.  The Jello firmed up nicely and we were on our way northward by 10:30 am.  Glenn and Laureen will be leaving us for a few days to visit relatives in Colorado Springs, but will rejoin us further north next week.

In Montrose US 550 disappeared, and we were now on US 50 the rest of the way into Grand Junction......

......we began our drive at just under 7,000' elevation and Grand Junction sits at just under 5,000', so our drive was mostly flat, and downhill.....there were a few short climbs, but nothing to write home about.  It was nice just rolling along at 60 mph with the big Detroit Diesel 6v92 purring in the background.....sometimes I could hardly hear it.  It felt like we were floating along on a cloud.....

......Friday was also 'pay the rent' day.  We last fueled up May 3rd in Tolleson, AZ.  Since that day we have driven just 670 miles, and our 180 gallon diesel tank was just below 1/3 full.  Sure, we could probably go another 400 miles, but there is a Love's Truck Center in Grand Junction, and we will not be crossing another Interstate for several weeks, so we stopped there first after getting to Grand Junction to take on 127 gallons of diesel before continuing on another 6 miles to the local Elks Lodge #575.....

.....there is a single power pole in the middle of the parking lot which provides three 30 amp plugs, and one 50 amp plug which we claimed upon arrival.  The cost to stay here is $15/night with a 7 day maximum stay in any given 30 day period.  We only need the plug for 3 nights, so that works out well.  There is no water, or sewer, or dump station.

Once we were setup we drove over to the local Walmart Super Center to do some shopping....the only people wearing masks were the store employees.....we are finally in the right place geographically.

One of the reasons we chose this location is that it is in walking distance to several restaurants, all of which are offering sit down dining.....how novel, and fortuitous is that?  Within 1.5 blocks of the Elks Lodge there is a micro brewery, and a brew pub.  TLE chose the brew pub (The Feisty Pint.....4.5 stars on 48 reviews.....not a lot of reviews, but they were all very accurate).  We left to walk the one block to The Feisty Pint at 4 pm, and were quickly seated INSIDE!!!  They have alfresco dining, but we chose inside as it was a little breezy outside, and we really, really wanted to sit inside a restaurant for the first time since March 2nd.......

  Awaiting our menus, and brew list with a lot of anticipation

 Two Breckinridge Milk Stout Nitros with jalepeño, bacon wrapped poppers......you bet I am happy!

....for our entrees I ordered Tim's Roadkill, and TLE their Prime Dip (Prime Rib)......OMG!  Pub food and draft beer inside a restaurant....at the same time!

Prime Rib Dip

Tim's Roadkill....speaks for itself

......the service was excellent, and by the time we left the restaurant was beginning fill.  The available tables were all spread out to encourage social distancing, and the wait staff wore masks, but the customers were not required to wear masks at all.  No one who came into the restaurant to eat wore a mask.....finally getting back t some normalcy.  By the by.....Mesa County (where Grand Junction is located) has had 50 confirmed Wuhan Flu cases, and ZERO deaths.....they are doing the right thing opening up business again.  People here are happy, and back to living life, not cowering in their homes waiting for the world to end.

This Elks Lodge building is three stories tall, and was built in 1906.....it is one of the more grand, interesting lodges we have visited in our travels. When I went inside to pay for our three night stay no one was wearing masks.....again......in 2.5 months just 50 confirmed cases, and ZERO deaths.....situational awareness.....this is definitely not New York, or New Jersey, or Illinois, or Michigan.  TLE and I continue to be, not surprisingly, asymptomatic.  Rural America has never looked so good!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Black Canyon of the Gunnison

7:40 am - Thursday - May 21st - Ridgway State Park, CO - 37° F, 36% humidity, wind 1 mph out of the north.....clear, blue, cold skies today with a forecast high of 65° F.  On this day in 2012 we arrived at Craters of the Moon National Park.......↴

Years ago I was told by a friend that we needed to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  Black Canyon is about 25 minutes east of Montrose, CO, which is just north of our current location.  At the time we had no plans to be in Western Colorado, so we put it on the 'back burner', so to speak.  Well, now we are in Western Colorado, so why not? 

We were on our way with Glenn and Laureen in their Honda Element just before 10 am.  Montrose is actually quite a large town, which surprised me.....they have a Walmart, Home Depot, and pretty much every chain fast food, and restaurant you might imagine.  

We arrived at the entrance to the park (no fees being charged right now) before 10:30 am, and made our way to the first view point........

......this is a somewhat narrow, but deep canyon (ranges from 1,500-2,500' deep), and is beautiful......my pictures cannot do it justice, but here they are.......

 My favorite vista point located at the Visitor's Center

 The Gunnison River

 Dragon's Tail

 Tallest 'cliff' in Colorado at 2,300'

....there must be over a dozen vista points along the paved drive along the south rim ranging in walking distance from zero to 600 yards from the parking areas.  We spent around 3 hours taking in all the amazing views.  We would have loved to drive down to the river, but that road was still closed do to current pandemic restrictions.....

The view as we exited the park

.....we took time to eat our lunch near the 'High Point' overlook, before heading for home.  The visitor center is still closed, but 'masked' Rangers were on hand outside to answer questions.  I'd say about 50% of the people we encountered were wearing masks, but we continued to go without them.  'Black Canyon' is located in Montrose County where there have been 11 deaths, and 136 confirmed Wuhan Flu cases.  In Ouray County, where we are currently residing, there has been 1 death, and a grand total of 7 confirmed cases.....I love rural America!

After returning to Ridgway State Park I spent the rest of the day finishing the 2nd book in the Jack Carr Terminal List series (True Believer), and began the 3rd and final installment (Savage Son) early evening.

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11,200'

7:29 am - Wednesday - May 20th - Ridgway State Park, CO - 45° F, 38% humidity, wind 12 mph out of the south by southeast....the view this morning......↴

I've been thinking about Tuesday for over a week.  Tuesday we would head north out of Durango, CO on the Million Dollar Highway over Coal Bank Pass (10,680'), and then  over two more passes topping out on the final pass at 11,200' elevation.  Just to get over Coal Bank Pass involved a 27 mile long climb all by itself.  When your coach is powered by a 38 year old Detroit Diesel 6v92, and you know series 92 engines are susceptible to overheating if not managed correctly on long climbs you tend to worry....at least I do.  Additionally, you know that if you overheat this baby it will cost you north of $26,000 to fix it, so, yeah, you think about it for a week.  This highway is legendary, and many people will not attempt it in smaller rigs than we own.....we are 62' long with the trailer, and we weigh in the vicinity of 35,000 pounds.....that's a lot of steel to haul up to 11,000' elevation....not just once, but 3 times in the first 60 miles.

I wanted to be on the road before 9 am to take advantage of the cool temps, and as we exited Alpen Rose RV Park it was 8:57 am....perfect.  The first 20 miles whizzed by quickly, and the engine temps were hovering between 195 and 199° F.  We knew from our drive in the Beetle up to Coal Bank Pass the day before that the last 4 miles were going to be the steepest....probably somewhere between a 7 and 9% grade.  Only one time in the 8+ years we have been on the road have I been forced into 1st gear on a climb, and with 3 miles to the top I found myself, once again, in first gear grinding along at 14-16 mph........

......the previous time was in 2013 as we were climbing PH-13 in Alberta up to the Columbia Ice Fields on an 11% grade.  Around 9:40 am we crested Coal Bank Pass and began our first descent of the day.  As the saying goes "Descend in the same gear you climbed".....as we began the descent I was in 2nd gear, but quickly down shifted back into 1st as I saw how narrow and steep the road was.

After descending for about 4 miles we began to climb again, but the grade was closer to 6% this time and I was able to do it in 2nd gear. On this second climb we topped out at 10,920' before beginning the second descent into Silverton.....

 
....after making the second climb we began to feel pretty good about the performance of our 6v92....the max temp we hit was 199°.  Once the anxiety began to dissipate we began to enjoy the amazing views......

 Yup, that is really steep!

 Silverton, CO

 Another hairpin turn!

.....over the course of the morning I lost track of how many hairpin turns we had to negotiate at anywhere from 5-15 mph.  We spent about 60% of our entire drive in 1st gear going up and down, and that was new for us.....

....in places the road was literally carved out of the side of the mountain.....the drop offs were high consequence.  Finally we crested the final pass topping out at 11,200', and then it was a matter of negotiating upteen hairpin turns as we descended into Ouray, CO, and the end of the grinding climbs and descents.......

 Ouray, CO 

....from Ouray it was about 15 more miles to Ridgway State Park where we will spend the next three days......

Site 201 in F loop

......the check-in at the State Park was quick, and efficient.....we were in our site by 12:15 pm and beginning to relax.  I told TLE that the 86 mile drive Tuesday felt more like 186 miles. Glenn and Laureen, who left a couple of hours after we did arrived just before 3 pm making the drive without incident.

We'll spend a few days here exploring some of the local must see places including Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and Telluride.

Thanks for stopping by!

When you shop Amazon, please use our link (below) to access their website.......we will appreciate every purchase you make using our Amazon Affiliate link, and  remember, using our link will not add one penny to your purchase, plus we will receive a small commission which over the course of a year adds up to enough to by a tank of diesel for which we thank you very much!