Palisade Pastimes – Final Weekend in CO

September 21, 2015 Mark Leave a comment

So, this is our last weekend in Colorado, and while we are super bummed out, it couldn’t have been a better weekend to go out on.

We kicked it into gear on Friday afternoon with Desa inviting us for a guided tour up Stage Coach Trail. This is the last local trail that we had yet to conquer and I’m glad we went with someone who knew what they were doing; there were a ton of wash-outs that made navigating the trail difficult.

On our way up – the beginning was definitely the most strenuous.

It does level out pretty quickly after the hard part and opens up to awesome 360 degree views.

Amazing perspective of Palisade giving the opposite view of the Rim Trail which we’ve done a few times.

The flag pole at the top is the typical objective when climbing up, but you can really just walk around the top of the mountain – there is no real end to the trail.

Enjoying the view

For those that have visited, it’s known that sunset – at least in our opinion – is the most beautiful time of day with the desert mountains glistening burnt orange.

Well the way down was all sunset baby and it was amazing.

Chica and “the weens” had a blast!

All in all the hike was about 5 miles elevating over 1,300 ft – amazing!

With Colorado Winefest taking over town (explain in a minute) and this being our last weekend in Palisade you know we’re keeping the night going.

We dropped Chica off at the house and headed right back out to the Brewery to hang out and watch Stray Grass jam out. This band rocked it and we had a blast, so much so that we took a bunch of crappy videos and not many pictures; however we salvaged a good one of Amy and Jenny.

Once the band wrapped it up, we called it a night and went back for some stargazing before recharging for Winefest.

So, yes, back to Winefest; officially Colorado Mountain Winefest. This is a gathering of Colorado’s finest wineries and of course it’s located in Palisade – this place is freaking awesome!

And wait, to add to the awesomeness, Stray Grass (the band we enjoyed so much at the Brewery) was the main performance at the festival.

After countless tastings – which are included and unlimited with a ticket purchase – we bought a nice bottle of wine and enjoyed the music.

Did I mention there wasn’t a cloud in the sky – perfect day!

During our hike Desa was very surprised we hadn’t tried Sprigs and Sprouts and the following day we randomly stumbled upon their booth (out of hundreds), had a taste of yummy oils and decided that on Sunday we would go to the shop for a more personalized tasting and buying experience.

Sprigs and Sprouts – done.

Just like a wine tasting, there is a menu and an olive oil/balsamic connoisseur to guide you through your tasting. We wanted EVERYTHING!

After coming back from Junction Mark plopped on the couch and watched football while Amy went to purchase and enjoy one of our favorite local wineries: Colterris

After a miserable Eagles game we decided to walk it off and took an extended neighborhood walk.

How are we leaving this place!?!?

CO, UT

Camping, Hiking, Canoeing w/ Josh, Gabe & Alex

September 16, 2015 Mark Leave a comment

As we wind down our stay in Colorado the goal is to go out with a bang and we certainly did this past week.

Homeboy Josh came through on Tuesday night staying to Saturday and Gabe & Alex came through Thursday night sticking around until Monday. Naturally we got as much in as possible. Only ill shit (inside joke).

Here’s the kicker, Amy had no idea Gabe and Alex were coming so there was elaborate scheming taking place in preparation.

Once the word was out Amy and Alex spent Thursday and Friday in Palisade.

The men rode out to Utah to camp in the Goblin Valley area Thursday night. We drove out to Behind the Reef Road (off Temple Mountain Rd. past Goblin Valley Rd.) where there were multiple dispersed camping spots in the middle of nowhere; we were completely secluded!

On Friday the men rolled out to see Goblin Valley and then hit Arches National Park for a few hours on the way back to Palisade.

Ohhh but they day wasn’t over yet. The crew (Amy, Alex, Mark, Josh, Gabe) rallied back in Palisade and geared up for a night on the town with “the trifecta” being the ultimate goal. The trifecta is when you start a night out at the Brewery, move on to the Peach Street Distillers (the Still) and end at the Livery where the locals are surprisingly good at Karaoke.

No pictures from that night, but we want everyone to know that Josh got up there and did his thing on the mic.

Awesome night!

Saturday morning came quickly and we all loaded up to ride Josh out to the airport. After dropping him off the remaining crew headed into Junction and ate a solid brunch at Bin 707.

With bellies full we cruised back to Palisade to get ready for an afternoon in Grand Mesa canoeing around Island Lake.

A nice relaxing day is what we all needed before Sundays hike.

Yes, this is all in less than a week’s time! AND there is NO way Gabe and Alex come to Colorado and not see peaks!

We decided to hike to Geneva Lake.

This is a 4.2 mile round trip hike that elevates 1,300 ft taking us to about 11,000 ft. The trail was relatively secluded because of the super-intense 7 mile off-road trail that leads to the trailhead. Now that we’re all done with that ride, it’s safe to say I nearly shat my pants.

Well the ride was worth it – have a look:

The way down:

Someone’s having fun:

But wait! We’re not done with the awesomeness. Riding to the trailhead we passed through this tiny, in-the-middle-of-nowhere town called Marble where we saw a LEGIT BBQ spot. Dinner debate was instantly over; after hiking we would dine at Slow Groovin BBQ.

What a treat!

We finished the trip with a night of booze and cards and I’m not sure it could have gone any better.

Thanks for coming out gang!

LABOR DAY UTAH TRIP (3 OF 3)

September 15, 2015 Mark Leave a comment

On our last day of an action packed weekend we left Bryce and the Hoodoo’s and drove up to Goblin Valley via Rt. 12 a gorgeous scenic byway that cuts up north and intersects with Rt. 24 taking us through Capitol Reef National Park.

Wish we had more time to actually explore this place…guess we’ll just have to go back.

Final Stop: Goblin Valley State Park

We didn’t have a lot of time in Goblin, but in reality you don’t need it. This DOES NOT mean that Goblin isn’t a worthy destination – it’s a must see!

And when you go to Goblin, don’t just take a picture from the viewpoint. Get in there!

LABOR DAY UTAH TRIP (2 OF 3)

September 15, 2015 Mark Leave a comment

Waking up a second morning at our beautiful campsite in Zion was heaven; we didn’t want to leave, but we knew there was more to see.

Second Stop: Bryce Canyon National Park

Driving from Zion to Bryce was a constant thrill, tons of beautiful and really diverse scenery.

The plan was to just drive through, check out the canyon and head on to Goblin Valley from there. Once we arrived at Bryce it was already noon and there were surprisingly vacancy signs for the park campgrounds. Not wanting to rush our exploration of the park we decided to spend the night and take on our second big hike in two days.

Fairyland Canyon Trail is listed as an 8 mile hike. Instead of starting at the trailhead, the shuttle driver drove us up the paved road cutting 1.5 miles off which we were grateful for after having hiked a total of 11 miles at Zion.

Getting to the trailhead this is what we saw

This definitely does not suck. All those formations by the way are called Hoodoos.

The trail takes you down into the canyon for a nice tour.

It was a tough hike because of the length and the fact that you need to climb about 2 miles back out of the canyon at a steep grade, but as you can see…totally worth it.

After the hike we were shot. For a minute we contemplated doing another small hike after, but na. We went back to camp and set up shop.

Typical organized campground with no privacy, but we were happy that we decided to post up in Bryce for the night; that hike was worth altering our plans.

After setting up shop we relaxed a bit, got some roadies together and walked out to Sunset Point which was only a 5 minute trek from the campground.

Yup, that was worth it.

Once the sun dropped low enough where the canyon was shaded we walked back to camp, got a fire going and grubbed up before laying down for an early night.

Labor Day Utah Trip (1 of 3)

September 15, 2015 Mark Leave a comment

Three National Parks (Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef)
Goblin Valley State Park
900 total driving miles
19 hiking miles

Part of the reason we decided to park it in Palisade (and the Western Slope in general) was its proximity to Utah.

Utah? Yes, Utah! Ever since we had a quick visit to Zion National Park a few years ago we vowed to get back there.

So, with a three day weekend and temperatures finally dropping below 100 we were off.

Fist Stop: Zion National Park

After reading ahead of time that the campgrounds in the park fill up quick we decided to plan on camping in BLM (Bureau of Land Management). BLM is public land open to all and finding campsites is as easy as finding a back road with fire rings.

As you can see, we found a gem of a campsite! This place is located off of Smithsonian Butte National Backcountry Byway – GPS: 37.1514, -113.059 (since it’s not easy to find). If you camp on this road stay patient and keep driving uphill until you see switchbacks that will lead to multiple existing campsites.

Going to Zion the next day we debated on hiking Angels Landing or Observation Point. Guidance from the park ranger led us to choose the 8 mile, 2,100 ft climb up Observation Point.

Getting started we took a short detour to check out Weeping Rock:

Observation Point Hike:

Worth it!

Check out a portion of the trail – intense!

Hiking back down.

For our second night camping at Zion we went back to Smithsonian Butte Road and checked a few switchbacks to see if somehow a nicer campsite existed. Nope! We headed back to our first night campsite and it was taken. All good, we kept driving down the path and found an even nicer spot!