All posts by Mark

Gearing-up for Camping

So last minute booking options are not something we can rely on.  Learning experience.  Sometimes good things come out of annoying situations.

Our search for hotels while preparing for our last hike was fruitless, but we noticed all these camping grounds coming up near the trail heads.  We should have thought about buying camping gear and chilling near these trail heads for the night, but hindsight is 20/20.

Well, this would be the last weekend we are limited in our options due to lack of preparation.  We went shopping at Sportsman’s Warehouse.

Tent Gear-Boxed

We purchased:

-4 person Kelty Grand Mesa Tent (I would say it’s more suitable for three adults and/or two adults and a pup.

Tent Set-up

Rainier Portable Grill – This thing is dope – click on the link for details

-Two Teton Sports sleeping bags.  There are various options that allow for different survival in temperatures.  We also got the pillows (a slice of luxury while roughin’ it).

Coleman Classic Lantern with rechargeable battery

-Rustic Ridge coffee set

-Table to set up shop

We can’t wait to camp next week!

White River National Forest – Snowmass, CO

Deciding what to do on the weekends is fun in itself.  There is no limit to the diversity of outdoor beauty in these parts (these parts?). Also, covering hundreds of miles in a day is easy with 75 mph limits and incredible scenery.  So, what do we do first? (well, obviously from the title we’re hiking in the White River National Forest which was amazing)

So here it is:

Williams Lake - View

This weekend we wanted to take Chica out and hit the mountains (east) instead of the desert (west).  Our finalists were:

-Williams Lake Trail off of Hell Roaring Trail Head in White River National Forest- 2.5 hours drive east.

-American Basin Trail approaches Handies Peak in San Juan National Forest – about 3.5 hours drive south.

We found these two places, along with many other options, on trails.com and Bring Fido.  They both gave great map options of pet friendly hikes.

With the locations being 2.5 hours and about 3.5 hours away respectably, the plan was to look into pet friendly hotel options near those areas- none were available, expletive.

We went with Williams Lake Trail since it was a bit closer and figured we could knock it out in a single day.

 Williams Lake Sign - Amy

Williams Lake - Mark Forest Sign

We did.  Five hours of total driving and a 5 mile round trip hike in which we would gain close to 1000′ in net elevation.

Williams Lake - Spruce Trees

Williams Lake - Chica

As you can see from the pictures it was all worth it.

Williams Lake - Mountain Selfie

Even Chica was pooped at the end.

Williams Lake - Chica Dirty

Palisade Pastimes

This week was another eventful and memorable week in Palisade.

The Farmers Market on Sunday’s in the heart of town is the place to be.  There were multiple food trucks selling pretty money looking cuisine.  The fruit and vegetable vendors were plentiful providing an assortment juicy plums, peaches, cherries and vegetables.

One of our favorite stops was Pear Blossom Farms which, among other items, sold its signature “Dad’s Hot Jalapeno Sauces” and we purchased every flavor!

Hot Sauce

We also hit up the Jerky stand Dunn-Rite Gourmet Beef Jerky – I just wish I bought a bigger bag.

FYI: Both places ship anywhere in the US…just sayin’

Taco Tuesday!!!

Taco Tuesday

As if the Brewery wasn’t awesome enough, they have $1.50 Taco’s  on Tuesday nights (each week a different protein) along with live music.  Locals and tourists showed up; it was a nice time.

Meadery of the Rockies

We pass by this cool little place every time we drive to town and we’d had enough – we needed to try it.  So Mead – as this place does it – is basically wine made of orange blossom honey.  They give you five free tastings per person so we were able to sample quite a few.

Meadery

Most of the flavors claimed on the menu below are on the money; we decided to go with the peach flavor with our customary after tasting purchase.

Meadery Menu

Palisade Rim Trail – sort of…

So we’ve heard about the awesome, pet friendly trail right here in Palisade and after work on Friday we finally got our shit together and went to explore.

Rim Trail - Amy & Chica  Rim Trail - Mark

The thing about trail heads is that they’re not always easy to find – until you actually find them, then it’s like how the hell did we miss it.  Anyway, instead  of actually hiking the Rim Trail, we ended up on another awesome hike in the same area, and we will be back.  Check out the scenery!

Rim Trail - Mark & ChicaRim Trail - Amy

 

Colorado National Monument

We celebrated July 4th hiking this amazing state park which is only half hour’s drive west of Palisade.  You can pay a $10 entry fee, but considering we are planning to visit many more national parks on our adventure we purchased an Annual Park Pass  for$80.  This is a money move (literally) if you’re planning to hit multiple parks in a 12 month period.  With the pass you can get access to any National Park or National Wild Life Refuge and bring a loaded car of friends or family with you.

Unfortunately Chica had to stay home, dogs are not allowed on hiking trails and in the Backwoods in National Parks.  We all make sacrifices Chica!

We got a map from the park ranger at the gate.  I already looked up moderate hikes and pegged the Devils Kitchen Trail for our first.  This trail leads to an awesome rock formation that creates a sheltered “room”.  We have some pictures below of the hike; the bottom picture is the rock formation we went into.  The whole hike round trip was about 1.5 miles.  Not bad, but there was a bit of climbing and it was 90+ degrees…

 

Amy - CO NTL Monument Mark -  CO NTL Monument

 

Devils Kitchen

On the way to Devils Kitchen we saw another sign for a pool and waterfall.  After the Devils Kitchen hike we went back to the car and munched out on some leftover pasta and meat sauce to get some energy and trekked back out to find this improbable waterfall.  I mean this went against everything your mind allows you to believe given the landscape.

Well, we took a wrong turn at the fork in the road (the was no sign!) and decided to try to find it once we got back to the fork.  We got to the pool that was supposed to mark the halfway point to the waterfall; rather than a beautiful blue, cool pool to jump into, we came across an insect filled  mud-puddle – DAMN IT!

Do we continue another mile to find this waterfall?  Well we made it this far.  We trudge up the steep hill, look into the distance and figured the waterfall would be a disappointment and headed back.  It was hot and we were tired.

Lesson Learned: If we want waterfalls head into the mountains.

Grand Mesa National Forest

While Palisade is awesome, it is HOT during the summer months – average of mid nineties during the day!  Fortunately you can drive 45 minutes east and be on what seems to be a different planet.  Rather than desert canyons you have elevated mountains that are 25 degrees cooler with lush tress and glacial lakes.

In case you missed the making it happen page, we chose Palisade because its proximity such diverse landscapes:

-Travel 45 minutes + east, you’re in forested mountains with tons of lakes and hot springs.

-Drive west and you’re in the desert enjoying spectacular views such as the Colorado National Monument, Arches National Park and a ridiculous awesome list of so much more.  Just keep following and you’ll see.

Today we chose to hike Mesa Grande area to beat the heat AND because Chica is allowed to hike with us.  Check out some of the pictures below!

Amy Grand Mesa View

View on the way up to Mesa Lake

Mesa Lake

Mesa Lake

Mark Lost LakeGrand Mesa Lost Lake

A solid 1.5 miles up the mountain from Mesa Lake we found Lost Lake!

There are many hiking options in the area.  We kept it tame, and are planning on getting into hiking shape so we can crush some more diesel hikes.

Palisade Pastimes

Our first few days in Palisade have been awesome!  This place is everything we imagined and hoped it would be with a few perks we didn’t anticipate.  There are close to a dozen wineries in this town of 3,500, fantastic boozing establishments and a ton of fruit farms sporting cherry’s, peaches, apricots and so much more.  Check out a few that we’ve managed to hit up already.  More to come!

The brewery: To our delight, not only did they have great beer, but they smoke their own meat!

Brewery Meats

Beer

Palisade Brewery

 

DeBeque Winery: After a beautiful hike we headed out to sample one of the local wineries.  Amy and I each received 4 complimentary tastings.  The wine is generally bold and dry.  We enjoyed the Malbec and Port and ended up buying a couple of bottles.  The Pinot Noir was also pretty awesome.

Wine

 

The Peach Street Distillery:  It just happened to be next door to the winery.  We had a great experience at the tasting bar and enjoyed the generous pours on the drinks.

Distillery

We’re in Palisade!

So we had an idea of what our house and view would look like from the pictures on the rental site, but there’s NOTHING like seeing it in person.  The excitement of arriving after five days traveling and this whole idea coming to fruition – well, I just have no words.  We’re thrilled!

Check out the pad.

Front of House

And the view from the front porch at sunset. Are you serious!

Porch View

That’s a peach orchard across the road (for lack of a better term).