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!?!?

Most of our posts till now have focused on the adventure portion of our trip; not many delve into our experiences meeting Palisade’s finest.

On one of our first trips to the Distillery (The Still) we met Jesse who immediately welcomed us with open arms as did his fantastic wife Dessa and the rest of the Colorado Alternative Healthcare crew.

Last week Jesse invited us to go camping with him and some of his friends & family at Ridgway National Park which happens to be in the San Juan Mountain Range – our favorite!

When we rolled up, Jesse and Dessa were already at the campsite and helped us get our gear in order.  Not a bad place to spend the weekend!

Jesse described this trip as some family and friends getting together for his brother Sam’s birthday.  Well, as everybody filtered in (Jesse’s family is dispersed around CO) we realized we were invited to a tight knit family gathering and again we were welcomed with open arms.

We all enjoyed grilling and sitting by the fire that evening, but called it relatively early so we could enjoy the lake the next day.

Just hanging out on the lake would have made for a nice day, but there was lake surfing too!

We both got up which was an accomplishment; Amy turned out to be a natural getting up and staying up on her first try!

Nothing like catching your breath while enjoying these views.

After a few hours we turned in and prepared for the feast to come – steaks, burgers, roasted veggies, salads.  When it was all over everybody’s belly was full and plopping down by the fire with the moon as bright as the sun was a perfect way to close out an amazing day.

We woke up on Sunday and enjoyed some coffee with everyone.  It can’t be stressed enough how amazing all the folks were that we spent the weekend with – we’re truly grateful.

Orvis Hot Springs

Another check off the list was to hit a hot spring which is always inconvenient since we are usually traveling with Chica.  As everybody started clearing out to go home, we took the opportunity to hit up Orvis since it was only about 10 minutes away from the campground.

We’ve heard a lot about this place being one of the nicer springs to visit along with it being clothing optional, hence no pictures.

The resort is small and beautiful once you get past the fact that folks of all shapes and sizes are running around ass naked.  There are a number of stone, natural feeling pools with varying degrees of temperature and the ambiance itself is resortish and relaxing.

Definitely recommend a visit if you’re on the Western Slope.

Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery

Finally before the two hour drive home, we decided to head back into the town of Ridgway (which we first encountered on our way to Telluride) and hit the brewery for lunch.  Place has good brew, salad and pizza – highly recommended.

Well we’re past the midpoint of our time in Palisade (not happy about that) and while we’ve certainly been making the most of it there are some things we absolutely need to get done; climbing Mt. Garfield was absolutely one of them.

This is one of the shorter hikes we’ve taken on recently at 2 miles, piece of cake right?

No!

This is a 2000 ft ascent and at first glance this looks impossible – how are you supposed to get up there?

Then you have signs like this at the trailhead – not very motivating

Since this trail is only a few minutes from home we decided to knock it out on a week day.  It’s still super hot in Palisade and the ideal time was early morning to beat the heat.  Wake up call 6am.

And we’re off…

About half way up the trail and we know it’s going to be a hot one

No hero’s here, we all needed a break!

We don’t have all day guys.  Need to get moving and be happy about it; how could you not be with that view!?!

And…we’re making our way back up

We finally got through the hard part and hit a plateau.  We were super tired, not going to lie, but being up there was awesome; a hidden valley of HUGE boulders and insane looking formations.

We finally hit the top and took some time to enjoy the stunning views of Palisade (right below) and the Colorado National Monument in the distance (west).

We relaxed for awhile and had our morning call for work while enjoying the view.  This right here is what a mobile work environment is all about!

That said, Chica reminded us that we won’t be productive pounding calls on top of the mountain and it was time to head back.  Ok Bear Cub, lead the way.

Coming up the mountain, we were literally crawling at the steepest points and coming back down was very much top of mind.

Well it’s the moment of truth.  Amy is scoping out the journey down.

Once we reached the bottom and turned around to see the mountain we conquered fulfilled is the word that comes to mind.  It was a challenge, physical and mental, but we got it done.

Now we have a full day of work ahead of us – gonna need some coffee to push through!

We were planning to be away until Sunday afternoon, so getting back from Ice Lake on Saturday night opened up another full day to enjoy the outdoors.

For a couple of weeks now, we’ve been talking about how ridiculous it is that with all the lakes we’ve visited, we have not actually gotten ON the water!  Well we’ve rectified the situation.

Grand Mesa is thought to be the largest Mesa in the world; it has over 300 lakes and tons of trails on top – now you know.

The best thing about it is that it’s one hour from home and it seems like a different world.  Instead of the desert experience in Palisade, you get the mountain feel with glacial lakes.

We decided to hit Island Lake

The Grand Mesa Lodge is sweet. It’s located at the highest point of the Mesa and situated right over Island Lake.  It also happens to rent boats.

No much to say.  Wine, food, lake, boat – great freaking day.

We’re back in the San Juan mountain range; we just couldn’t help ourselves.  After checking out multiple hiking options this weekend we were drawn to the beauty of Ice Lake.

We heard this hike was popular, and when we arrived, to the forest road leading to the trailhead it was confirmed.  Compared to the last few trails we hit, this off-roading was cake; the campsites were plentiful and full.  While we like our seclusion it was a cool experience to camp around people as well.  Plus the site was gorgeous.

It’s hard to imagine what a hike will be like  even with all the information available online.

We knew the Ice Lake Trail would be tough, but you don’t know till you know.  The trail turns out to be an almost continuous incline for the entire 2,250 foot 3.5 mile ascent.

Well, we didn’t get dressed up for nothin’ (Braveheart quote)

Yes you need to cross this waterfall by either balance beaming on some suspect logs or choose to rock hop across hoping you don’t get a shoe full of water.

Not close

We definitely had to have walked 3.5 miles by now – NOPE – still not close

Ahh finally a little relief – a relatively flat section of the trail

Now start climbing again; you’re only halfway there

Making progress

Made it – BOOM.  Wow! this was freaking tough.  The ascent was seemed to be an almost constant 70 degrees with some areas that you are literally climbing it’s so steep.

At this point you might be thinking that it wasn’t worth it with all that whining , but no, it was definitely worth it.

Of course, as our luck has it, crazy storm clouds start rolling over the peak almost immediately after we arrived.

Well, after that hike we were sticking it out, and we were going to enjoy the lake damn it!

So we hunker down and get warm

We even rode out a freaking hail storm.  Who cares.  It cleared up and we took a walk.

Found the lakes water source – pretty awesome.

Enjoying the break in the clouds.

We came, we saw, but not conquered yet – we have another 3.5 miles and 2,550 feet down to go.

We made it down by 3:30 right before the next storm hit.  We found a sweet secluded campsite that would have been awesome, but decided to drive the 3 hours back to Palisade.  No point in camping if you’re just stuck in the tent all night.

Challenging and tiring are two words that describe the actual hike, but nothing that’s REALLY worth it comes easy.  This hike was one of those REALLY worth it experiences.

Homemade cake – check

Finally Jeska and Jordan arrived and we got the celebrations started!

The next day was Jeska’s actual birthday.  We drove up the Palisade Fruit and Wine Byway. and stopped at Colterris Winery for a tasting.

The Coral White Cabernet Sauvignon was really tasty!

For lunch we went to the Peach Street Taco Truck which just happens to be located directly next to the Distillery.  Naturally, we had to have a quick tasting while waiting for our order.

WTF!

Welcome to Fruita! Fruita is Jordan’s favorite place on earth. It’s known for Mountain Biking and Dinosaurs.

We rented some Yeti Mountain bikes from Colorado Backcountry Biker in downtown Fruita. The people there are awesome and they let you rent bikes for 24 hours.

We drove out to 18 road Trailhead. Jordan gave us a quick lesson on Mountain Biking and we were off! We went on diesel incline ride to get to the Mountain Biking trail, Kessel Run – highly recommend for first time Mountain bikers.

We all took a couple spills off the bikes but it’s not Mountain biking if you don’t walk away with a couple bumps and bruises!

We headed back to Fruita to grab a couple of beers from the Copper Club Brewing Company, which is Jordan’s favorite bar (mainly because all the beer taps are old bicycle parts) and he loves bicycles. The beer is really good too!

Food was also needed so we picked up dinner from No Coast Sushi(delicious)

The next morning Jordan woke us up at 6:30am so we could get one last bike ride in. We drove out to Kokopelli Trail which is a 142-mile multi-use trail in Colorado and Utah. It was early but the views were unbeatable and we had a blast!

We had one last surprise visitor! Our friend Wally and his puppy Lilac were driving across CO and stayed for the night. Chica was happy to have a friend to play with!