Taking advantage of the late start to winter, Moshe and Adrienne decided to pay us a visit in the last week of October to see what all the fuss over Western Colorado is about.  The fuss is not only the beauty of Palisade, but the proximity to such diverse landscapes; the mission was to show the parents as much as possible.

Utah – Moab & Arches National Park

On our first full day we rode west to Utah for a day trip to Arches and, thanks to the advice my awesome barber Earl, we took the incredible Scenic Byway 128 route which hugs the Colorado River all the way to Moab.

The scenery was Amazing and we stopped multiple times to take it in, and of course, snap a whole lot of pictures.

We arrived in Moab in time for lunch and enjoyed a fantastic meal at Eklecticafe before heading into Arches for the main event of the day – although one could argue the drive was equally incredible.

Arches is great for a day trip since it’s a relatively small park and a lot of ground can be covered.

We hit a number of iconic looks outs

and Mom couldn’t take enough pictures! (who can blame her?)

Local Fun in Palisade

It’s easy to get caught up in day trips and forget that Palisade/Grand Junction has so much to offer.  With that in mind, we made sure to give the parents a taste of our heaven and our first order of business was a tasting at Sprigs & Sprouts.

This place is awesome!  There are so many spreads and jams along with the huge selection of flavored oils and vinegars.

From there we had a quick stop to line our bellies before proceeding to sample the wine at Colterris.

Of course we had a look around the vineyard’s beautiful property and enjoyed the views of Mount Garfield.

The day finished with a bomb dinner at il Bistro Italiano which rivals South Philly Italian cuisine (almost…) and a trip the Brewery for the Halloween party.

Aspen/Maroon Bells

With solid desert days under our belts, our last foray drove home the diverse topography our location has to offer.  Just a two hour drive west brings us to the red desert of Moab Utah while driving two hours east brings us to the towering 14,000 ft mountains (14ers) in the White River National Forest.

We drove to Maroon Bells just east of Aspen which is touted as the most photographed place in Colorado.

Guess we can see why!

We walked around the short loop that provides incredible perspectives the of area.

After finishing our stroll, we headed into Aspen.

And sat down at the White House Tavern to an incredible experience.  Everything was amazing.  Kinda wanting to find a reason to get back to Aspen just to eat there again!

Colorado National Monument

On the last full day of their trip, Amy took Mom to the Monument to show her the amazingness that is just a 30 minute drive from our house.

Pretty successful trip!

After a year + on the road during which we resided in Western Colorado, Austin Texas, The Central Coast of California and Northwestern Montana one idea became clear: going back to live in Philadelphia – or any major city for that matter – was NOT happening.

So we headed back to where the adventure began, a place that remained top of mind since we left it, Palisade Colorado.  Our two day drive from Montana took us through Utah where we spent a night and when we woke up, the sheer beauty of the sun rise confirmed that we were on the correct path.

There were definitely a lot of emotions as we neared the Colorado border.  The butterflies that accompanied us in the previous four transitions were not there as we rolled through familiar territory.  Did this mark the end of an era in our lifetime?  Were we really planning on moving to Palisade for the foreseeable future?  Three weeks into our stay and we still are not clear on all this, but one thing is for certain: seeing the Welcome to Colorado sign felt good!

Our first week consisted of unpacking, settling in and reuniting with the amazing friends we left exactly one year ago.  Then Amy was packing up to go to Florida for Ryder Love’s baby naming and I was on my own for a week.  Fortunately, there is plenty to do!  I got the camping gear together and headed to the Utah desert for a camping trip with Chica Bear.

We drove to Goblin Valley and posted up on Wild Horse Road near the Little Wile Horse Canyon trailhead.  While it was a beautiful night, next time I’ll scout for a site a bit further from the trailhead as a family of 14 decided to post up right next to me – there goes a quiet night in the desert.

The next morning we woke up, Chica ate some kibble and I enjoyed spaghetti and meat sauce left overs from the night before.  All fed, we were off to check out Little Wild Horse Canyon.

The plan was to do the 8 mile loop through Little Wild Horse and come back from Bell Canyon.  Unfortunately, there were very deep pools about half way into the hike and we had to head back the way we came.  Still an amazing experience!

On the way back home Chica and I decided to stop in Rabbit Valley where I saw signs for The Trail Through Time which piqued my interest.  Turns out this area has massive amounts of dinosaur fossils and in this picture you can see bones preserved in the rock.

On Sunday, we watched the Eagles game and after a stinging loss, hung out at the river beach right by our house.

Then I dropped an exhausted Chica back at the house and went to a desert party with Ashley and Dusty.  The picture doesn’t reflect how beautiful the night sky was, but you get the point.

Definitely getting used to country life.