Durango

We had noble intentions of being cheap and sticking around Moab this weekend, but man.... it's hot.  This has been a brutal summer so far and the draw of a cool mountain town was impossible to resist.  So we loaded up the bikes and drove east to Durango, CO.  I'd never been before, but all accounts sounded promising -- a snazzy mining town that evolved into an outdoor recreation mecca with loads of trails and breweries.  Hells yeah!

On the drive out, we saw a forest fire near Mancos.  This year has been really hot, dry, and windy -- Utah and Colorado are giant tinderboxes.  We watched a helicopter collect water and drop it on the flames as they climbed up the mountain.  Yikes.

Forest fire near Mancos, CO

We eventually made it to Durango and started putzing around the historic downtown.  Durango has a lot of Victorian-era brick hotels and saloons that have been turned into shops and restaurants.  The Animas River runs through town, and college kids were floating in tubes down the whitewater.  We also scoped out the Durango/Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which snakes up the mountains on steam-powered trains.  Our aimless wandering turned into an epic pub crawl, so we grabbed a hotel and crashed for the night.

Strater Hotel in historic downtown Durango

The next morning we were decidedly more ambitious.  We stopped by a bike shop for trail recommendations, then drove up to the Colorado Trail.  The ride started out easy and pretty as we scooted along a clear mountain stream lined by pine trees.  Then we started climbing.  And climbing.  The mountain bikers bombing downhill assured us it was worth it, but I'm not gonna lie -- I wasn't loving it.  We finally made it up to the top and had some sweeping views of tree-lined slopes and distant peaks.  Nice.

Riding along the Colorado Trail.

My trusty steed.

Made it!

Fruita Mountain Biking + Palisade Wine Tour

This weekend was a bike extravaganza!  Jordan and I hopped over the Colorado boarder to ride the fun, flowy mountain bike trails around Fruita.  The next day, we biked around the wineries and orchards of Palisade.

At first glance, the area around Grand Junction seems like a bland, utilitarian cow town.  Typically when I go to the Junc, it's to stock up on Colorado beer or catch a flight.  But the more time I spend in the area, the more I appreciate Junction.  It's right next to Colorado National Monument and the Book Cliffs.  It has a handful of snazzy restaurants and breweries in its revitalized downtown.  There's a couple nice museums (animatronic dinosaurs, anyone?) and a pretty botanical garden.  I was already leaning towards becoming a Junction fan, and these last couple days totally sealed the deal.  Grand Junction is neat -- I'm officially converted!

PBR (Pumps, Bumps, and Rollers)

collared lizard

On our first day out, we rode the mountain bike trails just outside Fruita.  Fruita trails sometimes get overshadowed by Moab, but they're starting to get attention as some of the best single-track mountain bike trails in the United States.  (Seriously!)  We camped and road in the 18 Road / Book Cliffs area, which is fun and flowy.  I rode the Kessel Run, Prime Cut, PBR, and Joe's Ridge.  I've never ridden on soft volcanic soil like this, and it was a nice change from Moab's rocky steps.

Joe's Ridge

Free campground in the middle of all the trails.

The next day, we drove 24 miles east of Fruita to the town of Palisade.  Palisade is home to some of Colorado's best vineyards.  Family farms, hot summers, and volcanic soil combine to produce some bold, tasty wines.  The area is beautiful, too -- rows of grapes and peaches are surrounded by the imposing grey Book Cliffs.  We rode our bikes to a couple wineries, a meadery, and a distillery.  Most of them were open for tasting, so by the end of the trip, we were feeling goooood!