Colorado: Part 2: Palisade
way more than world-renowned peaches, but also, peaches
We were up early again and on our way to the next over-nighter at a Harvest Host called The Peachfork, in Palisade, western Colorado.
On our way, we were delighted to see more snowcapped mountains, but this time those mountaintops were right next to us because we were traveling through the prime skiing regions of the Rocky Mountains: Vail, Breckenridge, Aspen, all the biggies. We topped out at 11,200 elevation before dropping down into the Dillon Silverthorne area (I think, but please don’t quote me on that since even though I’m not driving the rig, I am very busy doing other stuff to navigate and prepare for fueling, rest stops, and coffee searches, watching for flash floods, and so on).
After fueling up in Dillon, we descended the mountain quite rapidly. The tunnel looks super-cool!
The clouds broke up and we saw mostly sunny skies, yay! About 30 minutes later, we both saw a rest area sign in the Glenwood Springs region, so we took it.
Wow. What a fabulous decision that came from no reason other than “let’s do this right now”!
We found a perfect parking spot for Spicy & Minnie in partial shade, right next to the main walkway. There was a nice breeze, so we cracked the truck windows for Nilla, and we went our separate ways to look around.
I took some footage of the Colorado River, which in my limited opinion seems very high right now. Muddy raging waters that breech the riverbank speak volumes.
But then I saw the meltwater coming down from the mountain. It is not muddy but super-clear, and it is also raging from sheer gravity.
Watching that was pretty amazing. And then I turned around on the little bridge I was standing on to see the meltwater merge into the Colorado River:
Holy Aquamole! That’s a whole lotta high-powered structured water!
I seriously think that this singular experience helped to detoxify me from the stress and un-control-able circumstances, constraints, and exigencies I have handled since preparing for this trip in early January 2024. That’s a hell of a lot of cortisol, people. But Mother Nature always heals when I yield myself to her power.
Okay, that sounds kind of pagan, and that’s not my jam. My jam is creativity.
I could not find Ron so I went to the truck and settled into my seat after making sure that Nilla was okay (and she was). Just then, my phone rang. It was my dad! We talked for about 20 minutes until Ron arrived. Then we all talked for another ten minutes or so until it was time to get back on the I-70 toward our next destination, The Peachfork.
We had great travels all the way to our Harvest Host, who even offered us an electrical hookup for $20. Nilla was grateful for the cool air while we visited in the winery.
I took a photo of the peach trees next to our rig. These will yield amazingly delicious fruit that capture top dollar in the fruit market. I have eaten Palisade peaches and they are some of the best I’ve ever enjoyed!
We walked a couple hundred feet to the winery and sampled the wares. I was pleasantly surprised to see a few dry wines (thank you!). The wine was lovely and the owner/winemaker is a good host with a colorful history and personality.
By the time we made dinner (thanks, Ron, for lighting the grill!) and I cleaned up, the temperature had dropped into the low 70s and sleeping was easy.
The next morning, we were on our way to Utah, one of our other favorite states. I’ll be sharing that story next, so stay tuned.
As always, I wish you excellent health, well-being, and maximum love, joy, and life-affirming creativity!💝
Yes, the healing power of water!! I get that from rivers, streams, lakes, oceans...negative ions. .... Just curious if they make peach wine?🩷🩷