Maybe. After leaving Moab without riding Ahab, Nick had one trail on his mind. Moore Fun. We weren't going to pass through Fruita without riding Moore Fun! It worked perfectly into the not really planned plan that we had. Ride bikes, find our condo and then meet up with the local running group for one of their group runs. But first, ride bikes. we got to the Loma parking lot and started getting organized to pedal. Because it was spring break on the front range, there were plenty of people already there and riding. Amazingly, even with how full the parking lot was, we didn't see to many people when we started riding. Maybe because we took a different trail to get over to Moore Fun, but everything seemed so quiet. But anyway, Moore Fun... I have a love-hate relationship with the trail. It’s the technical challenge that we are lacking on the front range, but sometimes so far outside my wheelhouse that I struggle. There are times that I feel like I have the flow to be able to ride the chunky rocks, others I just flub up everything. My satisfaction for the ride? Making the darn 180* corner on the cliff edge just before the saddle! Last time I rode that rail, I thought I’d never get that corner.
And why were we in a hurry? Because I wanted to go run with the local running club on their Monday trail run! Someplace I’ve never run - the other side of the river in the wilderness. We’d never gone over there because of the wildness area. We can’t ride our bikes, so Nick isn’t too interested. But with more running, that means more places are open to exploring. I was surprised at how many people showed up for the run! We did about five miles on the trails in the wilderness area, leaving me wanting more. So many trails to explore!
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| Into the wilderness! |
Grand Junction for most people is the pass through town for points further west. Why stop in GJ when there’s Fruita just a few miles away and Moab only 2 hours further? Even we are guilty of doing that - just passing though. Most of the time, we look at the riverside trail and just keep driving. This wasn’t the plan for this trip. We wanted to see what GJ was like. Again, the plan was for no plan. Do some pathaleteing, do a hard workout, get my long run done and generally explore. Head up the hill to Powderhorn and get some spring skiing done. We also wanted to check out the Colorado National Monument and see what the road loop was like for riding.
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| Sunrise from the Riverfront Trail |
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| Rain clouds in the desert - showing the power of water |
Tuesday was for skiing and wine tasting. Fun day, good skiing up the hill and so close. It started getting really warm and the snow started getting slushy, so we called it a day early. Then we drove down to find a winery. Super easy in Palisade! I got lucky and actually found one that had wine Nick liked. Wednesday, I wanted to see what the river trail was like early, so got up and did my hard workout. Super quiet that early in the morning as I was able to watch the sun rise over the Grand Mesa. After breakfast, it was time for some patheleting. No better way to explore a town then on two wheels... We got some good mileage cruising up and down the river path and did a really good job working on our tan lines. Thursday was for a long run. I again got up early and hit the river path and ran to the Lunch Loop trails. Getting ready for a 50k at Palmer Park and the Lunch Loop trails were perfect for that. It made it even better because Nick was able to sleep in and drive to the trail head later. I was able to swing back to the van and refill on water and food instead of carrying everything with me.
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| View of the North Fruita Desert from CNM |
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| Nick surveying the canyons of CNM |
On Friday, after another fun ride at Lunch Loop where we tackled Free Lunch, we drove up into the Monument, planning on camping there. We took our time on the drive through the park, stopping to look at the trails in the basin of the canyons and the terrain. So many possibilities! Then we got settled at the campground and I headed out for a run. There were marked trails, unimproved trails and all kinds of options for running. So much fun! We got to watch the rain clouds dumping over different areas of the valley and the sun setting behind the La Sals. In the morning, another stunner of a sunrise to be enjoyed with my coffee.
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| Sunrise from Saddlehorn Campground |
Then too soon, time to start heading back to the Front Range. We only scratched the surface of what is available out at Grand Junction. There will be another trip there, I’m sure.
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| The colors of the sunrise reflecting off the North Fruita Desert and the Book Ciffs |
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