Montrose, CO 7-18 to 8-17

The signature view in Montrose, Colorado is Mount Sneffels, elevation of 14,150 feet.  

Our favorite course in the area was Divide Ranch in Ridgeway.  The course was beautiful, and the view of Mount Sneffels was so majestic!!  We had a surprising site on our way to The Divide. We saw a huge bear by the side of the road.  Sadly, he moved to quickly for me to snap a photo.

Montrose has a very interesting downtown, with lots of shops, restaurants and these beautiful sculptures!

Near downtown Montrose is Riverbottom Park.  The city created the Montrose water sports park consisting of 1000 feet of river channel which includes six drop structures, supporting a leisurely run with natural obstacles for kayakers, etc.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the park.

We made a trip out to Delta, CO to play Devil's Thumb golf course.  The pronghorn at Devils Thumb are abundant and definitely not afraid of us.  We learned in a recent ranger talk that they are the fastest land animal in North America!

For Mark's 65th birthday we went to the Horsefly Brewing Company in downtown Montrose.  We thought the decorative bar stools were quite creative.  Mark enjoyed a beer flight and a cheese steak horsefly style. I loved my Greek Gyro with sweet potato tater tots!

Mark planned a special power packed day.  First stop was for breakfast at Sugar Mama's bake shop and cafe in Cederedge, CO.  Mark enjoyed this interesting stromboli breakfast dish.  It is their honey pizza crust filled with scrambled eggs, bacon and cheddar cheese. 

We really enjoyed a walk through the gallery that was connected to Sugar Mama's cafe!!  The top left  table was carved from one piece of wood.  

Then it was up to Grand Mesa National Forest.  Grand Mesa is the largest flattop mountain in the world.  The temperature was 71 degrees at 10,000 feet.  That is the way we like to spend a day in August!!

Just outside of the Grand Mesa visitor's center is the "Discovery Trail."  It is a self-guided hike that takes 15-30 minutes with 16 stops detailed in the brochure. They remind you that the air is thin at 10,000 feet!  The views were just amazing.  Ice caps rearranged rocky debris into troughs that caught melting snow to form the more than 300 lakes and reservoirs across the mesa top.

For lunch we stopped at Grand Mesa Lodge.  The grilled chicken sandwich topped with a Dijon mustard craisin sauce was just amazing.  On May 9, 1976, a girl, skipping school, caught the largest trout (aka splake) at Mesa Grande Forest of 19 lbs. 15 oz.   She still holds the record! 

The day wasn't over.  We scheduled a late afternoon tee time at the Cederedge golf course.  With many elevated tees, the views were fabulous.

To top off the day we stopped for dinner at CJ's tavern in Delta.  We enjoyed eggrolls, fried mushrooms (which were just amazing), and a small charcuterie plate.

During the end of our stay, we were thrilled to find out that our Palm Creek tennis friends, Terris and Marilyn McComb had moved their RV to our campground!  On their recommendation we made a stop at the True Grit Cafe for some soup and dinner.  The cafe was full of John Wayne photos and memorabilia.  Per Mailyn, the cows are appropriately called "Oreos! "

Mark and Terris got up early to hike the Blue Lakes Trail at the base of Mount Sneffels.  It's Terris' and Marilyn's favorite hike so Terris took the day off painting to accompany Mark.  They had a great day with a challenging hike!

Terris and Marilyn will be playing tennis in the senior games in St. George in October.  To give them some practice, we headed to the courts.  On Wednesdays, at our RV park, there is a fantastic food truck - Blue Ribbon BBQ.  On our last night we invited Marilyn and Terris over for dinner.  We had BBQ brisket, baked beans, cole slaw, potato salad and a peach cake with ice cream for dessert.  A grand finale to our stay in Montrose.

Next stop: Palisades State Park in Sterling, UT