Explore Grand Junction FAM Review

May 9 – 11, 2013

Day 1 – May 9, 2013
There were 13 attendees in all. We had an Arrow OTR coach and Ken Stauffer, RMGA member, was our driver. Larry Ralston was our Tour Manager for the travel portion of the FAM and provided commentary where needed, instructions, itinerary, bottled water, etc. for the group and the entire FAM. Each participant spoke for 10-15 minutes about a particular section of our tour (again, the
location and subject assigned by Larry) as we traveled. Carolyn Emanuel was the FAM Coordinator and worked with the Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau on all the arrangements.

We were allowed to park our cars on the roof of the parking garage in downtown Golden and we were on our way at 7:50 am on Thursday, May 9th. Larry’s first comments as we were leaving town were about using a cordless microphone versus a wired one. He told us about a tour he was managing and several coaches were arriving at the same time. His coach was very colorful and
the tour manager on a nearby coach commented on her cordless microphone how glad her passengers should be not to be riding in that garish coach – all of which was heard loud and clear by Larry’s passengers. Larry also commented that a FAM is a business relationship and that we were going to learn about an area where our hosts would be expecting us to bring tourists to their communities. Larry also reminded us that, as tour guides, we would be smart to provide maps to the passengers of our route/itinerary so that the passengers could follow along and be able to connect what they saw with the location.

As we went west on I-70 we discussed the construction on the east bound bore of the tunnel and the road construction in Idaho Springs. Delays to your tour could occur as traffic going east bypasses the tunnel.

Ed Weising has lived in several states including North Carolina and Washington before coming to Colorado. Deborah is his wife. He was the first speaker and his subject was Idaho Springs, its history, discovery of gold and several important people to the area. Ed talked about the discovery of gold in Chicago Creek in January 1859 by George A. Jackson, who on a hunting trip had gold show up in the water he scooped out of the creek. Mr. Jackson was camping by the creek because one of his hunting dogs had been injured and needed rest to heal. He unwisely told a friend about his find and when he returned in the spring to the site thousands also came to the area to search for gold. Another of these miners was H.A.W. Tabor who, with his wife Augusta (the only woman in town) came to search for gold. He was advised to take Augusta back to Denver for the winter because it was too rough for her in Idaho Springs. When they returned in the spring, his “friend” had taken his claim and threatened to shoot him if he didn’t leave. So, HAW did return to Denver.

As an afternote, Augusta did become a miner and did pretty well mining.

Ed mentioned zip lining and that there are approximately 8 zip lines in Colorado now. Ed continued his comments with some history of Georgetown, named for George Griffith who, with his brother David, started the town with the discovery of gold. Georgetown was different in that early miners brought their families with them and they made a park in town. Georgetown is known for its Victorian homes. One of them, Hamill House, was owned by William Hamill who owned several mines in the area and the newspaper. Hamill’s home is now a museum.

Jay Gould, who controlled the Union Pacific railroad, financed the building of the railroad to Idaho Springs and on to Georgetown which was completed in August of 1877.

We made our first stop at the Visitor Center in Georgetown where we shopped in the gift shop and used the restroom facilities. There is space at the Visitor Center to park a coach and plenty of restroom facilities for a group. There are also restroom facilities in the center of town at the Police station and the downtown visitor center.

Another notable spot in Georgetown is the Hotel de Paris, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Built and owned by Louis DuPuy (whose real name was Adolphe Francois Gerard). Louis’s parents intended for him to be a priest, however, that was not Louis’s preference so he took the money and ran off to Paris where he squandered his money. He moved to London and
then to the U.S. where he joined the Army. He was assigned to the cavalry in Wyoming where he soon deserted. He traveled to Denver and worked as a roving reporter for a newspaper. He was sent to mining towns for stories and worked in Silver Plume. He fell in love with mining but in 1873 he was injured in a mining accident saving a co-worker. Louis received an eye injury as well
as breaking his collarbone. For his heroic efforts, the people of Georgetown arranged for him to rent the Delmonico Bakery which he in a few years was able to buy and expand into what is now the Hotel de Paris. Louis’s fine cuisine attracted many wealthy people from Denver who came just for dinner. Louis was a linguist – speaking English, French, German and Latin. Louis once had a Millionaire’s Banquet where imported and exotic foods were served. When Louis died, he willed the hotel to his housekeeper since he had no other relatives. She died about four months later. The hotel was purchased by the Burkholder family who owned it until 1954. The Hotel de Paris is now a museum.

Ed also mentioned the St. James Tea Shoppe which will give a tea for your group if you call ahead. The owner will also give you a short history of Georgetown as you have tea. This ended Ed’s commentary.

We passed Loveland Ski Area which seemed to still be open. Then on to the Eisenhower/Johnson Tunnel. The eastbound bore is Eisenhower, the westbound is Johnson. The Johnson bore is named for “Big Ed” Johnson (a politician – senator and governor of
Colorado) who campaigned along with Utah for I-70 to be extended. A footnote: Ed Johnson ran against Ralph Carr for the Senate seat in 1942 – Johnson won. In 1942 Republicans were elected in Colorado except for Ralph Carr. Johnson said that Carr was pro-Japanese – which may have cost Carr the race though there were only a few thousand votes difference in the outcome. Ed Quinlan, who worked for the Denver Post and the newspaper in Salida said that Big Ed went to Washington to push the I-70 extension, gave Eisenhower the #1 fishing license in Colorado and came back with the approval to build the extension.

Larry Ralston mentioned that there is a geological fault line in the middle of the Eisenhower Tunnel which doubled the cost and delayed the tunnel’s completion by three years. One engineer who worked on the tunnel said, “The entire project was by the book. However, the mountain had not read the book”.

Teresa Wilson – A little background on Teresa – Worked at Clemson University for 20 years doing fish research. Lived in Miami and then Central Florida for several years and has been in Boulder for the past four years and is essentially retired.

Teresa talked about the plant life zones in Colorado, a theory developed in the late 1800s of plant vegetation type. In the 1960s they began to teach how different elevations, precipitation, wind, direction changed the plant life.

 Alpine life zone – 11,500’ and higher - there are no trees. Vegetation is short plants because of the effect of wind. The snow at these elevations protects the plants though the growing season is only 50 days long and it freezes every night. Teresa mentioned the “Old Man in the Mountain” (really an aster) always faces east and the snow buttercup tracks the sun.

 The transition between Alpine and sub-alpine is called the krumholtz which has crooked small trees.

 Sub-alpine – 10,000 – 11,500’. Blue spruce grows here as well as Engelmann spruce which grows to 40’-60’ in height. The lower elevations have limber pine. Some of the flowers in the meadows are Indian paint brush and columbine. The meadows are damper and have fertile soil.

 Montane – 8,000 – 10,000’. You will see Ponderosa pine, lumber pine and aspen. Species differ on each side of the Divide. There are more aspen to the west, more colorful plants. Columbines are often found with aspen. Elks summer in the Montaigne, moving up from the Foothills.

 Foothills – 6,000 – 8,000’. Here scrubby, shrubby ponderosa pine grows as well as Douglas fir and limber pine. Mountain mahogany grows on the east side, and pinyon pine, juniper and Gambel oaks are more prevalent on the west. There is less precipitation in the foothills and more fires.

 Grasslands – are quite dry, very hot in summer, also very windy. The state bird, the lark bunting, lives in the grasslands.

After Teresa’s commentary Larry Ralston noted that we were passing through the north edge of the Ten Mile Range.

Larry Foos was the next presenter – Larry is a Colorado native, grew up in Greeley, he and Barbara both went the UNC. Larry is a career Air Force veteran and lived many places in the US and also served overseas in Thailand and Guam.

Larry’s commentary was about the 10th Mountain Division. The 10th Mountain Division was based on the development of mountain troops by Finland in their war with Russia in 1939. These troops made stealth attacks on the Russians and almost wiped them out. Russia sent many more troops because they wanted an outlet to the Baltic Sea.

In 1941, there were no US troops trained to work in altitude and grade, or in snow. George Marshall in the War Department got the division started in 1941 at Fort Lewis then they transferred to Camp Hale (named for a Spanish-American war hero) and trained from Colorado Springs across the Continental Divide at Tennessee Pass to Pando, Colorado. They were at 9,200’ with vertical walls from 10,000’ to 13,000’.

In 1943 there were 3,000 troops and expected a total of 15,000. Most of the rest of the 15,000 were obtained through the National Ski Patrol. In 1944 the division was transferred to Italy where they played an important role in taking Italy away from the Germans (delete Russians). In one key area the Germans surrendered to the 10th at the request of the German commander. The 10th returned to the US immediately after Japan surrendered. Fifty-four percent of the 10th survived the war. Survivors and descendants of all three countries now meet in friendship. Currently the group works with handicapped skiers.

Many of these veterans returned to Colorado, many were in Aspen. Pete Siebert was one and he was instrumental in developing Aspen’s skiing. Pete had been injured in the war but by 1949 he had won several skiing competitions. In 1950 he made the US ski team. Also in 1950 he returned to Aspen where he met Earl Eaton, a uranium prospector who invited Pete to Vail for a climb. Pete saw it and was smitten. By 1959 he had gotten permission to build a ski resort from the Forest Service and the US. The valleys were deeded and predate the National Forest Service. The Forest Service was started in the 1890s and they allowed the ski runs on the mountainside. The base area is developed real estate. It was agricultural in the valleys. Some of the most valuable properties are those right next to the Forest Service boundary. You will be able to see the boundary between public and private lands easily because the houses/condos are now built up to this boundary. The value of property jumped as Vail and other ski areas developed because the employees had to have some place to live and much of the land in between these towns is public land. It is very expensive for ski resort employees to live anywhere close to their work – some drive down from Leadville daily!

Vail opened for business in December 1962. In 2002 Pete was voted off the Board of Vail Associates and between 2002 and 2007 there were several presidents of the organization.

In 2006 the Tivoli Hotel was reopened by the Lazier family whose son Buddy is a well-known race car driver. The money won went back into Vail. Vail’s streets are cobblestoned (many redone in 2002 to resemble old European ski towns. There are many, many restaurants in Vail covering all price points. When Pepi Granshammer’s opened in 1964 a meal cost $3 and the hotel was
$9/night. Restaurant prices are generally 50% of the regular price in the off (shoulder) season.

The Vail Film Festival was held March 29-31 this year. Visit Vail Valley is the local tourism promotion entity. To reach the Information Center you would take the coach to the Transportation Center to off-load and load. Restrooms are on the lower
level (3) and the Ski Museum is on the same level just out the door and across the patio. Another good meeting place for your group is by the Covered Bridge which spans Gore Creek. You can arrange for a walking tour of the town with a knowledgeable guide through the VCB center. Our guide was Deep Andrew DeChoudhury – a volunteer walking tour guide who also skis, plays tennis, entertains celebrities, and generally knows anybody and something about anything you might want to discuss in Vail.

Vail trivia – there are ashtrays on each of the trash barrels in the center of town (a la Singapore – don’t throw anything on the street). Also, we walked past numerous puzzles in the street that are old-time drawing and single word puzzles. A very fun activity for all ages to try to figure them out. In the center of a small roundabout is a dancing waters fountain – designed by the same person who designed the dancing waters at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

In the museum is information showing that skiing started in Scandinavia and in China. There is a photo of a skiing postman who was also an iterant preacher (John Dyer – a Methodist). In the early 1900s there were ski jumpers and in the 1902s the first winter Olympics were held. Vail is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and an overview video is shown in the museum. Vail has the Summer Mountain Games (this year June 6-9) and the pro cycling tour in August each year. The Vail portion is called the Vail Time Trial. The skiing World Cup was held at Beaver Creek and they have both men’s and women’s courses. Lindsey Vonn, Picabo Street are both represented in the museum along with every Olympic ski uniform and its year of use. Lindsey, Shawn White (snowboarder) and many other historic skiers are depicted on murals on the outside walls of the museum. Vail had an estimated 550” of snow in 2011 though 2013’s 300-350” did not discourage skiers and Vail had a very good ski season. The Epic Ski Pass (available only for a brief period in the spring) is $350 to $600 for the season which entitles you to ski many resorts in California, Austria and Switzerland as well. Lift tickets were $120/day this year (employees get tickets for $50/day). Lifts open at 8:30 am and close at 4 pm. The mountain closes at 4:30 pm. There are 50 hotels in Vail, including several exclusive hotels such as the Four Seasons, Sebastian and Solaris.

Nancy Brueggeman – Nancy is a native of Pennsylvania though she has lived in Colorado for over 40 years. She is a graduate of IGA and an RMGA Certified Tour Guide as well as being a docent at the Molly Brown House Museum and the write-up specialist for the Newsletter. Nancy’s portion of the tour was about Glenwood Canyon. Dotsero is a small town at the confluence of the Eagle and Colorado Rivers. The Eagle River is about 60 miles long. Acid drainage from the abandoned Eagle Mine entered the river. The Eagle Mine was first a source of gold and silver, then the mining of zinc became important here. The EPA required cleanup after the mine closed in 1984 which started in 1988 and is still going on today. Eagle County is named for the Eagle
River. Much of the county is in the White River National Forest and a great portion of the rest of the county is managed by the BLM.

Dotsero once was an important railroad junction for the Denver, Rio Grande & Western RR. The name came from Ferdinand Hayden’s extensive survey of Central and Southwest Colorado in 1877. Dot Zero was his reference point for his maps – hence Dotsero. The northern end of the cutoff was named Orestod (Dotsero backwards). The DRG&W RR was a standard gauge line in the 1890s to Glenwood Springs. Also, it is at the base of Colorado’s most recently active volcano which USGS says last erupted in 4,140 years ago. Dotsero’s main industry was making cinder blocks from the volcanic ash. One of the largest nurseries in the state is in Dotsero – providing trees and shrubs to replace those lost to construction and to enhance the natural vegetation in the Canyon.

The Moffat Road was the railroad built by David Moffat intended to go to Salt Lake City. David Moffat came to Colorado as a bookseller and then got into banking. He invested in silver mines and was a millionaire by 1880. By 1882 he was the President of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. He wanted a rail line to Creede for the silver mines and so he built it with his own money. He also built a rail line to Cripple Creek for the gold mining. Both of these rail lines made him a lot of money. So, in 1902, he started on the Moffat Line toward Salt Lake City. There were 4,000 men working on this rail line from Boulder Canyon through 29 tunnels. The construction used up all of Moffat’s $9 million fortune. Moffat died in 1911 and the line was reorganized in 1913 and was extended to Craig, Colorado. This rail line is mostly used to transport coal for power plants. Glenwood Canyon is 12.5 miles long with cliffs as high as 1,300’ above the Colorado River. In 1906 the Taylor State Road (246 miles) was constructed and passed through the canyon. It was a gravel road and the first route for automobiles through the canyon. Sixty thousand dollars was allotted to build this road and more than half was used just in building the road through the canyon. The Ute Indians did not even have a route through the canyon.

The beauty of the canyon led to the California Zephyr passenger train to build dome cars so the passengers could really see the beauty around them. There was a monument erected along the line to commemorate the dome cars though it was moved in the 1990s to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden (RMGA’s June program). The canyon is considered one of the most scenic
natural features of the Interstate Highway System in the US. At Exit 125 is the Hanging Lake Rest Area where parking is available so that people can make the 45 minute climb up to Hanging Lake. There are several log benches along the trail up to the lake for rest stops. There is a “bump” and a tunnel in I-70 along this section because there is a fault under Hanging Lake and the engineers did not want to chance destroying the lake in the construction of the highway.

There are over 40 bridges in Glenwood Canyon, most of which were designed to protect the environment and to provide an esthetic experience for motorists.

In 1956, President Eisenhower signed the National Highway Bill authorizing an Interstate highway system and Glenwood Canyon would become part of I-70. In 1960 officials started figuring costs. In 1963 the first public hearing was held in Glenwood Springs. In 1965 tunnels and two miles of road were built at the west end of the canyon. Construction halted on this project though meetings and studies were presented in 1968 and 1969. In 1972 it was decided that the only feasible economic route was through Glenwood Canyon, after looking at estimates to go through Cottonwood Canyon – Glenwood - $48.7 million vs Cottonwood - $55.8 million.

In 1973, preliminary designs were made. In 1974 John Denver tossed a stone across the Colorado River to demonstrate the unsuitability of building a highway here. In 1975, USDOT approved route, in 1976 the Federal Highway Administration approved the route. September 1979 finally saw construction start. The environmentalists and the engineers compromised. All of the rock and soil was moved out so that the river was not filled with the debris. Adjustments were made to replace or pay for any trees and shrubs that were destroyed. This led to a “Golden Fleece” award in 1981, given by Senator Proxmire.

In 1983, the final supplemental impact statement permitting the construction of 9.6 miles of road through the canyon. In June 1985, Federal Judge John L. Kane, Jr. offered a settlement proposal that was accepted by both sides and construction resumed. All had to be done with heavy traffic and no place for detours. A huge horizontal crane from Switzerland was brought in to help. There was no construction on Friday afternoons or on weekends so that tourist traffic to all the towns along the way was maintained.

The grand opening was October 14, 1992 at a total cost of $500 million (a lot more than the $48.7 million originally approved). In 1993 the highway received the Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award. You will notice that the first construction (west end) is typical super-highway construction while the rest of the road through the canyon is esthetically and  invironmentally pleasing. At several of the rest stops, traffic from the highway is barely noticeable.

We stopped at Grizzly Creek rest area (exit 121) for a restroom break and some sunshine. Teresa Wilson talked more about riparian animals and trees. We also noted how unobtrusive the roadbed is from the river. There are locations for the coach to park. The bike path runs along the river into Glenwood Springs from above No Name Exit at Exit 119 – downhill into town. It is possible to arrange for a bike rental and transportation to exit 119 and just ride downhill all the 16 miles into town. The trail runs along the roadside mostly on the eastbound side of the road along the river and is paved all the way.

Lupe Duran was the next commentator. Lupe has been married 45 years, lost a son at age 37, and has two unmarried daughters. Lupe specializes in Spanish tours. Lupe’s subject was the Ute Indians and her main source was Tom Noel’s book. There are seven
bands of Ute Indians – among them Yampa, Uinta, White River, Tabeguache, Sabuagana, Muache, and Capote. The Muache are in the San Luis Valley, several other bands are in southwest Colorado. Ouray was the chief of the Tabeguache.

The Ute Indians came to western Colorado in the 1620s. The Paiutes in Utah are related to the Utes. In a Spanish / Ute treaty the Utes got horses from the Spanish. In 1680 the Pueblo revolted and brought horses with them. The horses were a source of wealth and the Utes traded them with the Crow and Blackfeet. The Spanish returned in 1690s and for the next 130 years the Utes traded captured Indians (slaves) to the Spanish for horses. In 1765 the Spanish raided the Indians because they resisted Catholicism – the Utes thought all living things had a soul. Utes hunted in all directions and the Navajo were their enemy. They crossed the mountains and hunted in Cheyenne and Arapaho territory on the Eastern Plains. The Jicarilla Apache sometimes joined with the Utes.

In 1803 the Spanish sold the Louisiana Purchase to the US. In 1848 Ute territory became part of the US without their approval following the war between the US and Mexico. The modern Utes date back to the 1300s though they say they have been here always. The US broke treaties – in 1879 there was a battle between the US government and the White River Utes. The Indians lost and ended up on reservations. Chief Ouray tried to negotiate. Meeker was the location of the Indian agency and troops from Fort Steele in Wyoming rode to Meeker to save the day for the US.

Many towns in Western Colorado were started after the Indians were removed and “resettled” in reservations in southwest Colorado and in Utah. In southwest Colorado (near Durango and Cortez) there are the Ute Mountain Utes and Southern Utes reservations. The other bands were forced into Utah.

After Lupe’s commentary we traveled on past Exit 49 where the northern wall of Grand Mesa was a spectacular view. Grand Mesa is called the world’s largest flat top mountain. The ecosystem is different on top of the mesa because there is more snow. Volcanic lava flows covered the mesa, prevented the erosion which we have at lower elevations. The west edge of the mesa, near
Palisade, is the Orchard Mesa – small changes in elevation change the climate. Apples are more generic than peaches so peaches generate more interest and more income for this area. Some families have replaced orchards with vineyards though they may not make or sell wine. They sell the grapes to other winemakers.

Just a trivia footnote – there are wineries in all 50 states now.

We saw Roan Plateau, an area controlled by the BLM. The cliffs on the west edge are called the Book Cliffs because they resemble a shelf of books with the book spines showing. The Palisades run to Green River, Utah.

We arrived in Grand Junction, which is the junction of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Grand Junction has a population of approximately 60,000 and Mesa County about 140,000. Grand Junction’s elevation is 4630’. In 1982 Exxon had a huge oil shale operation in Grand Junction. One Sunday, they decided to close it and on Monday 10,000 people were without jobs. In 1989
the VCB was established with the advent of a lodging tax. In 1991 Barbara Bowman came to the VCB. Grand Junction is one of the four top destinations in Colorado. Motor coaches can deadhead at the train station or airport to pick up passengers or send them back to Denver. Full motor coaches come from Denver.

Barbara Bowman with the Visitors and Convention Bureau (VCB) and Carolyn Emmanuel (RMGA member, certified guide and wilderness trainer) met us at the Visitor Center where we discussed all the things, both natural and man-made to be seen around Grand Junction. The Visitor Center was built 17 years ago and was remodeled about three years ago. In the Visitor Center there are murals showing the National Monument, mountain biking, horses, as well as river rafting. There are dinosaur digs in Fruita providing a hands-on experience for visitors. Outside the Visitor Center is a horse head sculpture – Grand Junction has the largest outside sculpture collection in Colorado, called “Art on the Corner”. A lot of the sculptures are made of recycled materials and some are changed annually to display others though there are many that are permanently displayed. The city purchases one new sculpture each year.

Barbara also pointed out that there are 21 wineries (106 total wineries in Colorado), 6 micro breweries, 2 distilleries (22 distillers in Colorado) in the area and over 100 restaurants, also a herd of more than 100 wild horses, and 5 public golf courses. Agritourism is growing in the area – including apples, pumpkins, peaches and corn mazes – all in Grand Junction, Fruita (west of Grand Junction), and Palisade. There is a thirty-mile long Colorado Riverfront Trail that is used for hiking, biking and skateboarding. Grand Junction sees future possibilities for expanding this to resemble San Antonio’s Riverfront Walk which brings in 10 million visitors/year. There is also the Western Colorado Botanical Gardens. There is also the Lavender Festival in July – there is much lavender grown in the area. There are 30 antique stores in Grand Junction. The Grand Junction Visitor Guide has a calendar of events for the whole area for the year.

We drove down Seventh Street which is part of the National Historic District designation with homes from early 1900-1920s. We could see Red Canyon and Grand Mesa from the coach. We passed several of the downtown sculptures and the new library on Grand Avenue. The homes in this area might run between $300,000 - $500,000. George A. Crawford (died 1890s) from
Pennsylvania platted this area in 1881 and also planted the first grapevine here. The grapevines were torn out during Prohibition and replanted in the 1970s. Ninety percent of all grapes in Colorado are produced here.

Very close to the Visitor Center is Horizon Drive which is where the largest hotels are located (several cater to tour groups). We then went to our assigned hotels: Fairfield (Marriott), Hampton Inn (Hilton) or Springhill Suites (Marriott). All three properties are within 100 yards of each other and are owned by two brothers. Their mother has a small interior decoration store next to the
Springhill Suites, across the street from the other two properties. The pools and hot tubs can be used at all the facilities since all are owned by one group. All three are located between 2nd and 3rd streets on Main Street. The parking area behind the Springhill Suites is also used by the other two for overflow parking. It is the smallest of their parking lots. We were shown all three properties by Cindy Goodrich, the Sales Manager for all three properties.

The Hampton Inn (Hilton) (80 rooms), built in 2003, recently renovated the lobby. The Hampton has one meeting room, 24-hr fitness center, and a pool. They have first floor rooms. Breakfast is included in room rate which runs about $119-$139/nite in high season and $89-$99/nite in low season. They have two types of rooms – either two queen beds or one king bed. We loaded and unloaded the coach in front of the Hampton – just enough space for a coach to pull in – also; it is a designated loading zone. There are several places to sit in front of the Hampton and Fairfield while you wait. Across the street is a sculpture of John Otto and his dog. John is using his telescope to look at the National Monument.

Fairfield Suites (Marriott) (70 rooms) was built in 2000. All the rooms have Swedish tempurpedic mattresses. All the rooms are called suites and have a microwave and a refrigerator. Each suite has either two queen beds or a king bed and each has a pull-out bed in the sofa. The Fairfield has an indoor pool and an outdoor hot tub. They have one meeting room and one board room. They have first floor rooms. Breakfast is included in room rate which runs about $119-$139/nite in high season and $89-$99/nite in low season.

Springhill Suites (Marriott) (100 rooms) was built in 2011. They have one Board Room meeting room – a large room with windows along one side. All rooms are suites; there are no first floor rooms at Springhill Suites. There is a one-lane indoor pool and hot tub and a 24-hr fitness center. All rooms are the same size whether two queens or a king bed and all have a sofa-bed pullout. The rooms have a microwave oven and a refrigerator. The “mini-bar” is a snack section on the main floor near the reception desk where you can purchase your own snacks. This hotel also has a full-service bar in the lobby that is open from 5-12pm. During our stay (Thurs & Fri evenings) it was pretty well attended. There were two Internet stations here as well. Breakfast is included in room rate which runs about $139/nite and up in high season and $119-$129/nite in low season.
We checked into our rooms and planned to meet at 6:20pm to walk to dinner up Main Street to the Rockslide Brewery.

Four of us were housed at the Springhill Suites which in my opinion is a really nice hotel. The rooms were quite large, the sofa area separated by a desk and glass panel from the rest of the room. The toilet/sink was separate (European style) from the shower/sink bathroom. Each room entry doorway is angled and recessed a little to make entry and exit easier. The lobby floor is
tiled and, besides the bar area (where we all seemed to congregate) it had a “curtained” off sitting area with comfy sofas and chairs. The service was great and the staff very helpful and pleasant. USA Today was delivered each morning for perusal in the breakfast area.

We met for dinner and walked up the street to the Rockslide Restaurant and Brewery at Fourth and Main Streets where Barbara Bowman had arranged dinner for us. The menu was varied – steaks and pork chops to burgers, sandwiches and salads. The beer is hand-crafted and very popular. They are also known for their hamburgers. After dinner we walked along Main Street to see all the street sculpture. At 7th and Main, we looked for RMGA’s brick in front of the Avalon Theater which has been remodeled to resemble its original exterior.

Day 2 – May 10, 2013 –
Breakfast at our respective hotels, met in front of the Hampton Inn and we were off to the National Monument. Carolyn Emmanuel, wilderness guide, was our guide. We passed the old railroad station – Grand Junction is researching ideas for its next life. We drove down Monument Road to the East Entrance of the National Monument – a well-traveled road and bike trail. There are 40 miles of trails in this section. We passed canals that are used for irrigation. In this area – Redlands and ridges there is less than 9” of rain/year. We passed golf courses.

The National Monument is made of sand dunes frozen in time – full of iron, manganese and hemite. Homes along Monument Road may run as much as $800,000 to $1,000,000 on the left side; and about $400,000 - $700,000 on the right side of the road. Carolyn noted that the real estate market has not recovered as quickly as the Denver market seems to have recovered. This area was first explored by John Otto who arrived in 1906 and campaigned for it to become a national park – which has not yet happened. John was the first park ranger and was married at the base of Independence Rock. His marriage lasted about 3 months because his wife decided that she couldn’t live with a man to whom a tent was too confining.

We passed through the main gate to the Monument and were met by Lisa Eckert, Superintendent. Lisa has worked in 12 national parks and has been Superintendent of four during her 28-year career with the Park Service. Lisa gave commentary all along the route until we got to the Visitor Center on the far west side of the monument. Eighty percent of the entry fees collected at the
gate actually come back to be used in the park. We passed the two-mile long Serpent’s Trail which was the original road. It has 54 switchbacks. In the old days, Model T’s went up the road backwards because they had gravity gas tanks. Now it is a hiking road. We came to Shivers Point which is 1000’ higher in elevation and overlooks Columbus Canyon. The black/purple rocks you
see are pre-Cambrian. The pink stripes are from the lava flow of a volcano. The sandstone brought in by wind deposits – these sedimentary rocks were formed in dinosaur times (about 60- 90 million years ago). The road is also used by the Glade Park homeowners, a ranching community that has official access. The Monument is open to hiking, biking, back-packing, and rock climbing. Lisa did a rock climb with Senator Udall on New Year’s Day on Independence Peak, taking a break on the Lunch Table.

The road was built in the 1930s by the CCC and WPA, the tunnel on the way up built in the 1950s. The high point of the monument is at 6,640’. There is a great view of Grand Mesa (elevation 10,500’) and of the Book Cliffs which run about 100 miles across the landscape. Dinosaur bones have been found in this formation. Lisa told us about the Dinosaur Diamond – an area where many dinosaurs have been found, including Fruita, Painted Canyon, Dinosaur National Park, Colorado National Monument, Vernal, Utah, Cleveland/Lloyd Quarry and also Moab – both in Utah. We saw many examples of desert varnish which are black or gray stain on the canyon walls. We were also looking for Indian art, or pictographs – drawings in ochre and for petroglyphs which are etched into the rock rather than being painted.

President William Howard Taft proclaimed this a national monument in 1911. Monuments can be named by Presidential decree while national park designation requires a vote of Congress. Lisa has an annual budget of approximately $1.7 million and a staff of 30 employees and 100 volunteers. The budget is responsible for 85% -90% of fixed costs which include salaries, utilities,
etc. while the remainder is used for the “extra” projects such as a new safety railing. The current sequestration meant that the monument could not hire their full complement of seasonal employees. There are eleven canyons in the National Monument.

There are approximately 780,000 recreational visitors/year; this number includes about 300,000 to 350,000 commuter trips by the Glade Park residents. Bikers pay a fee of $5 for a 7-day pass. In October there is a bike tour called the “Tour of the Moon” with as many as 1,700 riders touring the monument. The Tour of the Moon is not a bike race, no high speeds. We stopped at the Ute Canyon Garden, established by the Ute Indian children - which is all native plants. We had fun looking for male Mormon tea plants and over the course of the day actually saw two. Some of the trees in the monument are more than 900 years old.

We passed the Liberty Cap trailhead which Carolyn assured us is great for cross-country skiing. We passed the Coke Ovens rock formations on two sides and stopped at the overlook. Then on to the Visitor Center built 1956-1966 where we viewed the monument from another vantage point. There are benches and a gorgeous view here. We watched a video about the monument and made many purchases in the Visitor Center.

We continued on Rim Rock Drive to the west entrance and then down South Broadway to Two Rivers Winery for lunch and wine tasting. There is plenty of parking space for the coach. Our lunch was provided by Il Bistro Italiano restaurant and was excellent. We ate on a large covered patio where many wedding receptions are held. Two Rivers Winery is owned by Bob and Billie Witham. After lunch we walked through the bed & breakfast main reception room to the tasting room where we sampled several varieties of wine. We also gathered a lot of information about how wines differ from and/or are like each other, information presented by Rob Kroll. Rob reminded us that 90% of all grapes grown in Colorado are in Grand Junction. Rob said that Two Rivers harvests as much as 3.5 tons of grapes/acre. We learned the distinction between winery and vineyard. A vineyard grows grapes; a winery crushes grapes and makes wine. There are 50 wineries in this area. West Elk Viticulture (growing of grapes) works with these small wineries at higher elevations.

Palisade is the peach and wine capital of Colorado. Colorado has only 180 growing days/year while California has 230 days in their growing season. This difference contributes to the selection of the variety of grapes to grow and the timing of the harvesting. Then we were back on the coach to visit High Country Orchards.

On the way we passed a field with seemingly nothing to be seen but bare heavy poles – these fields grow hops, used in making beer. These fields produce crops worth about $10,000/acre.

Arriving at High Country Orchards we were greeted by Scott High, owner. He and his wife Theresa own High Country Orchards. This visit was definitely a highlight of the trip. Scott was delighted to tell us how peaches are grown. In the “old days” Palisade shipped 100 box cars of peaches/day on the train to various destinations. The 4,000’ altitude allows for more sun and photosynthesis is very active at this altitude. Scott and Theresa have 9,000 cherry trees as well as 35,000 grape vines. The cherry trees were hit by a late frost and most of the blossoms were frozen so there will not be a cherry crop for them this year. To add to all this, they also have 128 beehives. High Country uses 13 wind turbines to keep the air moving during a cold snap so that the blossoms and buds don’t freeze. They have a total of 126 acres of land.

High Country Orchards has 32,000 peach trees, 28 varieties of peaches on71 acres of land. The peach varieties ripen at different times so that the harvesting can be orchestrated. The peach trees are planted five feet apart and are carefully pruned so that each main branch gets the most sunlight possible. This makes them look like a “Y”. The trees are pruned so that only about 10%
of the total possible crop is allowed to continue to grow making for larger, juicier peaches. Keeping the trees short makes for juicier peaches as well. The rows of trees are painted with white latex paint from the base of the tree up about two feet to cool the tree and also to keep rodents from eating the bark and trunk of the tree. The trees are viable for about 15-20 years and then are replaced by trees planted in between the old rows. This replanting prevents a tiny frog from eating the new trees tender small roots.

High Country produces “A” type peaches – the highest grade, shipped to all Front Range Whole Foods stores and five King Soopers “A” stores in the Denver metro area. There are five rows of trees in the “A” section. A select clientele gets peaches from these rows. The peaches are tree ripened and hand picked. The peaches are picked in the morning only because the heat in the
afternoon causes the tree to try to retain its moisture and that moisture comes out of the fruit. Then the peaches are sized and graded. High Country uses digital photos to size the peaches which are then assigned to a grade. The peaches are then packed in boxes – this is completed by about 3 p.m. The boxes are then wrapped on pallets which are then loaded into a refrigerated
truck. The truck is on its way to Denver by 4:30 pm so that the peaches picked one day are in the stores the next day. Most of the pickers are locals.

Scott told us a couple of great stories about his business. Here is one – last year Michelle Obama and 27 other people came to High Country to pick peaches. High Country sends 25-30 boxes of peaches to the White House each year. Michelle wanted to come and pick her own so --- for at least a week beforehand the orchards were crawling with Secret Service personnel. Scott was instructed to move his tractor to the end of a long row of trees and to step away from it while maintaining contact with the helicopter he was getting instructions from. He obeyed instructions and then asked why he had to step away – the answer was heat resonation told them that there were not other heat spots on the tractor. The Secret Service person said that with his equipment he could tell the difference from the heat reflection between a mouse and a cat. Pretty sensitive equipment!

More about Michelle’s visit – each person was shown how to pick peaches; each person had a box with a label with their name on it so that the peaches they picked were in their own box. Michelle said she wanted to pick some for the President. They took the boxes of peaches with them on Air Force One and were gone in one hour and 22 minutes. Barbara Bowman said that seeing Air Force One land and take off was a thrilling sight.

Another great story – his daughter told him that she wanted to get married in the orchards. He demurred – too much displacement, too much hassle, etc. Soon his wife, followed by his sheepish daughter, confronted him as to why he wouldn’t build a gazebo in the orchard for his daughter to get married in. His response – “I’ll get right on it.” So, now there is a gorgeous extra-tall gazebo/pavilion in the orchard where others have been married since he built it for his daughter’s wedding several years ago. The extra tall is so that the view is unimpeded across the Colorado River and along the Book Cliffs when you are standing in the gazebo. Next to this pavilion is a 13 large sculpture of a saguaro cactus that he bought in Vail for his wife who was raised in New
Mexico.

At the gift shop / wine tasting room Scott had several varieties of wine for us to taste. Their wine is made from their grapes grown in their vineyards. Their brand is Colteris which means “from the Colorado land”. They have several vineyards, named for family members.  We were reminded that Palisade had a German POW camp and some of these POWs stayed after the war and worked in agriculture. We went past the Blue Pig Gallery, Palisade Beer and Verizon Winery (Collette Tours has dinners here) on our way to the Grande River Winery, owned by Naomi and Steve Smith. Naomi met us at the door and gave us a wonderful tour and explained how wine was really made. They have a public vineyard where people can walk through the vines. Naomi told us that wine grapes are sweeter than table grapes, have four seeds and are smaller than table grapes (such as Thompson seedless). They test a grape seed for ripeness – when the seed turns from green to brown it’s ripe. The longer the grape is on the vine, the sweeter the wine will be.

Grande River Winery started producing wine in 1990. They have the #5 license in the state. Wine making has grown from a small entity to an industry with over 100 wineries. Grande River has 4- 5 full-time staff and 6-7 on the tasting staff. They also employ six migrant workers. The winery is in a great location – Naomi told us that the cliffs and the heat from passing traffic on I-70 keep this area about 10 degrees warmer. There is plenty of room for a coach to park. They do have special dinners and events. Naomi’s daughter is a chef and prepares the food. Naomi gave us a lesson in wine making beginning with dumping the grapes into a bladder press which squeezes the grapes, and the juice is pumped into tanks for fermentation. The fermentation is completed in 14 days or less. It is then processed and barreled. Barrels used for red wine are never used for white wine. To make pink wine they use red grapes and leave the skins in for a few hours or overnight and the wine will be pink. Grande River makes 16-17 different wines.

After fermentation and filtering, the wine is bottled. We saw the bottling process and their original bottling machinery. We learned how the tanks were cleaned with hot water and citric acid powder. Naomi is also a musician and Grande River has concerts on the lawn. The theme is “I Heard It through the Grapevine”.

The Art Center has one of the largest collections of Navajo rugs in the state – started in the 1950s. This ended our touring for the second day. We headed back into Grand Junction for an hour rest before we walked to Bin 707 for dinner. We walked to Bin 707 along Main Street which had been closed off for the Jazz Festival weekend. Bin 707 is extremely popular on Friday evenings.
A few of us walked around town and window shopped instead of being inside for dinner. We sat outside in the warm sun at a small coffee shop/restaurant on Colorado Street where it was very quiet. We stopped for ice cream/gelato in the shop between 2nd and 3rd on Main for great ice cream. We stayed on Main Street and listened to the music and “people-watched”. Back to the
hotel by 9 pm.

Day 3 – May 11, 2013 

Breakfast at our respective hotels. Carolyn Emmanuel met us at 8:30 for a walking tour of Main Street with Zebulon Miracle who is curator of the Museum of Western Colorado. Zeb is a Colorado native and represents several museums.

Zeb started off with a few statistics about Grand Junction. The town is 130 years old and received less than 9” of rain/year. Zeb showed us old photos of many of the downtown buildings and gave us their history. On the reverse of each photo (each about 15”x18”) was a map of the downtown area with each of the historic buildings that he wanted to speak about marked. Grand Junction was built at the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado (used to be called the Grand) rivers. Grand Junction was called Bellyache Flats due to bad water. In 1982 the river froze over and the railroad bridge in the photo Zeb showed us is still there. In the 1870s the area was mapped by Frederick Hayden (see Nancy B’s commentary). In September 1881 the Indians were removed and went to reservations.

George Crawford laid out one square mile for the town with each quarter having space for a park and a school. The city center had a jail, city hall, etc. In 1882 the first building went up in Grand Junction – owned by J.D. Maheley. J.D.’s was the first family to live in Grand Junction. He was also the first postmaster, the first preacher and the first justice of the peace – the only family in
town.

Early Grand Junction centered around ranching and agriculture. The Denver & Rio Grande railroad came through in November of 1882 and made receiving and sending goods so much easier. In the 1930s the highway was Main Street and had trolley tracks. In 1963 Grand Junction received an All-American City Award. Joe Lacey toured the world as ambassador for this style of town
center. In the 1950s and 1960s the population was about 15,000 though it is a regional trade center for about 300,000 people. The trade area is about the size of the state of Ohio.

There are more than 200 pieces of sculpture and art on the streets. Some are permanent, some rotate; they add one/year by popular vote. One of the favorites is “Chrome on the Range” depicting a buffalo made from chrome automobile bumpers. It stands in front of the Cannon Building. Mr. Cannon was a silver baron. The building was first built in 1882 but had no foundation
so had to be rebuilt in 1974.

In the 1930s Main Street had gambling halls even though gambling was illegal. There were two shocking murders in town during 1938. One was actually broadcast live on radio in 1938. The announcer strung wire and more wire to get around the corner to report live.

The Reed Building, built in 1908, replaced the Brunswick Hotel whose rates were $1.70/nite. The stage was about two blocks away. The Reed Building had commercial space. The second floor was used by Walter “Big Kid” Ames who opened the Biltmore Club. In December 1938, men shot him and took all the money. 1938 was a watershed year: Al Capone used to hang out in Glenwood Springs and stayed at the Hotel Colorado. Most of the police force and the judges were on the payroll so did not discourage the illegal gambling. Zeb also said there are some real colorful prostitute stories about Main Street as well and he does a “Madams, Mayhem and Murder” tour.

Main Street was also the site of the hose cart races where the local fire hose carts competed in a ¼ mile run down main pushing the hose cart. These races were very popular in many towns during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Next was the Bannister’s Furnishings Building – one of the oldest businesses in Grand Junction – in operation from 1880s until 2006. Bannister also was the undertaker and owned a couple of private cemeteries. The company sign is still visible on the brick on the side of the building. Now the building houses Boomers night club.

Then we heard about the Grand Valley National Bank – built in late 1880s and torn down in 1910. It was the first steel framed building in town and had the second elevator. Originally it was only two windows wide and a matching two more windows wide section was added later. There was a run on the bank in 1933 during the Depression and the bank closed. It was rechartered as First

National Bank on December 23, 1933 funded by $144,000 in CASH which was collected by bank employees who drove to Denver by car and returned to Grand Junction in a snow storm so that the bank could open on December 24th for the last minute Christmas shoppers.

We stopped at Sentinel Square which celebrated 120 years of the local newspaper. The pillars here framed the front of the original building. The Sentinel moved in 1970s. The Sentinel survived even though it had many competitors. Also in the 1920s the airport opened – Walter Walker of Sentinel fame pushed for the construction of the airport. I.N Bunting Walker ran the Sentinel for over 40 years, his son Preston then ran the paper. At Sentinel Square there is a sculpture of Preston Walker and his son. During the 1933 World Series, people gathered at the Sentinel office to get the play-by-play information. The Sentinel had a large scoreboard constructed and noted each play of the games and the score of the games.

The Mesa Theatre was built in the 1920 as was originally called the Majestic Theater. There were four opera houses and many famous stars stopped in Grand Junction overnight and gave performances on their way to San Francisco.

The Avalon Theater opened in 1923 and has over 1,000 seats on the main floor. Everybody who was anybody was here for the opening. The theater was very successful and featured such stars as Harry Houdini and John Phillips Sousa. On Christmas Day, soup and gifts were distributed – coining the name “Soupeaters”. In 1990s the Avalon was reconstructed back to its original glory
and is used almost nightly. The name Avalon came from a contest sponsored by Walter Walker and is the name of the island where King Arthur goes after he died and on this island are the best apples ever grown.

The Margery Building was built in the 1920s by Vernon Z Reed who was a land developer and named for his daughter. Margery went to University of Denver, spoke four languages, was one of the first female faculty members at DU and then moved to Lima, Peru after her marriage. Unfortunately, she contracted an exotic disease in Peru and died at the age of 22. Zeb reminded us that every building within the original square mile of the center of town is researched and is available just by contacting his museums. Zeb was a wealth of information about Grand Junction.

After our walking tour, we boarded the coach and conducted a couple of site visits at larger hotels that cater to coach tours. Collette tours tries to interact with the locals and includes home stays with local families. Grand Circle’s theme is “learning and discovery” and they look for opportunities to learn about the area.

Our first site visit was to the Doubletree (Hilton) where Mandy Freese, Sales Manager, met us. The Doubletree is the lead or top tour property. They roll out a red carpet for the arrival of a coach tour and hold an open reception in the lobby area for the group. They pre-key for these groups. They have facilities to have group tour dinners indoors or out and also feature special
menus. The hotel sits on ten acres of land, and has a resort-like setting. The lobby has several event monitors showing activities for the day in various meeting rooms. The lobby also features photos of local natural beauty such as the Colorado National Monument. There is a fitness center, Jacuzzi, swimming pool and a sand volleyball court. The pool is handicapped accessible – a pool life is now required at every hotel now. The hotel has seven meeting rooms and a breakout room.

The hotel was had a major renovation in 2012. Mattresses are changed out every four to five years. We looked at a king room that had a great view of the golf course. The Doubletree has a full service lounge and restaurant as well as room service. They have two patio areas that can be served from the restaurant for lunch and dinner. Locals come here a lot for the restaurant and
bar which feature live music on Friday and Saturday evenings. The local winemakers’ dinner has been held here ($50/person) and local wines and liquors are served here.  We also visited a queen room – microwave and refrigerator are available on request. They also have handicap rooms with full beds so that there is more room for a wheel chair. The VA hospital
located in Grand Junction is one of the largest in the U.S.

A free shuttle goes downtown from the Doubletree and will drop off visitors and pick them up. The hotel is two minutes from the airport and about 10 minutes from downtown.

Baseball was important to Grand Junction long before the JUCO World Series made its permanent home in Grand Junction. The Junior College baseball World Series has been in Grand Junction for over 50 years. This event takes place in late May. Tickets are very reasonable at $7.00/game. The Doubletree partners with the Grand Junction Rockies (minor league team).

There are over 3,000 rooms in Grand Junction. Seventy-five percent of the hotels on Horizon Drive have shuttles to the airport and railroad station.

Courtyard by Marriott across the street from the Doubletree is adding a restaurant this year to make it an almost full-service restaurant. Gateway – John Hendricks (Disney Channel) offers scenic flights and scenic helicopter flights for as little as $99/person. You can have breakfast on the Colorado River for about $14-$15/person. 

Grand Vista Hotel has a very experienced General Manager (30 years) from Sweden. He keeps close tabs on what is happening in his hotel. The VCB’s contact is Phyllis, a long-time hotel person in Grand Junction. The Grand Vista has a very nice lobby and reception area. They have a small indoor swimming pool in an octagonal shape with great natural light. They have a full service
restaurant and will customize menus. They prefer small table dining. We looked at a queen room with a view of the courtyard and the canal. Tour group rates are $72/nite year-round. Most of the rooms in the Grand Vista are double doubles. The Grand Vista hosts approximately 185 tours/year. They have booked 60 tours for Chinese visitors. The corner suite seems to be the
tour escort’s spot. More and more people are staying in Grand Junction because Moab has gotten so expensive and the Interstate puts Grand Junction closer in time spent on the road.

There are wide sidewalks on the canal for ease in walking around the area. We also walked through Bailey’s Lounge (it looks like “Cheers”) where local beer, wine and spirits are served. We walked through Oliver’s Restaurant where lots of antiques and local old photos are displayed. It is a very comfortable and welcoming room.

Barbara Bowman also told us that the Clarion also hosts many tour groups. On the VCB website is a “sales lead” tab that is really a room rate survey.

We bid farewell to Barbara Bowman and headed off toward Denver. Jody Calton did an impromptu commentary about Glenwood Springs since she has been there many, many times. Jody told us that the Hotel Colorado has several ghosts. The Glenwood Hot Springs has a larger than Olympic size pool. The pool has a slide as well as 12 lanes for lap swimming. You can sit in a chair in the hotter pool and put in a quarter for muscle therapy massage. There is also a mini-golf course close by. The Hotel Colorado and Glenwood Hot Springs were used as a hospital during WWII. Many presidents – including William Howard Taft and Teddy Roosevelt visited. Teddy gave speeches from his balcony. Teddy hunted bear and was unsuccessful on the hunt. Hotel employees gave him a home-made stuffed small bear which was the original of the “Teddy Bear”. Margaret Tobin Brown also stayed at the hotel. There is a trout pond in front of the hotel with an 85’ fountain. The fountain on the south court has a 185’ spray.

The Ute Indians came to the area for medicinal reasons. They thought that the hot springs and vapor caves were beneficial to both people and horses. Chief Ouray traveled to Washington, D.C. several times to get peace between the natives and the immigrants. In the late 1800s Doc Holliday, a gambler and gun-fighter spent time in Glenwood. Doc also was a participant in
Deadwood, South Dakota, at the OK Corral, and many other gunfights. He died at age 36 from tuberculosis and is buried in Glenwood Springs.

Jody also mentioned several special things that happen in Glenwood Springs. She mentioned Strawberry Days which occur on Father’s Day weekend. In the park are art displays and crafters displays. The kettle corn is fabulous as well as the sweet corn with dipping sauces. There are rides for little kids a short distance to the west at a strip mall.

The motel Jody prefers is about $50/nite and is two blocks from the hotel. On Saturday there is a parade and the people on the floats throw candy to the kids. There is a maze and go-carts, golf, shopping, and several good restaurants, including Juicy Lucy an upscale restaurant which specializes in steaks.

During 2006 and 2007 there were many oil rigs and gas compressors in the area. The price of natural gas dropped but oil prices did not drop so there are rigs drilling for oil again. 

When we arrived in Glenwood Springs, we went to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park. There is ample parking for coaches here. We took the gondola to the top of the mountain. Prices for the park and gondola rides are: For a ride and a tour of the caverns $25/adults and $20 for kids 12 and under. The gondola only is $13/adults and $8/kids. You can also get a day pass that allows
you to go on any of the rides at the top, the cavern, the go-carts down the hill, the “zipline” which is really a two-seater ski-lift chair and the roller coaster as many times as you like. The group rate for the day pass is $43/person. In winter season (mid-Oct through mid-May) and also during the summer from 5-9 pm you can do the “day pass” for $30/person. If you only book the gondola and want to participate in the rides when you get to the top, they cost $4/each. The Park is open year round.

We had lunch overlooking the town and had great views of the mountains. Lunch was a spaghetti/rigatoni buffet with two types of sauce, salad, garlic bread and a soft drink. After lunch we were taken on a tour of the cave. In the cave we saw limonite, flowstone and calcite. The cave was opened for tours in 1895 by Charles W. Darrow. Darrow called the caverns the Fairy Caves. The caves were closed to the public from 1917 to 1998. The cavern we toured is 100 yards long total and about 6-1/2 stories high. The land was sold to Steve Beckley in 1998 and he developed the Park. Our guide showed us rock formations that look like strips of bacon where water has collected and colored them. We also saw places where the water dripping has formed small designs that look like fairies. The stalagmites and stalactites that we saw are about 30,000 years old. It rained while we were in the cavern but it was clearing off as we exited. Timing is everything!

Back onto the coach and heading downhill to Denver. Mary Bendelow offered commentary about the history of the area. Mary went to graduate school and had a career in witness preparation before becoming a tour director six years ago. Mary’s children are both in exciting careers and she is very proud of them. Her husband Kent (also an RMGA member) is involved in website
building. 

As we crossed the Eagle River, Mary told us about Leadville, the highest incorporated city in the USA. It was a boomtown with the discovery of gold, silver and then molybdenum (used to harden steel). Molybdenum had a huge value in WWII; it was worth more than all the gold and silver ever mined there. There are many tunnels under Leadville with one billion gallons of toxic water.

Pine beetles have killed off many of the pines and aspen trees have filled in some of the gaps. Heat and cold – minus 22 degrees for a week kills the larva. Or fire/heat will destroy them. We can expect more and hotter fires in the future since we try to suppress fires which would take out the beetles. Pine beetles can kill a tree in two weeks! The beetles are moving from  

ponderosa pines to other varieties.

Mary talked about the Gore Range to the north of us; it is about 60 miles long and is a rugged range. It got its name from Sir St. Edward Gore, an Irish baronet. He received $200,000/year from the family estate in the mid 1800s. He created a hunting expedition for himself in the US that lasted three years. He arrived with a caravan of 110 horses, 40 oxen, 50 hunting dogs, 21
red carts – of which 16 had his personal belongings and each of those 16 were drawn by 6 horses. He also had 10 wagons – two of which each had 10 tons of supplies. He had a fur-lined commode. He hired Jim Bridger to lead him through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and the Dakotas. In those three years he killed 4,000 bison, 1,500 elk, 500 bear, and 2,000 deer and never touched a carcass. He also had a 16’ x 25’ tent that was carpeted. He dined alone on the finest French food and wines, intent on maintaining class distinctions. After three years he went to Fort Union to sell his equipment, the offer was not what he wanted so he burned everything – fenced it so nobody could drag out anything. He then left for the Black Hills for more hunting. After three weeks the Indians had had enough and Gore and his group were given an ultimatum, they could be beheaded or they could strip naked and make a run for it. They stripped and after five weeks they reached civilization again. He went back to Ireland but his legacy was to leave his name on the Gore Range, Gore Pass, Gore Creek and at one time even a city. The amount he spent on the three year trip was $50,000 – in today’s dollars worth about $1.3 billion!!!

Other subjects discussed on the way down were: Project Rulison (near Rifle) which was an atomic bomb experiment to get oil out of the ground. They exploded an atomic bomb underground, it did get the oil loose, however, the oil was now radioactive and could not be used.

Ken Stauffer, our intrepid coach driver noted that the roads in Wyoming and Utah are actually better than those in Colorado.


The Ten Mile Range is on the east side of Vail Pass. Copper Mountain is one of four ski areas in Summit County – Breckenridge, Copper, Keystone and Arapaho Basin. Summit is a huge county – it was one of the original 17 counties in Colorado. The northern half was split off to form Garfield County, and then two other counties split off. In 2007 the median income was $67,000 and in
2012 a single family home averaged $700,000 and a condo went for $300,000.

Frisco, after mining, has a population of 2,500. It was intended to be a ski resort employee town though it is very crowded now. Lake Dillon is at 60% capacity at the moment; it opened in 1963 and offers very treacherous sailing – no motorized anything allowed on the lake. In general people are on the Eastern Slope and the water is on the Western Slope. Dillon itself was moved to dry ground. The old Dillon Inn had walls was covered with artwork from Frederick Remington and Charlie Russell. Charlie used the paintings to pay his bar bill. The guy who bought it knew art and took all the paintings and walked out on the mortgage.

Elsie DeHerrera entertained us with a game about definitions of town names in Colorado. The game was very fun and we all had a good laugh over some of the definitions.

Back to Golden at 7pm on the dot and our tour was over and 13 very tired people headed for home.

Contacts

Visitor Bureaus

1 Grand Junction Visitor and Convention Bureau, 740 Horizon Drive, Grand Junction, CO
81506 970.244.1480 www.visitgrandjunction.com Barbara Bowman
barbarab@gjcity.org mobile 970.261.1052

2 Visit Vail Valley, P.O. Box 1130, Vail, CO 81658 970.477.4007 Danielle McNair
dmcnair@visitvailvalley.com Sandra Perrig-Holst sperrig-holst@visitvailvalley.com

3 Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association, P.O. Box 1238, Glenwood Springs, CO
81602 970.230.9035 Lisa Langer lisa@glenwoodchamber.com

Attractions/Vendors

1 Colorado National Monument, Fruita, CO 81521 970.858.3617 www.nps.gov/colm Lisa
Eckert, Superintendent

2 Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum, 231 South Frontage Road East, Vail, CO 81657
www.skimuseum.net 970.476.1876 Volunteer guides: Deep Andrew DeChoudhury and
Ann Writer

3 Fairfield Inn and Suites, 225 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501 970.242.2525
Cindy Goodrich Cindy.goodrich@bresnan.net 970.243.3222

4 Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, 51000 Two Rivers Plaza Road, Glenwood Springs, CO
81601 800.530.1635 www.glenwoodcaverns.com Chris Ehlers, Sales and Marketing
cehlers@glenwoodcaverns.com 970.379.8522

5 Grande River Vineyards, 787 37.3 Road, Palisade, CO 81526 970.464.5867
www.granderiverwines.com Naomi Shepherd, owner info@granderiverwines.com

6 Hampton Inn, 205 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501 970.243.3222 Cindy
Goodrich Cindy.goodrich@bresnan.net 970.243.3222

7 High Country Orchards, Colteris Wines Tasting Room, 3548 E1/2 Road, Palisade, CO
81526 970.464.1150 Theresa High, owner/ Scott High
theresa@highcountryorchards.com

8 Il Bistro Italiano, 400 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501 970.243.8662
bistroitaliano@bresnan.net Brunela Gualerzi

9 Museum of Western Colorado, P.O. Box 20000, Grand Junction, CO 81502 970.242.0971
www.museumofwesternco.org Zebulon Miracle, Curator of Anthropology
zmiracle@westcomuseum.org Ext 211

10 Rockslide Restaurant and Brewery, 401 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501
www.rockslidebrewpub.com

11 Springhill Suites by Marriott, 236 Main Street, Grand Junction, CO 81501 970.424.5777
Cindy Goodrich Cindy.goodrich@bresnan.net 970.243.3222

12 Two Rivers Winery and Chateau, 2087 Broadway, Grand Junction, CO 81507
970.255.1471 www.tworiverswinery.com Brittany Crowell, Tasting Room Manager
info@tworiverswinery.com

-- Nancy Brueggeman