A Scenic Drive Through Beautiful Mesa County, Colorado

Last fall, my husband and I drove Southwest to Durango, Colorado, where we took a round-trip ride on the historic Durango to Silverton Railroad (click here to see that post). On the way back towards Denver, we decided to drive a bit north to pick up Interstate 70 in Grand Junction, Colorado. As we drove east, we saw the most amazing scenery!

Grand Junction is located in Mesa County in Colorado. It is the most populous county in western Colorado, and the 11th most populous in the state.

The topography of this county was so unique!

Mt. Garfield reminded me of an Egyptian Pyramid!

Mt. Garfield is the high point of the Book Cliffs, east-northeast of Grand Junction, and overlooking the town of Palisade. The mountain was named after President James Garfield a year after Garfield's death. The mountain's geology is composed of Mesaverde Group overlaying Mancos Shale.

Palisade is known for its peach orchards and wine vineyards. The local climate provides a 182-day growing season, with an average 78 percent of sunshine, which makes Palisade "The Peach Capital of Colorado."  

Every summer residents of Colorado looks forward to buying the large ultra-sweet peaches.

I shared many of my favorite Paliside Peach recipes in this post.

Palisade lies on the north side of the Colorado River, 11 miles (18 km) east of Grand Junction,

 The river was flowing fully last fall and was a beautiful shade of blue.

The climate in Mesa County is relatively mild by Colorado standards. It has a semi-arid climate, with warm summers and mild winters. Average temperatures in the summer range from the low- to mid-90s (32.22 C) while winter temperatures usually range between 40 and 50 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 to 10C). The area typically receives less than 12 inches of precipitation annually, mainly in the form of snowfall during the winter months.

I was in awe of the scenery!

The contrast between the bright blue sky and the large stone mountains was so beautiful!

As we continued driving east we approached  Glenwood Canyon.

Glenwood Canyon is a rugged scenic 12.5 mi (20 km) canyon, and its walls climb as high as 1,300 feet (400 m) above the Colorado River. It is the largest canyon in the Upper Colorado.  

Eight years ago, my husband and I drove to the Glenwood Canyon area for a few days to celebrate an anniversary. We hiked over 1,000 feet high to visit Hanging Lake--click here to see that post--to this day it is one of the most magnificent places we have seen in Colorado!  We are so happy that we accomplished that hike on a whim.

There are many more places we would like to visit in Mesa County, Colorado, and hope to return there in the near future to see the Colorado National Monument area, and perhaps be able to pick a few peaches from a Palisade peach tree!

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