A Little Solitude

 Imagine waking up to this view every morning...

We've been spending the week here with family not far from Crawford, Colorado.  The area is quite picturesque in every direction but there is more to take in than just the raw natural beauty.  20 or 30 years ago I would have spent much of my time hiking and free-climbing every opportunity open to me.  These days, I still haven't acclimated to the altitude well enough to consider much more than a gentle walking trail.  We did take a short hike out to the Rim of the Black Canyon (on the previous post) but life in any geographic location needs a little spice to thrive and this area is no exception.

Interestingly, we spent Saturday exploring the area and stopped for a wine tasting at the Azura Cellars and

Gallery in Paonia, CO.  What a delightful treat, I never expected a vineyard here, and we saw at least 3 on our way to Azura.  I've never much liked wines, But Lynn is quite fond of wine and at Azura I found their Yacht Club Red not too sweet and not too dry quite pleasing even to my uneducated palette.  Lynn purchased a bottle of Malbec and we enjoyed a glass sitting out on the patio with a charcuterie board.  

A short drive back down to the valley we stopped for an early evening meal at a place called Big B's Delicious Orchards where they had live music, Hot Food, a campground, and a country store with local flavors.  There was an absolutely eclectic crowd of people there all enjoying the music and what I can only describe as square dancing although the sign out front indicated it was Contra Dancing.  I wasn't too keen on the idea of taking pictures here but if you click the link above and explore their website you'll get a good idea of the vibe here.  I think this would be a fun place for anyone to drop in or even camp/stay a night or two if you're passing through the area.

One hard to miss geographical landmark in the area is Needle Rock.  A volcanic plug 7874 feet above sea level exposing about 870 feet of igneous rock a thousand feet above the adjacent Smith Fork. There is a hiking trail up the northeast side and I imagine this would be one to put on the list for any rock climbers.

On a side note, as we passed back through Crawford, CO on the way back to the RV, a noted building in disrepair known as Mad Dog Ranch Fountain Cafe.  The establishment had been owned and operated by none other than Joe Cocker.  The "Mad Dog Ranch" was located near to the Needle Rock Monument and as it happens, Joe Cocker is buried at Garden of Memories cemetery about a block away from his old cafe.  

We'll be headed northeasterly back across the Rockies with a 2 day break in Loveland, CO on Monday.

Enjoy the Memorial Day Weekend, I'll update again time permitting...  Thanks for stopping in.