We left Montrose this morning and headed for the long haul to Grand Junction - 58 miles! :) We are here for just one night with the sole purpose of being here to take a side trip to Rifle, 62 miles to the east! Rifle, Colorado you might wonder why? Because there is a restaurant there, Shooter's Grill, that is all about the Second Amendment and the "right to bear arms" as seen on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Facebook! When we were "not planning" our trip and then started planning our trip, I asked Thom if we could go to Rifle so we could eat at Shooter's Grill, and of course you know the answer - yes!
After lunch, we stopped in at the Visitor's Center to see if there was a drive back to Grand Junction that did not take us on the I-70, 75 MPH racetrack. There is but there could be a glitch - the road at Grand Mesa might be closed due to "snow". Genie, the gal at the Visitor's Center, was very kind to call ahead and see if the roads were open in Grand Mesa and as suspected they were not. With that being said, she did mention another drive right there in Rifle that she said would be a good side trip to make. As usual, we took the side trip, but it was nothing like the past day's!
Our day in photos -
Our next Jeep?
On our way to Grand Junction via US 50 West.
Another change in scenery. Colorado has been a wonderful state to explore and re-explore!
This guy has a lasso on board!
What a different drive - straight, most of the way!
Thom took this photo. I was driving. I didn't even see this!
Just a wall of trees in the plains!
The bustling city of Grand Junction in the background!
On our way to Rifle, CO via I-70 East.
The plane, the plane!
A face in the rocks!
Another face or a fish face!
Now this is serious snail mail!
Our Smith & Wesson .357 packing waitress Tori! She was so cute and had a foot brace on her left foot. Thom asked her if she "shot herself in the foot"! LOL!
I love this place!
I love it even more!
We ordered 20 wings, 5 hot and 15 honey BBQ with onion rings. We had no idea the wings would be full legs with very few chicken wing flats. Half went home.
Thom points to the corner across the room. What? A Gator? The owners are from Florida!
I have lots of Rifle, CO photos but I am only picking a few.
The gun shop owner calls this his "gun ball" machine!
Did I tell you I love Rifle? Another reason why!
On our way to Rifle Falls State Park.
No, we did not take this dirt road!
So pretty! There were water skiers on the chilly lake!
Rifle Falls; very pretty.
Rock climbers in the summer; ice climbers in the winter on the same rock walls!
Another dirt road but at the base of a canyon!
We think this is a chipmunk. He was quite cooperative to have his photo taken, literally to the side of the window!
We had no idea where we were going but we were going!
We think we were headed for Coulter Mesa, but ...
When we got to this sign, we took out the paper map go figure out what route to take but along came a trio of trucks hauling horse trailers and asked if we were lost! The first truck, a lovely cowgirl woman, strongly suggested we turn around and head back to Rifle, so we did!
Another rock climber!
Caves in the rocks the climbers are tackling. I wondered if any climbers ever stay up in the caves to rest.
The very full Colorado River was raging all along I-70. I sure hope this river doesn't flood!
Tomorrow we head for Utah - Green River. It is just 103 miles from here, so it should be an easy day. We will be there for four nights. We look forward to adding another state to our map and just relaxing, unless we find a scenic highway waiting for us to explore!
Until next blog ...
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