September 6 2015
The rain had cleared up by morning so we were able to make a small fire and defrost while eating some breakfast. We packed up camp, stopped briefly to cast to some trout, and then we were back on the road. The drive north west was a different landscape than we had seen previously. There were flat valleys that were almost desert like and mesas standing alone.
We got to Grand Junction just before 5pm and found our first winery. We tasted wine, chatted with the owner, bought a bottle, grabbed a map and moved onto the next winery.
Ptarmigan Vineyards
Same drill at the next stop. We tasted wine, chatted, bought a bottle, also bought wine infused cheesecake, and moved onto the next vineyard.
Whitewater Hill Vineyards
Our last stop was at Hermosa Vineyards, and we saved the best for last. We pulled into the winery which was actually just someone’s house and garage. Everything was closed up. We saw an older man walking around the back side of the house and we asked if he was still open for business, we waved us in and opened up the garage for us. After tasting the wine he asked us if we were in a hurry. No, we weren’t. He invited us into the back and gave us a special batch of cherry port wine and he filled our glasses to the top and led us to the back porch of his house. We sat out there and talked for over an hour. We bought his last bottle of cherry port wine. We were buzzed from the wine and driving farther into the mountains to find camp was a bad idea. So we booked a room.
I took a much needed shower, we got take-out Chinese food, drank the wine from Ptarmigan and Whitewater Hill (saving the port wine for a special occasion) and watched a movie.
Tomorrow, homeward bound.
Callie Betz Creative 