The drive from Denver to Grand Junction, as I've mentioned, was a nail biter for me.
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| Flame and Eisenhower Pass |
But once we arrived in the Grand Valley of the Colorado River, the Mesa Plateau and the Book Mountains were beautiful. Ann invited us to her unit for snacks and described the landscape from her balcony on the fourth floor. Lorren Harbin joined us for snacks, too, and showed us her unit on the first floor.
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| Raised bed garden at the Coop |
The Motel 6 in Grand Junction, CO, we slightly better than the previous two. The AC is on the wall and much quieter. The shower has hot water. Our AARP membership got us a discount on the room rate since I reserved the room. The desk area was bigger, and I could actually sit and write while drinking coffee and letting Mary sleep in.
I don't know that we got a lot of rest this day. Ann invited me over at 9am, and I brought a small load of laundry. Ann had all of the fixins for egg salad sandwiches, which we would eat on the road after we leave Grand Junction. Ann introduced me to Vietnamese instant coffee, which was delicious. Lorren came over and gave me a book on the geology of the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park.
When we picked up Mary from the Motel 6, we drove to Spoons bistro & bakery, a non-profit restaurant serving the hospice program in Grand Junction.
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| Mary and Ann at Spoons |
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| Jo and Ann at Spoons with Flame |
Spoons is located in a healthcare complex that includes the local hospice and the proceeds from Spoons funds the hospice program. We ate outside and the landscaping was gorgeous and is maintained by volunteers.
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| Driving to the Colorado National Monument |
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| On the way to the Colorado National Monument |
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| A tenaja on the way to the Colorado National Monument |
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| Looking back toward town from the Colorado National Monument |
Our next adventure, after lunch, was driving up the road to the Colorado National Monument. Another very scary ride for me with Mary driving Ann's car. Switchbacks, narrow shoulders, steep inclines, these all kept me nervous, but Mary and Ann loved it! After we got down off the mountain, Ann took over as driver and drove us all over the valley. We must have crossed the Colorado River at least ten times as we meandered up and down the valley. Ann showed us every elementary and middle school at which she taught in her 47 years in Grand Junction. Our day ended at McAlister's for dinner.
And then it was time to say goodbye to Ann. I loved our day together even if the road to the Colorado National Monument tried my nerves. I appreciated Ann's touristy tour of the valley and Lorren's generosity with the geology book.
What did Day Four mean to me? It meant everything emotionally that Ann and Lorren took time to spend with Mary and I.
What did I learn on Day Four? I learned more than I had known before about the Colorado River and the various landscape features of the Grand Valley.
What would I do differently if Mary and I travel in the future? We would probably avoid Denver and come into the valley from a southerly direction in order to get around Eisenhower Pass.
