The Mesa, the tablet and the palomino

Penny and Michele left on Friday morning.  It was half and half for me.  Lonely and glad to be alone.  Understand?  Anyway, I had another night booked in my little cabin so I tried to relax and enjoy the day.  The hike I had planned wasn’t feasible with all the snow so I hiked around the lodge and later in the day I hiked up onto the Crag Trail.

The main thing that was affecting my trip was all the bookings, emails, call submissions etc.  Internet connection was spotty which I understood- they were saying, “Relax.  You’re on vacation.”  But I wasn’t on vacation, I was scouting and trying to vacate at the same time.  I actually took a drive in the morning to where I could get cell service and work from my phone.

I left after breakfast on Saturday morning and headed back down to Palisade, just outside of GJ, to scout a hike near Chalk Mt. which might provide a link between Palisade and the town of Mesa.

The day was beautiful, clear and sunny.

I found the trailhead and parked my Nissan all by itself in the parking lot and took off.  Ahh.  Warm, easy trail, possibilities, love.

There was only one thing wrong.  There wasn’t a soul in sight and the further I got away the more uneasy I got.  I had my SPOT.  But really, did I want to use it?  The trail was mainly a dirt track which was easy, yet anything can happen.  No one was going to pass by.  I kept stopping and looking ahead at the next section of trail.  I kept going always hoping I’d get around a corner, totally see what I needed to see and be able to return having found the route I was looking for.  It never happened.  The track just kept beckoning me forward.  On and on.  Further and further.

Finally I said, “Enough.”  I headed back down.  Near the very end of the route I began to think about my car as I couldn’t see it.  I then saw a Mesa County Sheriff car coming my way.  He stopped, greeted me and asked if I was having a good day.  I said yes and asked if he had seen my car.  “Is it blue?”  Ok good, the car is there.

This meeting was a blessing as I was able to collect quite a bit of information.  He lived right near the trailhead and knew all the scoop on private property and trails.

I then went back to the car and headed down to GJ.  But first I wanted to stop in Palisade at Garfield Estate Vineyard and get a bottle of wine for David. Remember it was Saturday, the day people are out and about doing the wine-tasting thing.  I found Garfield Estates and pulled in.  I made my way up to the wine-tasting room where a well-dressed group was being served.  I entered in a cloud of dust and dirt with my heavy hiking boots and hair sticking every which way out of my visor.  I was instantly aware of myself.  I waited for a couple of minutes while the group tee-heed about this and that wine.  Finally the guy behind the counter said, “Can I help you?”  I managed to squeeze into a small area of the counter and asked if I could buy a bottle of cabernet.  I had to smile.  I may not have the best-dressed, but I was the only one spending money.

I then made my way into Grand Junction and the Palomino Inn.

To be continued…[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]