Dad's last day visiting before I had to go back to work I said, you pick what you want to do! Dad's birthday is the 16th, so I decided we would celebrate early. We looked through the brochures the night before and he decided he wanted to take a drive on 141, a road that was said to have great views and then go to Montrose, a city south of Grand Junction.
On February 12th, we woke up to overcast, but we decided to head out anyway. The drive on 141 turned into quite the snow belt, so we turned around after awhile. Since I did buy my new truck, I pulled off in the mountains to take some pictures. You may think I'm ridiculous, but when you buy your first brand new vehicle with your own money, you should take some pictures of it and Colorado has a great back drop!
They turned out pretty neat right?!
Anyways, we made out way to Montrose. When we arrived, we went to Black Canyon National Park. Though we went drove south, here in Colorado, we actually gained a ton of elevation, which meant it was much colder! We were not prepared for that after we had been hiking in 50 degree weather. We drove into the park and it was beautiful. Every turn we went around was a different view of the park. Picture the Grand Canyon, now make it a little smaller... okay a lot smaller, and covered in snow. It was beautiful. In the summer time you can hike there, you can also hike a little in the winter, but you need snow shoes and warmer apparel (which we did not bring).
The visiting center was open so we were able to learn about the park and watch an interesting video on the history of this canyon. At the bottom, similar to the Grand Canyon, is a river named the Gunnison River. It is roughly 1800 feet below where we looked out, and you could hear the river roaring...imagine getting stuck down there. In 1949, a man wanted to build a scenic train route at the bottom of this canyon, he didn't get all the way through the canyon, but the train did run! Imagine hiking all the way down this canyon to build a train track. Lots of man power!
If you look, at the bottom of the canyon, that's the Gunnison River! We could hear it!
After we realized we would not be hiking much. We ate some food we packed in the car and looked up breweries near us! To the Horsefly Brewery we went! This turned out to be a great experience. We got some soup, an odd thing to order at a bar, but it was warm and I was ice cold. An older gentleman sat next to us with the coolest fur hat. I said, "I like your hat". He told my dad and I the story of how he got it and all times people have offered to buy it. We chatted with him for awhile and he used to run 14er's, kind of like a 46er... except the elevation is above 14,000 (aka you go up, and back down since there is no oxygen). As an example, look up Pikes Peak (a 14er), a strenuous hike that is on my bucket list. He has ran it more than once and many more peaks similar to that! Absolutely amazing. He has since left his running shoes and started to swim since his body could not take it anymore. We exchanged emails and took off!
Once we got back to Grand Junction, Dad wanted to get a burger at a bar for his early birthday! We went to a place called Charlie Dwellington's where Dad got a green chili burger! He loved it! We also watched the Olympics and played games with the beer sponsor that was there.
The next morning we went to Main Street Cafe, walking distance from me and a place I hadn't been to yet! It was delicious and a great way to help me take a nap before my night shift.
That night I went to work. Dad had a nice time checking out some other places near me. When I arrived home, Valentine's day, as a surprise he had a rose plant and chocolate covered strawberries waiting for me! How nice! We went to a bakery 2 blocks away that I have been wanting to go to. The food was absolutely delicious, accepts only cash, and was really cheap!
After we finished our pastries, I brought my dad to the train station where I had to say goodbye. My dad went back to Longmont and is leaving this week for NY. I am so happy he was able to visit me for over a week! I miss him already!
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