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Tag: orchard mesa

Third Flats Road & Art Cook’s ViewThird Flats Road & Art Cook's View

Third Flats Road & Art Cook’s View

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, May 21, 2024

Just like last week, I headed over to the Third Flats area after work this afternoon so I could hike a new trail to a highpoint on Horse Mesa, and also just like last week, I ended up changing those plans because of threatening storms in the area. After leaving work and driving up Little Park Road into the Bangs Canyon Recreation Area, I drove down the Third Flats Road all the way to the Gunnison River near the mouth of Billings Canyon and was hoping to hike up to the top of Horse Point from there. However, there were rainstorms in the area and the final section of the road down to the Gunnison River was cut through clay and I didn’t want to chance getting stuck down there if it rained, so I drove back up the road a little ways and hiked the Art Cook’s View Trail instead. I’ll have to come back for Horse Point another time.

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The Gunnison River: Redlands Dam to Dos Rios ParkThe Gunnison River: Redlands Dam to Dos Rios Park

The Gunnison River: Redlands Dam to Dos Rios Park

The Grand Junction of the Gunnison River and Colorado River | Estimated CFS: 460
Summer Solstice | Tuesday, June 21, 2022

After floating part of the Gunnison River from Whitewater to the Redlands Dam with Jackson a little over a week ago, we knew that we would have to come back with our packrafts to float the short section from the Redlands Dam down to the confluence with the Colorado River since it’s one of the remaining few sections below Pleasure Park that neither of us had done yet. After figuring out a date that our schedules aligned, we planned the short float for today after work on the Summer Solstice. Since we didn’t have too much time in the evening, this needed to be a short float, so we planned to take-out at Dos Rios Park just below the confluence at a spot that Jackson had scouted the previous weekend. We left from work, dropped Jackson’s car off at Dos Rios and then took my Jeep down to the Redlands Dam where we inflated our packrafts and got on the river.

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The Gunnison River: Whitewater to Redlands DamThe Gunnison River: Whitewater to Redlands Dam

The Gunnison River: Whitewater to Redlands Dam

Saturday, June 11, 2022 | Average CFS: 2,040

After spending much of the last two weeks out and about, it was time for me to stay closer to home for a weekend before heading up into the mountains to begin the summer season. I thought another local river trip was in order, so Jackson and I planned to float a new section of the Gunnison River from Whitewater to the Redlands Dam in Grand Junction. There’s not too much information out there about this stretch of the river, so we were looking forward to checking it out!

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The Colorado River: Palisade to Grand JunctionThe Colorado River: Palisade to Grand Junction

The Colorado River: Palisade to Grand Junction

Palisade Riverbend Park to the Redlands Parkway Boat Ramp
Sunday, May 24, 2020

Even though I had decided to stay home this holiday weekend, I still managed to take a few hours off from packing up our house on Sunday morning so I could get on the Colorado River with a few friends for a float through the Grand Valley. A few days prior I had coordinated this last-minute trip with Jackson and Chris at work, and then I found out on Sunday morning that my friend Steve would also be joining us also, which was a nice surprise since I hadn’t seen him in a little while. Since the river is moving fast from spring runoff this time of the year, we decided to put in at the Riverbend Park in Palisade and take out at the Redlands Parkway Boat Ramp, which is about a 17 mile stretch of the river. I haven’t done this section of the Colorado River in a long time, and actually the only time I floated this stretch was with Jackson in his inflatable kayak before I bought my own. We got an early start to try and beat the crowds that we knew would be getting on the river later in the day and we also hoped that the cooler temperature out today might help keep the crowds at bay.

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Quick Ride on the Old Spanish TrailQuick Ride on the Old Spanish Trail

Quick Ride on the Old Spanish Trail

Sunday, September 25, 2011

After my float down the Colorado River in the afternoon, I came home and relaxed for a little while. About an hour before sunset I decided to head out and do a little mountain biking near home. Not too far away is a part of the Old Spanish Trail, and it’s open to bikes, so I headed over there for a short and easy ride as the sun was setting. I took a few photos along the way…

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