We hadn’t decided what to do today before we went to bed last night, so this morning, after looking at the map, we headed out to Grand Mesa. We headed north from Montrose on some county roads and meandered our way through Cedaredge and ended up on Hwy. 65, part of the National Scenic and Historic Byway through Grand Mesa. What a beautiful drive!
There was a bit of haze in the air this morning, but our first stop at an overlook just north of Cedaredge was still beautiful!
Five miles down the road we stopped at the Grand Mesa Visitor Center. We picked up some good maps and information on places to stop along our way. Just across from the visitor’s center is Cobbett Lake. It was a small lake with a nice trail leading around the lake. We walked part way around, but the mosquitos thought we were tasty morsels, so we headed back to the car!
We continued to the Land of Lakes overlook trail. The view from the top was great! We could spot six different lakes and the wildflowers were beautiful.
Back on the road we continued our westward drive. The wildflowers along the way were a good reason to stop for more photos!
The ranger suggested we go to the Raber Cow Camp which was located five miles down a gravel road, but well worth the drive!
Raber Cow Camp is located on a loop trail with interpretive signs around an the old historic cabins and corral. Most of the abandoned cow camps on the Grand Mesa were thought to be hazardous so the Forest Service tore them down. However, the Raber Cow Camp was spared and was actually renovated in 1993 as an example of what life here was like in the 1940’s and 1950’s, the heydays of cow camp life on Grand Mesa.
Winifred Raber, who stayed at the cow camp every summer from the 1930s until 1966, has helped document the history of the camp. Some of her recollections and photographs are presented along a short interpretive trail that visitors can walk to learn about the cow camp’s history. The cabins were preserved in 1998 in partnership with the Colorado State Historic fund."
One of the log cabins on the site was built in 1931 or 1932; the other dates from 1933 or 1934.
We took the short walk between the lower and upper cabins and were able to go inside both of them. I am always amazed how people were able to survive with so little!
After stopping here, we continued on to the Land’s End Observatory overlook, another seven miles on the gravel road. WOW. Land’s End Overlook, which sits on the mesa’s rim had stunning views of the national forest as well as the Grand Valley.
The formation’s top layer is hard basalt and was formed about 10 million years ago, and it rests on layers of shale and sandstone. The softer layers were eroded over millions of years by the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers. Constant water flow ate away at the shale and sandstone layers, causing Grand Mesa to rise dramatically above the surrounding area. Today, it looms some 6,000 feet over the Grand Valley and the town of Grand Junction!
Of course, there were more wildflowers here, as well!
And what day would be complete without seeing some wildlife? Not exactly moose or bears, but we will take what we can get! These little guys (and about 50 others) were hanging out at the overlook. Someone has been feeding them because there were hundreds of sunflower seed shells all over the place!
We decided to take the gravel road from the lookout down the 18 miles to Highway 50 rather than continuing on Hwy. 65 to Grand Junction and back. It was a beautiful drive! I put the car in the lowest gear and we coasted down that long and winding road at 15 mph! Fortunately, we didn’t meet any cars coming up the hill until we were almost to the bottom! 
As we descended into the valley, the forest switched from pine to aspen. I can only imagine how beautiful this drive is in the fall!
Back to Hwy. 50, we headed back to Montrose after another beautiful day of sightseeing. After resting a while, we went to Amelia’s Mexican Restaurant for dinner. It was okay, but not a place I need to go back. This is our last night in this area. One final day of sightseeing as we head back to Northglenn tomorrow where Kathy and Carolyn will spend the night before they fly home on Wednesday.
