Colorado Friendscapes

Odometer reading: 12,347 miles

Hoo-weeee, we’re so involved in the present day-to-day that it’s hard to take time to reflect and share stories about our past adventures. But there are several lovely stories to tell about our 12 special days in Colorado. 

First – a reminder: we’re going to be housesitting in Portland, Oregon for FIVE WEEKS, starting June 28. If you’re around there or will be passing through, please let us know! Heck, you could even plan a trip and come visit us – we’ll have a guest room! Take special note of July 21: not only is it Matthew’s birthday, but the Jet Set Betties will be performing at Porchfest!

Okay, back to Colorado. Over the course of our 12 days there, we spent four nights in a nice state park/campground, four nights with our friend Carolyn in Palisade, two nights in the historic mining town of Redstone learning about the remarkable Mechau family, one glorious day in Glenwood Springs with one of Kayla’s Holden Village friends (from 25 years ago!), and two days on our friend Kenyon’s 120,000 acre ranch. 

Our “plans” for this time were very fluid, somewhat dependent upon when it could be possible to get to Kenyon (there is a creek to cross to get to his house and the mountain runoff was too much for us to get through until later in the month) and also being sensitive to Carolyn’s and Kenyon’s schedules. Highline State Park was our first stop on May 19 for one night, plus we returned there May 23-25. From Moab we took scenic Hwy 128 along the winding Colorado river to Cisco, a photogenic ghost town featured in Thelma and Louise, now home to a fledging artist studio and Buzzard’s Belly General Store, but not much else.

We drove a brief stint of I70 to cross the border and head through Mack to the state park. It was so nice to have a bit of shade under the trees after some brutal desert days. A lake, some nice bike trails, fun families to watch … We think to ourselves, “This place is so nice we could spend a couple days here.” At that time we didn’t know we’d be coming back a few days later – it worked out really well for resting and regrouping later in the week.

Saturday, May 20: We packed up to head to Carolyn’s, but first we stopped in Fruita for an outside-in-the-shade-brewery-lunch at the Copper Club plus ice cream from a sweet older lady with a tiny downtown shop (tip jar said “Grandma needs a vacation!”). Then we moved on to Palisade to visit Carolyn. 

Carolyn and her late husband Dorik Mechau are friends of ours from Sitka. They moved to Palisade several years ago to be near Dorik’s family and childhood home during his last couple of years. Our days with Carolyn were rich in conversation on all topics, but especially learning more about Dorik’s family and their relationship to this region (more on that in a moment). We also spent Sunday afternoon exploring Colorado National Monument. 

On May 26, after our few days back in Highline State Park, we returned to Palisade, and then followed Carolyn on I70 East to Glenwood Springs, then south on Hwys 82 and 133 to Redstone. WOW, what a fascinating place, in-and-of itself. The town was primarily built up in the late 1800s by John Cleveland Osgood – one of the elite “Robber Barons”. Osgood purchased large bodies of coal lands, built a railroad from Carbondale to Redstone and beyond, and then built the town of Redstone as a planned community for the mining families (88 cottages and numerous community/social buildings) so they would all just stay put and keep working. The town was complete in 1902; then in 1909 the mines closed. Attempts to make it a resort in the 20s failed because of the Depression, and by 1941 only 14 people lived there. 

Enter the Mechau family. Dorik’s father, Frank Mechau, grew up in Glenwood Springs, left Colorado to pursue his art career in NYC and Europe, but then returned to Colorado in 1938 and moved to Redstone to continue his career and start his family (Dorik was the 2nd of 4 children). During his brief 20-year career, Frank won federal Public Works mural commissions, three Guggenheim fellowships, taught at Columbia University, and traveled to the Caribbean and Panama during WWII to provide artistic documentation of the US Armed Forces participation in the war. He died of a heart attack in 1946 at age 42. 

Frank’s wife Paula held on to the family home in Redstone, and we got to stay there with Carolyn during our visit. We knew hints of this remarkable family story from previous conversations with Dorik and Carolyn, but being steeped in these stories while sleeping in that house was truly remarkable.  

Serendipitously, while we were in Redstone, one of Kayla’s dear friends from Holden Village times (in 1997!!) was camping in Glenwood Springs with her family for Memorial Day weekend! We met up with Sonja, Chazz, Claire, and Helen for a fantastic day of walking around town, throwing frisbees, and sitting by the fire at their campsite. The visit was all too short, but oh-so-excellent; a wonderful way to reconnect, and I’m sure we’ll find a way to spend more time with them.

On May 28, we went back to Palisade and squatted in Carolyn’s house while she went on to Boulder. We spent the afternoon regrouping and recharging, because the next day we were finally clear to get to Kenyon’s ranch! We left the Bettymobile in Palisade, just in case the ranch’s stream flow was still intense, but also because we had other sleeping options for the next day or two.

Kenyon is also a friend we met when he lived in Sitka and ran the Sitka Conservation Society. His life path since then led him to meet Mary Conover, owner of Mountain Island Ranch near Grand Junction, CO. Kenyon and Mary got married 10 years ago and have combined their love of the land, commitment to sustainable land management practices, and political savvy to join with other western ranchers and advocate for federal policies and support around land conservation and wildlife preservation. During our two days with them, we saw only a small portion of their 120,000 acres (combined private land with public grazing rights), and learned only a small bit about their work and philosophies, but it was incredibly fascinating and made us both want to spend more time there, learn more, and lend a hand. This might be a moment in our travels where we look back and wonder why we didn’t just stay longer … but, it was starting to get into the uncomfortable heat of summer, and we had tickets to an awesome music festival in a few days, so … we shared warm embraces and promises to return, and off we went. Back to Palisade to collect the Bettymobile and our refrigerateables, and then onward to Utah.