Hotchkiss, Colorado - starts with H-O-T

We only traveled 65 miles to get to Hotchkiss, Colorado, but it feels like we are in a different temperature zone. What can we expect when the first three letters of our new home town spell H-O-T?!? The trip was mainly downhill, as we now are at only 5,400 feet in elevation. That's the lowest elevation we've seen this summer, and we're already experiencing the hottest temperatures of our summer. It's time to bring out the shorts! We went to explore our new neighborhood, and found the Gunnison River nature area. The river looks good for a kayak float!

Based on the temperatures, we must have moved to the desert. As proof of that, we have our first slimy wildlife picture of the day, taken at the nature area.

As we drove into our new town, we passed two different coal plants, with their long conveyor systems that stretch high up into the hills. We are in coal country.

We also found that we are in fruit country. This little mountain valley has the right conditions for raising peaches, apricots, and cherries--three of Denisa's favorite things.

Normally this area would be too dry to successfully grow fruit, but they have found ways to provide the moisture needed. We drove to Orchard City, and found the "Fruit Growers Reservoir," used for irrigating the orchards in the area.

We spent one day driving the side roads and checking out the fruit stands and bakeries. We learned that if they advertise with words like "organic," "artisan," or "hand-crafted" the price will go up proportionally. After all our shopping and buying a few things here and there, we came back to Fritchman Orchards in Orchard City. The only word they use is "fresh." We like that!

So we bought a 25-pound box of orchard-packed peaches for $20. These were less expensive because they are smaller in size, but we think they are just right for trail snacking. This was a tough year for fruit, with a hard freeze in April that dipped all the way to 16 degrees and killed many of the fruit blooms. We also bought five pounds of peaches at the Hotchkiss fruit processing plant. They usually start packing peaches on June 15, but this year they didn't have any work until July 24--and then it was light.

In addition to peaches, Denisa bought almost the entire day's harvest of fresh peas. She loves to eat them raw, and these are delicious! They were picked this morning, so that qualifies them as fresh as well. It's hard to believe that this cool-weather delicacy can still be bought this late in the summer.

Since we are living in HOTchkiss, it is time to do some air-conditioner repair. Over a month ago, our rear air-conditioner quit working. Mark determined that the blower cage had broken, and he ordered a new one to be shipped to us. The Mountain Valley Meadows RV Park here in Hotchkiss was the first place that would accept mailed packages, and we got it here just in time!

Mark picked a nice afternoon to make the ten-minute installation. But like so many easy repairs, this one took longer than expected.

He easily unscrewed the air-conditioner cover to determine the problem earlier. But when he went to remove it today, one of the screws broke and refused to budge. It took some major ingenuity to cut off the bolt and then redesign its replacement.

But at the end of the day, the new part is installed and the cover is in place. More importantly, we again have two air-conditioners to keep us cool here in HOTchkiss. Denisa loves it that she is married to an all-around handyman!

In order to escape the heat, we took several road trips to areas that enjoy higher elevations.  On this road trip we encountered a parade of motorcycles, throwing candy to people lined up along the streets of Cedaredge. We found out that hundreds of cycle riders that have beat addictions participate in this "Serenity Ride" each summer.

Our destination for the day is the Grand Mesa, known as "the largest flattop mountain in the world." The Grand Mesa suddenly rises up from the hot valley to 10,000 feet in elevation. As we made the drive today, we watched the temperature gauge on the car lower by 15 degrees. Its lava-capped top has indentions that naturally made 300 lakes. 

From this scenic vantage point, we can see 18 lakes in front of us.

We visited this area five years ago, and we couldn't help but notice that some of the 300 lakes on the mesa are noticeably smaller. Less rain this year has left muddy beaches and boats waiting far from the water.

Last time we only drove on the highway, but today we took the time to drive some of the dirt roads. We should have counted how many lakes we found, and how many RVs we saw nestled in the woods or beside lakes along these bumpy roads. Where we have noticed license plates from all over the country at some of the more famous Colorado towns we have visited, Grand Mesa has a more local clientele. Most of those RVs and cars around these lakes have Colorado plates.

It's a great place for the locals in the valley to escape the heat of the summer with just a short drive to the mesa. For example, our drive today from HOTchkiss was only 40 miles. After driving by dozens of lakes, we finally picked Eggleston Lake as our choice to put the kayak into the water.

From the middle of the lake, we could look up to the craggly edges of the rocky ridges to our left. That is Crags Crest trail, the 11-mile loop hike that we did five years ago.

The water level is a little lower at Eggleston Lake. But it drops off so quickly on the edges that it doesn't show up as big areas of muddy beach here. 

It was along that shore that we caught sight of a flash of blue feathers. Then the hunt was on for the stellar jay that was teasing us by landing in the rocks along the shore.

Mark masterfully maneuvered the kayak into position, while Denisa kept snapping pictures as this beautifully decorated jay flitted from perch to perch.

A day at 10,000-feet in elevation was a welcome respite from the heat of the valley in HOTchkiss. After enjoying a 70-degree day on the mesa, we watched the temperature raise 18 degrees as we headed downhill towards our campground. But we appreciate the fact that the heat in the valley is good for fruit and summer flowers. So we are looking on the bright side of this hot situation when we see the beautiful sunflowers blooming at our campground in our new home town of HOTchkiss, Colorado.