Camping on the Colorado Grand Mesa and Petty Thievery

On my latest visit to Grand Junction to see my best friend, Rachel, my mom and I balanced city strolls and farmers’ markets for a night of camping atop the stunning Colorado Mesa, the world’s largest flat-topped mountain. From blending custom candles and peach hunting in Palisade to a chilly night under the stars (where mischief insued), the trip was full of laughter, beautiful views, and unforgettable moments. It all wrapped up with a relaxing soak in the Ouray hot springs, an ideal ending to a perfect Colorado getaway.

I visit Colorado around three times a year to see my best friend, Rachel, who lives in Grand Junction. While we are together, we typically try to visit a new place near her. We have checked out Ouray, Glenwood Springs, and Moab, Utah, on past trips, but on this one, we decided to spend one (chilly) night camping up on the Colorado Mesa. If you are unfamiliar with the Mesa, it is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world, spanning over 500 square miles and home to more than 300 lakes. And it is gorgeous.

But let me start at the beginning: my mom joined me on this Colorado trip, and we took the 18-hour train ride from Omaha, starting at 11 p.m. CST and ideally ending at 4 p.m. MT the next day. However, if you’re familiar with Amtrak, you know that delays are part of the journey, and we spent around 21 hours on the train during this trip. Honestly, I couldn’t be mad at it because the trip was beautiful and I had plenty of reading to catch up on.

We spent the first full day of the trip shopping and browsing the downtown area of Grand Junction. The downtown is very classic, medium mountain town vibes. It runs along one street for a few blocks; there are camping stores, restaurants, antique shops, sculptures, and very nice floral landscaping. We started at a place called The Candle Kitchen, where we blended custom candles so they would be ready when we finished shopping. I made a clean one with a scent called volcanic, and a maple brown sugar candle for the fall vibes.

With candles done, shopping commenced. I got some soap from a shop called Heavenly Scents where we were greeted by the most ridiculous dog named max, an embroidered Yoni from a local uncensored art gallery called Uncanny Valley, and a septum piercing from Pandora’s Piercing, something I have been wanting to do for about 10 years that has set me off on a piercing kick (I’ve gotten 3 more since). After a full day of shopping, Rachel and I had pizza for dinner and amazing peaches-and-cream ice cream for dessert at one of our favorite scenic spots for food and drinks, Highlands Distillery, while my mom caught up on sleep.

The next day was a Sunday, and that meant the Palisade Farmers’ Market was open! Grand Junction is the middle town in a row of smaller towns, one of which (my favorite) is Palisade, a wine and produce-focused area. They are specifically known for their peaches, and peaches were the mission on our visit to the market. We had a bit of a stroke of luck with this because, as we were purchasing about 2 pounds of peaches each, the vendor informed us that it was the last weekend they would be selling them. I also picked up a tote bag from my favorite artist in the area, Lily Cain. If you have the time and want to view some beautiful pieces of nature-inspired art, check her out! Her mermaid series is so perfectly whimsical!

It was then time to head up the mountain! We loaded up the car with all the essentials (including two bottles of bear spray because oh boy am I scared of those guys) and hit the road. Grand Junction is considered semi-arid and definitely gives a desert vibe. There are a lot of rocks, and not much green, which, if you know me, is not my thing. The Mesa is a whole other ball game. It is perfect, idyllic, Colorado up there. As we climbed, the air cooled, and we began to see wildlife, including mountain goats, strange birds that I still have not identified, and adorable chipmunks.

We stayed at a place called Jumbo Campground, and I will not hesitate to go back. If you know camping, you know there are good and bad camp sites. Some are closer to a lake, some are prone to flooding or other issues, and the one we got (25, a group spot) was perfect for us and the friends who were meeting us up there. We explored, ate brie and fresh peaches next to the fire (another stroke of luck! The fire ban was lifted that very day!), and had just the perfect night.

The Mesa is high up, at 10,400 feet, according to the sign at the visitor center we visited, and that kind of height in September is chilly! It dropped to a brisk 49 degrees at night, and I didn’t get much sleep, which makes the next part of this story even more confusing. Upon waking, I unzipped my tent to discover that one of my mom’s shoes was around 8 feet away from the opening, which was odd. Did she take them off and walk in the dirt the rest of the way into the tent? We had previously just been leaving our shoes right next to the door so as not to track in any dust. I turned around, pointed out the door at her shoe, and said, “Did you leave that there?” She groggily replied, “Huh…. No.” Investigation ensued. She borrowed my Crocs, which were two sizes too big for her, but luckily, still right next to the door. She found her other shoe on a wildlife trail behind our campsite.

My Crocs were not the only shoes I brought; I also brought my favorite active shoes, my North Face Alta Mesa 500s, a gift from my fiancé that I raved about to anyone who would listen… of course. As my mom was hunting down her shoes, I was gathering my bearings and poked my head out to find that one of my shoes was also missing. One of my Alta Mesas. When my Crocs were returned, I started looking all around the site, the whole time thinking, ‘Who or what would do this, and how did I not hear anything?!’ I was awake for I kid you not 80 to 90% of the night! My initial thought was that someone’s goofy dog was off-leash, and maybe they snagged the shoes to play with. I saw a man about 3 campsites down packing up to go fishing with his two labs, so I walked down to ask him.

I gently approached him, not wanting to seem like an accusatorial Karen, and kindly said, “Would your dogs happen to have brought back a green running shoe this morning?” He turned and regarded me with a warm, knowing smile and said, “No, they’ve been here with me, but dogs aren’t your problem.” Oh boy… I smiled in defeat. “Do you know what would have been?” I asked, and he informed me of the fox problem at this campsite. Apparently, like their representation on the TV show Dora, foxes are quite the little thieves. They had been taking people’s shoes, bowls, and even fishing rods around the area. Sometimes, they are left in the street or nearby, and sometimes they disappear forever. The rest of our search, conducted with this in mind, turned up a chewed-up foam football and a soccer ball, but no shoes. C’est la vie.

After tea, granola, and some sunrise time to read and defrost by a lake where trout were jumping and flipping out of the water constantly, we had a delish lunch with lake views at the Grand Mesa Lodge, and headed to Twin Peaks Hot Spring in Ouray. The rest of our day was spent in the various warm and cold pools of the springs, relaxing and chatting. It was the perfect end to a girls’ trip.

Overall, this was an amazing trip with plenty of quality time spent.

However, a lesson learned: next time, shoes come into the tent.