Visiting for 13 Weeks. (Grand Junction, Columbine, Durango: theater, camp, taxes)

[Michelle73]

Hello All,
I'm Michelle, I'll be coming to Grand Junction the middle of March and working at the hospital through June. I'll be traveling with my husband and our dog Jax. What is the typical weather for this time of year in Grand Junction? We are currently in Tempe Arizona and today it was 85 degrees. I'm thinking I may need to invest in some warmer clothes. What are the events that will be happening while we're visiting? Do you all have a Farmers Market this time of year? What activities are open to do this time of year? What, in your opinion, are the must do's and see's while we are visiting your area? Also, are there dog friendly areas and parks? We love to explore and see all nature has to offer. My husband likes to take photos of beautiful scenery, so anything you all can suggest would be appreciated. What is the night life in Grand Junction like?

[NW Crow]

In mid-March GJ is likely to be mostly in 50s for highs, near freezing at night though it could be 20 degrees warmer or colder here and there. Basically average temps will rise about 10 degrees per month to a pretty hot summer peak.

My understanding is that the main downtown farmer's market doesn't kick in til mid-June but there may be other smaller options.

Lots of places to hike / photograph. Check out meetup groups if you want to go out with locals.

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by Michelle73

Hello All,
I'm Michelle, I'll be coming to Grand Junction the middle of March and working at the hospital through June. I'll be traveling with my husband and our dog Jax. What is the typical weather for this time of year in Grand Junction? We are currently in Tempe Arizona and today it was 85 degrees. I'm thinking I may need to invest in some warmer clothes. What are the events that will be happening while we're visiting? Do you all have a Farmers Market this time of year? What activities are open to do this time of year? What, in your opinion, are the must do's and see's while we are visiting your area? Also, are there dog friendly areas and parks? We love to explore and see all nature has to offer. My husband likes to take photos of beautiful scenery, so anything you all can suggest would be appreciated. What is the night life in Grand Junction like?

Temps will be getting towards the 55-60 degree mark in mid-March, lows around freezing, or close to. We've been lucky for the most part regarding precipitation. Right at this moment it's not snowing in the GJ area, but snow is reported at the 6500 ft. levels. Hits 70 in early April, warms up consistently from there.

As far as good one day's drives--

A doable drive in early April would be Colo. 141 that goes through Gateway, Naturita, Norwood, down Norwood Hill, back over Dallas Fivide to Ridgway, and back to U.S. 50 through Colona, Montrose, and Delta. Beautiful red rock country, looking south from Norwood you'll see a mountain that is 40 miles away from any mountain range--!3000 ft. plus in elevation--Lone Cone. Back over Dallas Divide you'll take picture after picture after picture-trust me. Mt. Sneffels and the San Juan Mountain range is among the most photographed mountains that there is. Load the camera!

Colorado 65 over Grand Mesa-the largest flattop mountain in the world. Exits I-70 in DeBeque Canyon, comes out near Hotchkiss and Delta. Beautiful Drive. Load the camera!

From Montrose go west over Columbine Pass, weather permitting. A lot of snow up on the Uncompahgre Plateau right now.. I used to camp up there a lot in my younger years. Load your camera!

Blue Mesa Reservoir, 45 miles or so east of Montrose on Highway 50. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a must see. Load the camera!

From Loma (west of GJ) take Colorado 139 over Douglas Pass to the town of Dinosaur. A half hours drive takes you to Dinosaur National Monument, one of the least appreciated parks and monuments in the nation. Load the camera.

Lots of places in SW Colorado worth seeing, an overnight stay is suggested. Here's a few---Hovenweep national Monument near Dove Creek, Mesa Verde National Park between Cortez and Durango, the town of Durango itself.

Red Mountain Pass--the Durango/Silverton Narrow Guage railroad. And Red Mountain Pass. And the historic town of Ouray.

And there is more, much more. Did I say load the camera?

Other people will come along here with more suggestions.

[motoracer51]

Night life? Hehe

[DOUBLE H]

Originally Posted by motoracer51

Night life? Hehe

Wellll------

I'm not a night guy these days, if I'm out at night it's at a movie or the rare concert.

The concert scene has improved somewhat. After months of being closed due to several issues (back taxes the big one) the Mesa Club on 4th and Main has been re-opened. New people have done a lot of work here from what some of my music friends tell me. For the most part it's a club for 90's to current music.

The work to the Avalon theater is noteworthy but for some reason getting acts in here is still a problem. Can't figure out why either. There are a lot of musicians touring through the Rocky Mountain area and Mesa County doesn't get a lot of action. Strange because in years past I've been to plenty of concerts at the Avalon and they were all sellouts; a few that come to mind are Emmy Lou Harris, Ted Nugent, Alan Parsons Project, Bela Flek/Abigail Washburn, Arlo Guthrie, John Sebastian, Chris Spheeris, Primus, Ray Price, Carlos Nakai, Michael Martin Murphy, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and many other established acts. Durango and Telluride are getting in more music acts than we are. Pretty strange.

[Michelle73]

Thank you all so much for your replies. We had so much fun in Grand Junction. Met AMAZING people. We stayed for 6 months. We are now back in Michigan and looking for our next travel assignment. Grand Junction is on the list to return.