Questions about Grand Junction (Denver, Fountain: how much, house, living in)

[wanttoretire]

Does Grand Junction have a weekly Farmer's Market where you can shop for fruits, vegetables and crafts that people make?
Also, are the utility bills, gas and electric very high in the Grand Junction or Mesa County area? I've been told that in the winter months the gas and or electric bills are extremely high due to a new utility company taking over the old one. Is this true?

[winglady]

I'm a relative newcomer to the Western Slope (about 15 mos. here in Montrose), but friends have told me that GJ has a wonderful Farmer's Market. I plan to check it out this summer.

Sorry, but I don't know anything about GJ's utility costs.

[Todd TCE]

Every Thursday, down town.
http://www.downtowngj.org/

[wanttoretire]

Thanks for the answers about the Farmer's Market. I assume they have people selling their handmade crafts there as well?
If anyone knows about the utility costs in that area we sure would like to know.
How do you like living in the Grand Junction area? Are the summers very hot. We visited there many times but I don't recall the summers being unbearable.
Also, is there a lot of fishing in or near Grand Junction?

[serene]

Hi

Wanttoretire, I hope you don't mind me tagging along, asking questions, too - I am curious about Grand Junction as well. I have been to GJ many times, but not looking to live there (until now, maybe).

Last time I was in GJ, I felt that the pollution in the area seemed high - visible in the early morning coming through Fruita, etc. Also, I read an article in the Sentinel saying that GJ pollution was equal to Denver. Anyone have any thoughts on this - true?

Also, is it realistic to commute around the GJ area by bike and walking? Does the local transit system serve all of the "suburbs" - Fruita, Palisade, Redlands, etc.? Is there one area that would be good for a young single person who values health, access to nature, and peacefulness, but with access to the GJ central area? Finally, is GJ very windy in the spring time?

Thanks for all info. and good luck to you, wanttoretire. serene

[COflower]

Originally Posted by serene

Hi

Last time I was in GJ, I felt that the pollution in the area seemed high - visible in the early morning coming through Fruita, etc. Also, I read an article in the Sentinel saying that GJ pollution was equal to Denver. Anyone have any thoughts on this - true?

Also, is it realistic to commute around the GJ area by bike and walking? Does the local transit system serve all of the "suburbs" - Fruita, Palisade, Redlands, etc.? Is there one area that would be good for a young single person who values health, access to nature, and peacefulness, but with access to the GJ central area? Finally, is GJ very windy in the spring time?

serene

I used to live in GJ but that dates back to 1994-1995 or so.

Anyhow, the reason the pollution seems as high as Denver is much the same reason as places like Helena (I think) Montana. It's called inversion.

Especially in valleys like the Grand Juction area, the cold will sink into the Colorado and Gunnison valleys where the the heat stays above.

It's not horrible, or wasn't when I lived there because I have been used to inversion. It's actually quite an interesting topic to look up on the internet and read about.

The phenomenom is that when the cold settles and the heat in the upper layers of the atmosphere is strong, any "pollution" be that from fires in fireplaces, exhaust from cars and other machinery, energy plants, etc...the warmer air above traps that into the valleys.

We can get that here in C Springs too as there is the Fountain Creek area and I can see it from my house up in the part of Briargate.

It's not horrible as LA but it can linger during the winter months because the temps remain cool during the winter. It clears out in the summer but it's not horrible.


I lived there for a while and the pollution clears out. I am a smoker and could run my bike through the 'hoods and the bike paths and used to take the dog up to the BLM land off 25 road.

For an active and healthy person you seem to be, you should be fine.

I never used any of the public transportation as I couldn't. I had to drive all over the Grand Valley and beyond so I was in my truck a lot.

there are, however, a lot of places to get away that aren't that far of a drive to get out and bike or hike. I really miss it.

Make no mistake, unless you are very well in shape, doing some of the biking around there is not easy. I would have never thought about riding my bike from my house on Bookcliff Ave. to the Redlands. That's a hard bike ride for us fair bike riders but I found many bike paths that parallelled (sp) the CO River that challenged even my brother who is top notch in fitness.

Hope that helps you a bit.

[serene]

COflower,

Thanks! You helped a lot - especially the info on the inversions (makes sense) and biking about. So, in your opinion, inversions are not a regular, every-eay occurrance? Is that right? Are the outlying towns (Fruita, etc.) affected by these inversions as well?

Thank you again ... I wish you the best

serene

[ColoradoRainbows]

I would like to obtain information on Cedaredge area, how far is it from Grand Junction, is it commutable for work, is the terrain pines or mainly deserty like Grand Junction? Thx if someone out there knows about the area I would appreciate it....

Thx - Presently living in Pagosa
Coloradorainbows

[Sage Sam]

The answer about temperature inversion was right on, it happens to the Grand Valley (which includes Fruita) 4 or 5 times a year. It is usually exacerbated by woodfires, so at least it smells nice. However, increased vehicles (especially trucks) has racheted up emissions. The constant oil and gas traffic on I-70 have made things pretty bad. Local conservation groups are trying to solve the air quality problems though.

As far as the bills are concerned, no they aren't any different that any other place and GJ actually has the mildest winters of anywhere in the state so that helps on gas bills.

You can bike anywhere around GJ, depending on how much you want to do. There is also a bus system. I'm not all that familiar with Cedaredge, except that it is commutable and and the terrain for the commute varies (higher elevation going to low). It is about an hour to hour and a half or so south via HWY 65 which can get bad in the winter or less time if you go west to HWY 50 through Delta.

[jank]

I am also interested in the Grand Junction area, so I thought I'd post here. I assume there must be mosquitos in GJ...how bad are they and at what times of year?

Also, could someone address the summer heat in more detail? Is it the kind of heat you will want airconditioning for? Does it cool down at night? About how many months will it be very hot?

Finally, is there a liberal/conservative mix in GJ or does it lean largely to the conservative side? Thanks!