The snow-tipped mountains of Ridgway gradually gave way to the reddish, jagged peaks outside of Grand Junction as we approached the western border of Colorado. The famed town of Moab waited just beyond the horizon in Utah, a destination often held in awe by RVers and outdoor enthusiasts in general. Moab has become a mecca for tourists because of its proximity to both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, as well as the numerous trails in the area sought by adventure-seeking mountain bikers and off-roaders. But this isn’t about Moab – we had scheduled reservations on either side of the Great Divide, so a Utah adventure will have to wait for a future trip around these United States.

After stopping to restock our groceries in Grand Junction, we continued along the highway to Fruita and our temporary home at the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park. This park is actually split into five sections ranging from Fruita to the east of Palisade, with two sections offering overnight camping while the remaining three are day-use only. The two parks that offer camping are identified by section name (Fruita and Island Acres) in the online reservation system, so it’s easy to figure out exactly where you want to go after a bit of clicking around the internet.

Our main reason to include Colorado in our travels this year was to visit family and friends, both long overdue for some quality time in person. Ashley also had a new nephew to welcome to the family, as though we needed even more incentive to make it to Colorado this year. We pulled into James M. Robb – Fruita Section and were greeted with the “CAMPGROUND FULL” sign, which wasn’t a concern in this case thanks to our reservation.

The park is located just outside the town of Fruita, easily within biking and walking distance from the center of town. This was probably the closest we’ve been to a city while still staying in a state park, which was convenient to access by bike either along the trail system leaving the park or simply on the bike-friendly road into town. Plus, there’s a dinosaur museum directly next to the campground, so you don’t even have to travel into Fruita to find a little entertainment. We didn’t visit the museum, one of a group of locations collected under the umbrella of the Museums of Western Colorado, despite the urging of my inner ten-year old budding paleontologist.

Fruita is well-known for both dinosaurs (the long-dead, fossilized kind – just so we’re clear on that detail) and cycling. The Fruitadens dinosaur is actually named after the town, since its fossils were first found in the area. Fruitadens was a tiny “bird-hipped” dinosaur, weighing between one and two pounds and considered omnivorous as opposed to its mainly herbivorous cousins. Our time in Fruita coincided with the Grand Junction Off-Road mountain bike race held not far away, which added to the already bicycle-heavy theme of Fruita. The town also hosts the annual Fruita Fat Tire Festival in late April or early May, as well as numerous smaller races and festivals throughout the year. I mean, just check out this photo if you’d like more proof of how the town defines itself.

The town itself is fairly small with most points of interest packed closely together on the main street, so you can easily take a morning stroll and see everything before deciding what to do. I, of course, already knew I wanted to visit the Copper Club Brewing Company at some point during our stay. While researching the brewery, I discovered that the local crocheting group met there one evening every week and I chose to share this tiny bit of information with Ashley, whom I know can’t resist a social gathering of other yarn artists. So, she enjoyed an evening on the brewery’s outdoor sidewalk patio with like-minded creators while I sampled the fine ales of Copper Club. The classic styles I tasted were all well done, and the sparse, pub-like atmosphere makes the brewery inviting and cozy, just the kind of place which would quickly become my preferred neighborhood hangout if we lived in town.

Copper Club doesn’t have a food menu, but the pizza from The Hot Tomato just around the corner is fantastic. Pizza and beer – sounds like a healthy diet, right? Maybe it’s a good thing that the state parks we stay in usually aren’t so close to town. But seriously, you won’t go wrong with a stop for a bite to eat at Hot Tomato which also features a beer menu packed with local brews. Did I mention craft beer might be a theme on our trip through Colorado? I suppose it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise at this point.

James M. Robb – Fruita Section is a newer state park, and the facilities reflect that. Thanks to the campground’s proximity to town, it seems appropriate that the camping loops resemble a suburban neighborhood, with well-paved roads and manicured landscaping separating each site. The campground isn’t secluded in nature, but its location along the Colorado River still provides a beautiful spot to fish, kayak, and hike just outside in your shared backyard. As with all Colorado state parks we’ve visited, it seems that reservations are absolutely necessary and this park is especially popular due to the location. Plan ahead if you’d like to spend a few nights close to the river, a short drive from popular mountain biking trails, and an all-too convenient bike ride into Fruita. The Wheeling It blog posted a full review in 2011, and nothing really has changed with our recent experience so check out that link if you’d like more specific details on the park itself.

But we didn’t travel to Colorado to spend all our time in Fruita. The city of Grand Junction is about 12 miles away, connected by a wide, flat bike trail as well as a major highway. Thanks to Ashley’s sister and brother-in-law, we didn’t pedal between locations and instead savored the luxury of a couple rides in a commuter vehicle. They even guided us on a hike, with baby in tow, through Bangs Canyon to an abandoned mica mine, a trail we wouldn’t have known about or have been able to reach without their generous assistance. Bangs Canyon was the location of the mountain bike races we learned about in Fruita, held over the weekend and not while we were hiking in the area.

Bangs Canyon lies just outside of the Colorado National Monument and is part of the Uncompahgre Plateau, home to a varied network of backcountry trails enjoyed by hikers and cyclists as well as dirtbike, ATV, and Jeep pilots. Adventurers can follow the Tabeguache Trail which connects Grand Junction to Montrose via 142 miles of backcountry roads and trails with elevations ranging from 4,600 to 9,700 feet. The Grand Junction Off-Road allows racers to select from three route options ranging 17 to 43 miles in length with climbs as long as one mile and descents over 5,600 feet.

The Mica Mine Trail is a fairly easy hike suitable for the entire family, with some short, steep sections and rocky terrain throughout. Following the trail through the canyon, hikers glimpse views of rock formations along the lip of the canyon before reaching the historic mica and quartz mine. The trail continues past the mine to a seasonal waterfall and the head of Ladder Canyon, but we spent some time at the mica mine and turned around for the hike back out before the sun got too hot.

Grand Junction is larger than Fruita, yet still easily explored on foot or by bike. After our reservation in Fruita expired, we managed to spend an unplanned weekend in Grand Junction after squeezing Cecil into a parking area behind Ashley’s sister’s house. The timing could not have been better – the weather was sunny and mild for the annual music festival that just happened to be taking place that weekend. The free three-day festival is held on Main Street and features three music stages, food trucks, assorted vendors, a hay-bale lined bike race route down the street, and two beer tents. Oddly enough, the festival is sponsored by an Arizona brewery named Four Peaks owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev – maybe every single Colorado craft brewery is already booked for this particular weekend.

We saw a few stand-out bands over the weekend, three in particular are worth mentioning. Stray Grass is a pretty straight-ahead folk and Americana group featuring traditional bluegrass instruments, apparently popular among locals. They played two shows over the weekend, both which we attended since we were staying only a short walk away. Clyde and the Milltailers is a self-described “Rag-grass” string group playing a blend of gypsy jazz inspired music, with some bluegrass, swing revival, and Appalachian Old Time thrown in the mix. Talented musicians and a gifted vocalist, with a unique sound worth checking out on your own if you’re interested. Finally, Mount Orchid is an electric-driven indie rock band – sometimes described as “dream pop” – performing original songs with heavy guitar effects and ethereal vocal harmonies. If you’re familiar with the band Hum, you’d probably like Mount Orchid.

In addition to the music festival, we made a few more stops around town including both Kannah Creek and Rockslide breweries. Both were decent, but neither really set the bar for the anticipated Colorado craft brewery. On the final morning of the festival, we wandered into Kiln Coffee for fancy cappuccino before the bands started playing. Conveniently located on Main Street, Kiln is sleek and modern and the coffee was good. We never made it to Mountain Grind Coffee, located only a couple blocks off Main Street, but it receives great reviews and seems more like a casual, neighborhood shop with a dedicated group of local customers (they just happened to be closed on Sunday when we decided to go for coffee). Ashley found The Craft Studio & Yarn Shop also located on Main Street, directly across from Board Fox Games. While she perused the yarn selection and chatted with the shop owner, I wandered the game store wondering where I could cram more games into the RV. Ashley emerged with more yarn that will soon become a useful garment, but I reluctantly decided we have enough games (for now) and resisted the urge to expand our small collection.

Being able to explore Grand Junction and attend the music festival were added bonuses to our highly-anticipated visit with family. We enjoyed our time together, fleeting as it may have been, and we even snapped a few photos of the new aunt and nephew at the direct request of Ashley’s mother (sorry readers, those are for family use only). Both Fruita and Grand Junction are vastly different from our previous stop in Ridgway, but both towns are interesting destinations for travelers passing through Colorado. While Ridgway still maintained a bit of the Old West feel, Fruita and Grand Junction are more modern with only hints of the early days of each city. But visitors can find history in both locations, from dinosaurs to early western settlers, as well as a pervasive bicycling culture that we often don’t find in other areas. Nearby Palisade is also known as the center of the Colorado wine region, with numerous vineyards and wineries in the area – one aspect we missed on our visit. Even if Grand Junction and Fruita are merely overnight stops on your expedition to Moab, neither town should be overlooked for anyone seeking a taste of the arid western Colorado high desert life.