Four Front Range millennials are tasting wines at Sauvage Spectrum winery in Palisade following a morning of river rafting and hiking. As they work their way through plastic cups of unfiltered and sparkling wines nestled in muffin tins, the conversation around their outdoor table goes like this: “This reminds me of kombucha, which I love.” […]
Palisade
Posted inClimate, Growth, News, Water
Drought forces Grand Junction to dip into Colorado River for drinking water for the first time in more than 50 years
For 65 years, the Ute Water Conservancy District serving Grand Junction and Mesa County has let the Colorado River flow on by, while drawing drinking water from pristine runoff 11,000 feet high on Grand Mesa. The severe, ongoing drought has now forced other plans. The utility has for the first time begun to mix Colorado […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, News, Outdoors, Water, Wildfire
Northwest Colorado under “extremely critical” fire warning for first time in 15 years as Western Slope drought worsens
As drought conditions worsened on the Western Slope, the National Weather Service has issued its first “extremely critical” fire danger warning in 15 years for northwest Colorado. The warning, in effect through midnight, covers parts of Moffat and Rio Blanco counties that also are in a state of “exceptional drought,” according to the weekly U.S. […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Environment, News
Mother Nature sucker punched a Western Slope peach orchard. Now the farm is putting trees up for adoption.
When Steve Ela walks through orchards that are usually blossoming with promise this time of year, he comes up with one word to describe his feelings: Sad. This week, he is also beginning to feel a tinge of hope as he starts to rebuild a 114-year-old weather-devastated fruit operation on Rogers Mesa near Hotchkiss with […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, Environment, News
Harry Talbott, who gave his life to Palisade’s prized peaches, has died at age 86
Blossoms are popping out on the peach trees at Talbott Farms. Crews of workers are out thinning those buds. Preparations are underway to start up irrigation water. It is the same work that has been going on for more than a century on a fertile mesa above Palisade. But this season, there is a giant […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Newsletters, Outdoors, Outsider
“Bigger than a trail”: Grand Valley’s Palisade Plunge set to open after 10 years of planning, partnerships
PALISADE — “This next stretch, this is where the exposure becomes, um, moreso,” Scott Winans says. The dozen-plus mountain bikers lean over their handlebars and scan the cliff next to the narrow singletrack. A few nervous chuckles evaporate in the gusting wind. For the next hour, the riders mutter “moreso” to each other as they […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, Health, News
Meals on Wheels is still delivering in western Colorado — but without the side of conversation
Ninety-year-old Rose Konola misses the conversations she used to have with Meals on Wheels volunteers who bring hot lunches to her home four days a week. COVID-19 has changed the way the Mesa County chapter of the program provides meals to the elderly. While crucial to ensuring the safety of both clients and drivers, the necessary distancing […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, Culture, Health
How Colorado farmers markets have adapted — with masks and reservations — to open during coronavirus
Jars of honey glowed in the sun. Sweet cherries – the prized survivors of a spring freeze – peeked from small paper bags. Frills of red and green leaf lettuce looked festive in their wooden crates. And Palisade Farmers Market patrons came in droves to the social and retail heart of this small-town for the […]
Posted inBusiness, Coloradans, COVID, Health, News
Devastated by weather and the coronavirus pandemic, Western Slope farm workers try to hold on
Guadalupe’s job as an agricultural worker at a Palisade greenhouse is considered essential, which has allowed her to continue working during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the market for the greenhouse produce she harvests in the spring has dropped significantly. Typically, 75% of the lettuce, kale, spinach, arugula and basil are sold to restaurants in the […]
Posted inColoradans, Environment, Outdoors, Wildfire
Why planting tenacious tamarisk seemed like a good idea until it wasn’t, and other harrowing tales of Colorado’s invasive species
Tamarisk was brought to the U.S. from Kazakhstan in the early 1800s to shore up riverbanks and railroad beds. It worked. Left to itself, tamarisk multiplies. Left to itself in America, 6,000 miles from natural predators on the Asian steppes, tamarisk goes nuts. Tamarisk is a tenacious shrub whose pinkish flowers look good just enough […]