Diary for Harry and Judy's RV Trip


Day 30-August 4, 2017-RV Wash, Wineries and Baseball

2017-08-04

Day 30-August 4, 2017-RV Wash, Wineries and Baseball

Crazy weather, 98 and sunny all day til the ball game, then rain, wind and down to 67 in ½ hour.

The truck and RV are a filthy mess from the rain and gravel roads we’ve been on lately!  I made an appointment yesterday for a truck wash service to come to the campground and wash them.  Must be a big thing out here, the prices were reasonable, he came as soon as we wanted him (he actually wanted to come yesterday but we wanted to go out).  Just the owner and one helper got them sparkly clean in about 2 hours.  We can see out the windows again.  While they were doing that we looked at maps, made some phone calls and caught up a bit.  In the afternoon we went to a few vineyards in Grand Junction, all with the gorgeous mountains in the background.  First was Mesa Park, a small vineyard with very friendly owners and great wine.  Met a couple there from Denver and we seemed to be on the same wine trail because we met them again during the day along with another couple from Denver here for a few days.  The six of us were always meeting up.  Next was Hermosa Vineyards, where the tasting room was in the owner’s garage.  Good wine but twice the price of the other vineyards.  Next was Whitewater Hill Vineyards, nice place, great wines.  And last but not least was Ptarmigan Vineyards, again very good wine.  We saw a flurry of birds rising from the grapevines at almost all of the vineyards and were told that the birds are a real problem because they eat the grapes.  Quite a few of the vineyards have nets covering the grapes because of this.   All these vineyards were down gravel roads right after getting the truck cleaned.  And the street names here are different.  One street is 31-3/10 Rd., another B-1/2, and ¾ C Rd.  I guess if you live here you get used to it.  The GPS had us going to dead ends and on dirt roads.  I either had to call the vineyard for directions or use Google, which was pretty handy.  Came back to the campground for a while then went to a Mexican Restaurant one of the winery owners told us about.  Great Mexican food.  I always ask what the various items are but then I always order enchiladas.  But I always like them.  From there we drove to downtown Main St. in Grand Junction, a great place!  Dozens of sculptures on the sidewalks, nice little boutique stores, big hotels and restaurants, breweries, cafes and gift stores, all in a park-like setting with lots of trees and outdoor seating.  The ballgame tonight is about 5 minutes away from downtown so we were early.  We got our tickets at will-call then walked across the parking lot to Lincoln Park, a bustling city park with shady benches, 2 pools, a splash pad, big bouncy castle, concession stands and a big water slide.  The kids were having a great time.  Back to Suplizio Field across the parking lot to watch the Grand Junction Rockies vs. the Helena Brewers. The Rockies are affiliated with the Colorado Rockies and there were lots of fans at the game.  Rocky the Coyote is the mascot, a mangy looking costume but, then again, coyotes are usually mangy looking.  It was 97 and sunny when we got to the stadium so we left our jackets and ponchos in the truck.  Thought it was going to be really hot in the stands because there wasn’t much cover.  Just about as soon as we sat down the wind picked up and it started to rain and get cold.  We moved to the top tier (the only cover) to stay dry.  They announced a 20 minute delay. After we saw some lightning they announced a 45 minute delay.  As soon as they put the tarp on the field we decided to go sit in the truck and wait it out. We then heard another 15 minute delay but, being the fans we are, we stayed.  OK, game time!!!  Good thing we brought the jackets, umbrella and ponchos, it’s cold, windy and rainy.  Rained the whole time.  At the top of the 7th inning even though the game was tied 2-2, we gave it up and went home.  It was late, raining harder and getting colder. We probably should have stayed, found out the home team won 6-3, getting 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th.   At least the truck got washed again from the rain.