Colorado Ranch

We decided to cross the border and visit Grand Junction Colorado for a little shopping and dining, it was our first real town in weeks. I found a Casita ( cottage) on a ranch in Fruita, a small town just outside of Grand Junction. It turned out to be a wonderful visit, everything that makes Airbnb travel so rewarding. Our hosts were two retired Army helicopter pilots turned ranchers. Both husband and wife had completed a total of 14 combat deployments over long careers, including Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. They have owned this ranch for 2 years and are enjoying their new lives as farmers. Their Adobe ranch house had our attached Casita which was beautifully furnished and a pleasure to stay in. Their ranch is planted in hay on perfectly flat land laced with irrigation canals from the nearby Colorado River. The large valley is surrounded by distant snow capped peaks. This humble pair have found a new, much deserved, quiet life in a very bucolic spot. I consider them silent American heroes and felt honored to stay on their beautiful ranch. It was a great visit.