Downtown Montrose, CO

Yesterday, June 3, was a quiet day, very low-key. We took our time getting up and about in the morning, so decided to spend a few hours in downtown, historical, Montrose. The town was a sleepy little cowtown for years, having been founded in 1882 when the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad arrived, and named for Sir Walter Scott's "A Legend of Montrose". A tunnel was completed in 1909 that diverted some of the water from the Gunnison River to the area and after that agriculture and farming boomed.

Today, Montrose is transforming into a retirement destination as well as maintaining a dependence upon Gunnison National Park tourism in the summer and skiing in the winter. A walk through downtown provides an eclectic mix of established local shops selling shoes and clothes, sporting goods and furniture, as well as trendy restaurants, bars, and artist co-op stores. The big box stores have arrived, and the edges of town resemble almost any upscale neighborhood in the country. The town is slowly being transformed.

Still, downtown has plenty to offer. Large sculptures adorn almost every corner, including this one called "Where Eagles Dare", showing a mother bear protecting her cub from an attacking eagle:

A relaxing turtle:

And a piece called "Memories", depicting a father and son on horseback., looking into the distance:

Colorado also is one of the first states in the nation to legalize marijuana sales, and coincidently, there is a "medical dispensary" just across the road from the rv park we're staying in.

In the afternoon, we stopped at the Devine Fish Market, a local shop, to check on some items for a grilled dinner. Not only do they carry the best, organically and sustainably grown seafood, but they also specialize in organically grown, non-GMO, free range beef. It is a complete meat market, with cut to order products, so we ordered up a few filet mignon steaks, 1 1/2" thick, 8 ounces apiece or so, and traipsed out the door with over a pound of the best beef we've tasted in years, and all for less than the price of a trip to McDonalds! At the suggestion of the owner, we wrapped the steaks in bacon and grilled slowly for a few minutes. With baked potatoes and garlic asparagus, it was Devine!

We ended the day by opening two gag gifts given to us by our BFF's from back home, had a roaring laugh and a tear of sadness, and went to bed with a feeling of "how great can life be?"