A Day for Foodies: Paonia Pinot and Olathe Corn

We begin Day Two of our 2018 Rocky Mountain Rib Rally by riding south on Colorado Highway 133, just as we did yesterday.

You know the routine by now. Past Avalanche Ranch, past Redstone, past the turnoff to Marble.

But we continue south on CO-133, riding up the steep grade toward McClure Pass.

McClure potatoes. Look good, but spuds are not part of my diet on this trip

A local farmer and Irish mining immigrant, Thomas McClure, is credited with cutting the first road leading from the Crystal River Valley over “McClure’s Pass” to the North Fork of the Gunnison River. He’s also known for developing the “Red McClure” potato in the early 1900s. By the 1930s, the valley exported more than 400 rail cars filled with potatoes every year, more than the entire state of Idaho. Thomas McClure, potato inventor and road cutter – a handy guy to have around.

McClure Pass, at 8,763 feet, sits on the boundary between Pitkin and Gunnison Counties. The approaches on either side of the pass have an eight percent grade, making McClure Pass among the steepest in Colorado. The only Colorado pass that’s steeper is Slumgullion Pass in Hinsdale County, east of Lake City; its north side is a 9.4 percent grade.

We’ll ride Slumgullion Pass later this week. It’s worth visiting for the name alone; slumgullion is American goulash, a meat stew of sorts. For you word nuts, slumgullion was Merriam-Webster’s word of the day on May 10, 2018. The word slumgullion even has its own podcast.

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The ride over McClure Pass is easy on a Harley, and somewhat more difficult on a bicycle.

Once over McClure Pass, we begin the descent toward Paonia. Along the way, we pass Paonia State Park and Paonia Reservoir. Of course we do. All Paonia, all the time.

Still on CO-133, we’re now following the North Fork of the Gunnison River. We’re in coal country, or at least what used to be coal country. The mines in Somerset and Bowie aren’t what they used to be. Employment and production have both plummeted precipitously. The future of coal in the west is grim.

Paonia is is not known for coal; it has none. Paonia is known for its agriculture.

The Town of Paonia today is known for its fruit orchards, which produce peaches, apples, cherries, pears, and plums. There are also several wineries, including Black Bridge Winery and Stone Cottage Cellars. The Paonia area is one of the few regions of Colorado that has successfully cultivated and bottled a pinot noir.

Carbondale-to-Paonia is a popular motorcycle ride. Saddle up. Grab breakfast or lunch in Paonia, perhaps at the Living Farm Café, turn around, and head home. Today, we leave Carbondale with food in the belly, so we continue on, and hold the promise of a Paonia meal for another day.

In Paonia, you could try true farm-to-table at the Living Farm Cafe.

Nine miles past Paonia, we arrive in Hotchkiss, a town of less than 1,000 residents, named after Enos T. Hotchkiss, a local pioneer. Hotchkiss calls itself the “Friendliest Town Around.”

In Hotchkiss, we turn onto CO-92 toward Delta – about 20 miles to the west. The city of Delta isn’t much to get excited about. Delta got its name because of its location on the delta where the Uncompahgre River flows into the Gunnison River.

Once in Delta, we turn south on US-50 and ride toward Olathe, famous for Olathe (pronounced “oh-LATHE-uh”) corn.  The annual Olathe Sweet Corn Festival over the years has featured big-name musical groups, including Three Dog Night, Kansas, Styx, LeAnn Rimes, Travis Tritt and Clint Black.

Olathe sweet corn. Yum!

Looking for Olathe corn? Much of it is yellow and white, and can be found across the country at Kroger grocery stores (Ralph’s in Southern California; City Market in Colorado; QFC in Washington state). Kroger, America’s largest supermarket chain by revenue, frequently purchases most or all of the Olathe sweet corn stock, which can amount to about 30 million ears of corn.

The Olathe corn season kicks off at the end of July to early August and runs through September. It’s as short and sweet as the corn itself.

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From Olathe, it’s 11 miles to Montrose, then 27 more miles to Ridgway, home of Ouray (pronounced “YOU-ray”) County’s only stoplight.

Stoplight selfie at Ouray County’s only stoplight-/- in Ridgway. Good stoplight day, bad hair day.

Because it’s the polite thing to do, we stop at the light, then turn west on CO-62, which takes us to Placerville, originally established as a small mining camp. Placerville was named after the placer gold mines located on the San Miguel River and Leopard Creek. For you non-miners out there, placer mining is the mining of alluvial (loose) deposits for minerals.

We are now on the Unaweep Tabeguache Scenic Byway, tracing the Dolores River Canyon, which reaches depths of 2,000 feet.

The Dolores River, near Naturita.

In Placerville, we veer right onto CO-145, and follow the Dolores River through Norwood to Naturita. Naturita is a name derived from Spanish, meaning “little nature.”

In Naturita, you can eat at Blondies, the number one rated restaurant in town. That ranking is not a huge accomplishment; there’s only one restaurant in Naturita. Free ice cream at Blondies for moms on Mother’s Day! There’s always next year.

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The Bedrock Store, a Colorado institution since 1882.

Close to Naturita is the historic Bedrock Store, where scenes from movies such as Thelma and Louisewere filmed. The store, built in 1882, is still open today. It’s a living time capsule.

Just west of Naturita, we turn onto CO-141, which winds along the beautiful Dolores River Gorge. On the way from Naturita to Gateway, there are surprises around every turn, usually including occasional cattle in the road. We saw none today, but did see a bunch of amateurish “Cows on Hiway” signs.

Fifteen miles past Naturita on our journey is Uravan, an abandoned uranium mining town that’s now an EPA Superfund site, not exactly an honor of distinction. The uranium used in the once top-secret Manhattan Project was mined in Uravan, leading to the world’s first atomic bomb.

Between the mid-1940s and early 1970s, Uravan was a boom town, thanks largely to the federal government’s desire to ensure an adequate supply of fissionable material for its defense programs. But in 1971 the government ceased its uranium acquisition program, effectively signing Uravan’s death warrant.

Uravan is hard to find, and easy to miss. The town is buried under carefully arranged rocks, with little hint of what Uravan once was. All that remains is a yellowing marker sign at a rest stop along Colorado Highway 141.

Uravan: fun with uranium, and vanadium! This is what Uravan looks like today. At least you were warned.

Uravan fun fact: its name is derived from combining the words uranium and vanadium, both found locally in carnonite ore mineral deposits.

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CO-141 leads us from Uravan to Gateway, located in Unaweep Canyon. It’s the home of the Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa, ranked in 2014 by Conde Nast Traveler magazine as the #12 resort in the world, #3 resort in the US and the #1 resort in Colorado. The resort sits at the confluence of five canyons, believed to the only resort in the world to do so.

Gateway also has an auto museum, and a general store.

Best. Photobomb. Ever. At Gateway General Store.

The area has a rich history steeped in the ancient peoples of the Pueblo, Fremont and Ute Native American tribes.

Stopping for refreshments on a 90-degree day at the Gateway General Store. Note Dave’s reflection in the window. Dude is a master photo bomber, especially at this location.

After a rest stop in Gateway, we continue northeast on CO-141, riding along the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. It’s about 55 miles to Grand Junction, tonight’s destination.

Yesterday’s 56-mile day was a warm-up. Today, we rode more than five times that far: 303 miles; six hours, five minutes in the saddle.

We must have worked up some kind of appetite. Time to rib up!

Dinner at Rib City Grill. Very good, and in 2nd place so far on this trip (Slow Groovin still #1).

Dave had the special: baby backs and catfish.

St. Louis ribs for me. Still no fries.

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Day Two Summary: Paonia pinot, Olathe sweet corn, and cattle on the roadway.

Click here to see today’s complete route from Carbondale to Grand Junction.

Glad you’re along for the ride.

Vroom, vroom.

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Today’s Colorado Fun Fact: Colorado contains more than 75 percent of the land area in the US that’s over 10,000 feet elevation. Lowest point in Colorado: 3,317 feet – higher than the highest elevation in 18 states.

Today’s Rocky Mountain Rib Rally Fun Fact: Our ride today through what was once a thriving coal mining area, near Paonia, was a good reminder of how severely coal has fallen off a cliff. Only two active coal mines remain in the area. Coal, an outdated form of energy, is rapidly dying.

Today’s Colorado Food Fun Fact: On the Made in Colorado website, featured foods include Colorado Mud, chokecherry jelly, rock candy, Elk Duds, Colorado Salsa, buffalo sausage and beer bread. Colorado Mud: Just add milk, oil, water and vanilla – and stir with a fork; looks like mud on the bottom and a brownie crust on the top.