After years of a number of jobs, including counter-intelligence for NATO, a divisional vice president for Levi Strauss, photojournalist, and dude ranch owner, David is now a full-time writer (non-fiction and mysteries) artist; he works in a variety of media and his sensitivity to color as well as form makes his drawings and paintings very appealing. He works out of his apartment in Delta and since we don’t often get to that side of the state, we could not pass up the opportunity to visit. After we admired dozens of his paintings that hang in the lobby and all three floors of the apartment complex, we decided to take a drive north and east of Delta to see the glorious colors of the aspens on the Grand Mesa. They were at their peak and the hillsides looked as though they had been painted gold with a very large brush.
On our way down the mountain, we stopped at Aspen Trails Campground just north of Cedaredge for ice cream cones. (This campground was written up in an early edition of Road Food, Good Food by Jane and Michael Stern. Their description and hoopla about the biggest ice cream cone in the country prompted us years ago to verify the size. It was true then but the new owners were not aware of the legend.) We also stopped in Cedaredge for some local apple cider at Red Mountain Ranches orchard that puts the grocery story variety to great shame. Like the ice cream cone, this is worth the stop.
The three of us had a pleasant dinner in Delta at Fiesta Vallarta (just down the street from another El Tapatio which is a family-owned restaurant with locations also in Grand Junction and Parachute, as well as the one we ate at in Fruita). We made arrangements for David to join us again for Thanksgiving next month on his way to an art show in Fort Collins where he exhibits each year.
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