We wanted to spend a week or two in the Western Slope area of Colorado so looked for an RV park that would be centrally located to Montrose, Ridgeway and Ouray. Our other significant requirement, as always, is dependable WiFi and cell service since that keeps me gainfully employed. Those requirements were all met in of all places, Jellystone Park. Well, hello, Yogi Bear! I don’t think we would have considered this place before Labor Day, but in September with school in session and the summer crowds gone, Jellystone is working out for us just fine. It is located between Montrose and Ridgeway, the sites are large and the place is very quiet since it is mostly empty. Even Yogi and Boo Boo are apparently hibernating.

With the park emptied out and no available pic-a-nic baskets we decided to try out the first of two breweries in Montrose, Horsefly Brewing. Karen enjoyed their Dry Irish Stout and I had the Tabano Red and then came the bacon cheeseburgers. The beer and the burgers were really very good and we knew we would return later in our stay to do it again.

A couple of days later we tried out the other Montrose brewery, Two Rascals Brewing. Behind the bar this day was one of the two rascals, Brandon, who offered us a bowl of popcorn from their popcorn machine. Since that is all they offer in the way of food we took him up on that and then had a couple of tasters of their beer. Karen chose the stout and it was the Irish red for me. I followed that up with their IPA which was not obnoxiously hoppy and that made it very good indeed.

On our way to Ridgeway to visit a little brew pub we found there last year, we stopped at Ridgeway State Park to check out their campgrounds in hopes that we could spend a little time there someday when we are untethered to cell phones and the internet. It is a beautiful park with great views all around. We were encouraged to hear about the possibility of WiFi in the campgrounds next year, although even better would be to not need them at all.

So then it was on to Colorado Boy Pub & Brewery. What we remembered from last year was that their excellent beer paired quite well with their wood-fired pizza and we were anxious to have both again. Although the beer was still very good, unfortunately the pizza crust this time was pretty awful. It was hard and tough – totally unlike that thin, light and crispy crust last time. The piles of cheese and pepperoni just couldn’t cover up the disappointment with that crust. We saw that they now had a second location in Montrose, Colorado Boy Pizzeria. Several days later we tempted fate and went there to find out if their crust there would fare any better. To be safe, we ordered just one pizza to share and decided it if was good we could order another one. THIS was the pizza we remembered so we quickly ordered another with a request for just a little less cheese and sauce. It came out near-perfect!

The weekend arrived and we planned a full day. We started out in Ouray with a stop at one of Karen’s favorite girl stores, The Blue Pear. They pack a lot of interesting stuff in a tiny space. Then it was time for a burger at Maggie’s Kitchen with a stout from next door at Ourayle House Brewery, aka Mr. Grumpy Pants Brewing. They are a great combination and our favorite in Ouray.

We made a quick stop back home to let Jake and Peggy out for a walk before taking off for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. A case of acrophobia cut that visit short but we did see some truly awesome views before driving on to Delta, The City of Murals, to take some pictures of … their murals.

The shortened visit at the Black Canyon left enough time in the afternoon for an additional adventure and our friend, Google Maps, found a new-for-us brewery only 30 miles away in Paonia so off we went to Revolution Brewing (not to be confused with the Revolution Brewing we visited in Chicago earlier this year). Here we had their Colorado Red and the Stout Ol’ Friend and a good conversation with Mike, a local farmer. The red was good but the stout was very good and since they can it and it’s available locally we got to take some home, too.

With a day as busy as this one was we were happy to take a day of rest on Sunday and were treated to this double rainbow in the afternoon.