Palisade, CO

Today after eating a huge dinner on Thursday for Thanksgiving you can add another pound or two in Downtown Palisade. Every store has a chocolate treat and a check in Registry. Buy local and support your local economy. The Palisade Chocolate Walk is an annual event.

Cholcolate is always a good draw for most everybody. Hats off to Kathy at the Chamber of Commerce and her trust sidekick Melinda.

I love the Palisade/Grand Junction Colorado Area for the many fun events, scenery, agriculture and especially wine. Palisade started growing grapes for wine just twenty years after Napa Valley. In 1881 George A. Crawford (founder of Grand Junction) planted 60 acres of mostly grapes in Palisade on Rapid Creek. When alcohol production was made illegal the farmers switched to peaches. 1968, 35 years after prohibition ended Gerry Ivancie opened Invancie Winery. The Ivancie Winery was Colorado’s first modern winery. Gerry Ivancie developed experimental premium wine grapes. In 1990 “the Grand Valley” was awarded the government term “American Viticultural Area” which denotes a specified grape-growing region that meets certain standards.

There are now over 100 wineries in Colorado 75% of which are in the Grand Valley. The Grand Junction and Palisade Colorado area experiences hot and dry days with lots of sunshine during the growing season which with the nighttime drop in temperature gives the grapes a high acid content. High acidity is essential to quality wine.

The Colorado Mountain Wine Fest starts September 15 with wine in the park on September 18, 2011. The Colorado Mountain Fest had humble beginnings starting out at the Community Park in Palisade and moving to the larger Riverbend Park in 2005. 57 wineries will be represented this year. More than half of the wineries in the state are participating in this year’s wine fest.

In addition to wine merchants there will be vendors selling wine related gourmet food and gifts.

Click here for the Colorado Wine Fest website.

http://www.coloradowinefest.com/index.html

Click below for a map of the local wineries.

http://find.mapmuse.com/associations/map/colorado-wine-industry-development-board

To see available homes in Palisade listed by EB Realty click below

http://www.askforelizabeth.com.z57preview.com/professional25.shtml

This morning while I was picking some vine ripened tomatoes from my garden and I could feel the cool breeze blowing across the Colorado River, I stopped for a moment and just looked around at the beautiful valley I call home. WOW what a wonderful place to live. I have what is called a gentleman's farm ( a small acreage used as a hobby farm to grow fruits and vegetables.) I grow mostly vegetables and leave the fruit to the professionals that are good at what they do. It is just walking distance to the fruit stands, so you can have the fresh stuff any time you want in the summer. This is truly why I love living in Palisade, there are allot of different types of properties in Palisade, Large orchards, Award winning wineries, and allot of farms just like mine, just for fun. Or if you would like there are some beautiful homes with small yards so you can enjoy the many events that Palisade has to offer. The big orchards are picking the peaches, pears and such as fast as they can. If you ever feel like you want to call Palisade home or just want to look around, give me a call and I will be happy to show you the place I call home, Palisade Colorado.

This years Peach Fest is a day longer than in years past. There seems to be lots more people in town as a result. The Pancake Breakfast was a roaring success with people lined up to get pancakes, sausage and eggs with peach topping of course. The breakfast is in the park behind my house. I brought my own plates filled them up and ate at home. My husband could not take off from his at home job so he was grateful.

Today is the last day. I will go down and see my tired friend at the Palisade Chamber of Commerce and all the Peach growers. My assistant Karen is working a booth for Bikki Farms. She is gonna be wicked tired.

Living in an Agricultural community is fun. From my kitchen window I see the tractors filled with peach boxes being taken to market. Up on Orchard Mesa where most of the peaches are grown you often are caught by a tractor and trailer full of wonderful produce. It is a great way to pause to smell the Peach Blossoms.

Do the summer days sometimes seem to go by to quick. I noticed the back to school specials and it never dawned on me that summer was going to be coming to an end until I heard that the Palisade Peach festival is this weekend. That means that the harvest is in full swing and I can count on some great peaches and ice cream, along with some Big Band music and Dancing in the streets tonight in Palisade Colorado. Kids will be back in school and fall will be upon us here very soon. Now it is time to ask yourself did I get everything I wanted to get done this summer, or do I have a carry over list for next year. I Love this time of year for looking back on the summer and planning for my winter activities.

It seems that this time of year gives us a chance to slow down for a few days and catch up on our planning. The one thing I think is the most important is to take some time to enjoy the beautiful place you live. I really enjoy the peach festival in Palisade because you can see the farmers that have worked so hard all spring and summer long, get to see the Fruits of their labor pay off. So if you get a chance this weekend come by Palisade Colorado and eat a peach and enjoy the soon end of summer. And if you decide you want to get into farming or just enjoying the simple life, call me and I will help you find the perfect place to call home.