Palisades, CO - Palisade Basecamp RV Resort
Sept 2-5, 2022
Written By: H.Couch
After a smooth drive through the picturesque Glenwood Canyon, we arrive early into Palisade. Rolling into town a bit early in the day we decided to see if we could check into the campground early. One the Eastside of Palisades along the Northside of the Colorado River sits Palisade Basecamp RV Resort. A large campground offering full hookups with pull through sites, spots along the river to mini cabins and tent sites at the river below. Basecamp has a nice hostess that welcomes you and points you to your spot to park your home away from home. The campground offers a pool for those hot days after you have worked up a sweat biking along the many trails or wine tasting your way through town. After a little dip you can shower off in a nice large bathroom facility.
The town of Palisade has set up quite a tourist destination with a 20-mile-long loop called the fruit and wine byway that winds around fruit farms and vineyards. You can drive, bike, pedicab from stop to stop without ever missing a single treat. Palisade Colorado is the 7th peach producing area in the country and has the most wonderfully sweet peaches I have ever ate. With the day still young and the trailer dropped we ventured out to the grand downtown area of Palisades. Which is really only a cross section of W 3 St. and Main St. There are a few restaurants and shops but not a lot more. There were a lot of art sculptures around this little section of town and very nice art galleries to look through. After our stop downtown we drove part of the 20-mile loop to a few fruit stands to get ourselves some fresh peaches, stopping at a farm that was recommended by one of the gallery store clerks. Of course, we couldn’t resist eating the freshly picked peach right away and needless to say it was perfect. A few more farm stand stops later we arrived back at the trailer with fresh jalapenos and homemade jams to enjoy.
As the night grew near and the sun shined on the mesa tops as the sun set, we sat out enjoying a nice cool breeze cutting the hot day air. The evening sunset was warm with a beautiful rainbow of reds and oranges until the stars shined bright. We could even see a hint of the Milky Way galaxy, now time to get out that fancy phone, use our new knowledge of the astronomy setting and take some stary night photos.
A wonderful day, led to a wonderful evening. Until tomorrow’s adventures. Colorado National Monument.
Saturday Evening after the Colorado National Monument:
The town of Palisade is very quaint and has a few restaurant choices but since our favorite and almost always first choice is Mexican, we decided to go out for dinner and try Fidel’s Cocina and Bar. They offer a few vegan menu items like a cauliflower or mushroom taco or you can choose to have them in a bowl, guacamole and salsa fresca. It was pretty good would recommend a stop at Fidel’s on your next trip through Palisade.
Sunday Morning:
We cleaned up and headed into Palisades to check out their farmer’s market. I was very surprised how big it was for such a small little town. Lots of fruits and vegetables, art, jewelry and food carts. We stopped at a booth run by a young girl named Anna that makes her own jams. We enjoyed seeing a young adult creating and learning how to start her own business. Skills that will last a life time. We bought 4 different kinds of jams that we are looking forward to trying.
Thanks for wandering with us,
The Wandering Couchs
