It's springtime here in Grand Junction, the perfect time for outdoor activity. Cross-country skiing is STILL good on the Grand Mesa, yet desert flowers are blooming in the red-rock canyons west of town. Hundred-year-old Freemont Cottonwood trees are budding out all along the mighty Colorado River through town. The water level is increasing with spring runoff, so it's a perfect time to raft. A bicycle ride through Orchard Mesa and Palisade is wonderful right now, as all the trees and grapevines are budding and blooming.

In the meantime, fishing is picking up at Jerry Creek Reservoirs just east of town, and the birdwatching has been great throughout the valley this spring. A few of us completed "the Grand Valley Trifecta" last week. We skied four or five miles in the morning at Skyway Cross Country Area on top of the Grand Mesa, only 50 miles from town. We followed that up with a 30-mile bicycle ride through the valley. We then enjoyed a wonderful sunset on Old Gordon's Trail in the Colorado National Monument that evening after a lovely hike.

Snow conditions on the Grand Mesa were remarkably good following a late-spring snowstorm two weeks ago. Most die-hard Nordic ski fans living between here and Montrose know about this world-class Nordic wonderland in our backyards, but few take advantage of it once the desert flowers begin to bloom here in the valley. We broke trail the entire way and I took lots of cross-country ski pictures, so I was always bringing up the rear and thus enjoyed a very nice glide. When we arrived in the parking lot, the thermometer read 21 degrees F. Once the sun had a chance to do its thing on the south-facing slopes, however, the snow turned to wet cement.

When we arrived back to the vehicle, the temperature had zoomed up to 50 degrees. By the time we reached the valley, the temperatures were in the mid-60s, perfect for a bicycle ride. We pedaled from South Camp and South Broadway on the Redlands in Grand Junction to Fruita. We rode past Tiara Rado Golf Course toward the west entrance of the Colorado National Monument, then cruised into Fruita, had a bite to eat, checked out the activity downtown with thousands of other bicyclists, then pedaled to K Road. From there, we traveled east to 24 Road, then back to the intersection of South Camp and South Broadway.

That intersection wasn't far from the east entrance of the Colorado National Monument. The trailhead to Old Gordon's Trail is only three-tenths of a mile past that entrance. After all that exercise, we enjoyed as leisurely a hike as this trail affords since it climbs in elevation quite rapidly. As we hiked, we enjoyed listening to a musician playing his Native American flute in No Thoroughfare Canyon. We had crossed through the bottom of the canyon and started up the trail when I spied my first delicate white evening primrose, and we found a great spot to sit and watch the sunset over the valley. Where else can you do all this in the same day? A world-class cross-country ski in the morning, a fabulous bike ride with great spring weather during the day and a hike in some of the most spectacular red rock country in the West for an evening sunset.

The Grand Valley Trifecta. It's a great way to spend the day.