These past two days were quietly spent running errands and getting to know the Grand Junction area.
Yesterday we were tired from our Grand Mesa trip, so after a Walmart run for groceries, we stayed close to the coach.
Today, we drove to the small community of Palisades, which is at the east end of the Grand Junction area where I-70 follows the Colorado River into the mountains. Equipped with real estate advertisements, we did a few property drive-bys. While cruising through a section of small orchards, we got lost. As the old saying goes, when you’re digging yourself into a hole, stop digging. It was time to ask for directions.
This is where things got interesting.
When we pulled up next to a young farmer tending his orchard and asked for directions, a long conversation followed. It seems that everyone has something for sale around here and he was soon in the back seat directing us to a four acre piece he wanted to sell. What he had was a four acre peach orchard with a small beat up house he was trying to fix up enough to rent. After he showed us around, it was time to do some quick thinking. The conclusion: there was no way we wanted an orchard with a fixer-upper– I just retired from one career and didn’t need another. We could both see there would be no deal and politely shook hands and went our separate ways.
Our chance encounter gave us food for thought. Once again, we were undecided as to the type of property we want. Do we want something close to town our in the sticks? Do we want the privacy of a large lot or the convenience of a small lot? Do we want raw land or a property with built structures? It seems we keep going through the same scenarios that defy resolution. Our only hope is that someday we will have an AHA! moment and stumble onto the perfect property via dumb luck. There was only one thing left to do: discuss the problem over lunch at the closest Mexican restaurant.
We returned to the coach drowsy from the heavy lunch.
I had an appointment at the local college to talk with an advisor. If we really did settle here I wanted to make sure there were opportunities for continuing education, even if it was at the Junior College level. Walking onto the campus was a humbling experience. It didn’t take long to realize most of the students were not much older than my grandchildren. Man, did I feel old. Most amusing was the pre-interview form. One of the questions asked if I planned to participate in varsity athletics. I always wanted to play college football and this seemed like my big chance. However, cooler heads prevailed and “No” box was checked.
The advisor was somewhat puzzled by the meeting, but once I explained the situation he was quick to size things up. An hour had been allotted, but we were done in 15 minutes. Mercifully I was able to leave the campus without anyone offering to help me across the street.
The remainder of the day was spent at the coach reading and watching TV.