Fruita - Cross Country in the Beautiful Pollen Meadow of Death

We left Moab after a great breakfast and drove up the Colorado River to I-70 which took us to Fruita, CO. We visited the 18 Rd. area which is an interesting and oddly beautiful desert area with soft colors that mix together well - purple and green fields, darker green shrubs and light beige soil.  While I haven't used my SLR camera much lately I pulled it out here and took this picture, which really works for me - one of the best I've taken in a while, I think.  I like the colors and the mountains fading off in the distance.  It was a cloudy hazy day that for once seems to work in the picture's favor.

North Fruita Desert - click for larger pic.

The riding in the 18 Rd. area was only so-so - would have definitely enjoyed it much more on a hardtail since its very smooth.  However, there was one standout trail called Zippity-Do-Da which had some really steep ups and downs and felt a lot like a roller coaster.  Joe's Ridge was also fun, but I wouldn't recommend much else.

Some other shots:

For the most part, I though Fruita 18 Rd. was not much more than an interesting novelty as far as riding there was concerned.  I think Fruita realized I felt this way, because the next day, the sun came out, the wind picked up, and that meadow I thought was so pretty started outputting pollen like nobody's business.  We were on our way out anyway, but all the sneezing and eye-watering made sure we got going quick.