Drive due west, past Glenwood and beyond the bubble of the Roaring Fork Valley. Continue on past Rifle and through Parachute as gas prices plummet, the altitude drops, the sun sharpens and the white-painted peaks of the Rockies begin to fade in the rear view mirror.

On this stretch of Highway 70, and just about 33 miles before being assailed by the metropolis of Grand Junction, there is a stock-green sign sitting quietly on the side of the road — DeBeque. Take that right hand turn, roll the windows down, slow your speed to about 35 mph and prepare to enter a sleeping hamlet that would normally pass as a mile marker for your trip to Moab or  odyssey to Vegas.

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