By Lillian Ross

Palisade is tucked in a verdant valley just east of Grand Junction along U.S. 6, the east-west standby that trots by Interstate 70, popping up on frontage roads here and there.

The wineries, whose harvests would please Bacchus, the god of wine, are found on U.S. 6 and tucked yet a bit farther south. With addresses such as C1/2 Road and E1/2 Road, Colorado's flourishing wine industry seems to have taken names of its locales from Harry Potter novels. Except, the Palisade roads were here first and named first.

If you've tasted the Western Slope fruit produce, by far the best in the state, is it any wonder that the wine harvests garner national and international acclaim? Of the nearly dozen wineries, many have their tasting rooms open year-round. Here, you can enjoy complimentary samples, select wines by the bottle or choose gift boxes filled with your favorites. Palisade harvests are diverse; you'll taste chardonnay, merlot, cabernet, sauvignon, pinot noir, and a number of fruit, champagne and kosher wines.

Continuing west on U.S. 6, you'll drive along the north edge of downtown Grand Junction. In the heart of the downtown area, the sculptures along the Main Street Shopping Park punctuate each block with graceful forms that invite hands-on exploration.

At the Western Colorado Center for the Arts on North Seventh Street, native and contemporary artists of the Southwest exhibit here. You'll find Paul Pletka originals, Navajo rugs and pottery by the ancestral Puebloans.

History buffs will gravitate to the Museum of Western Colorado, at Fifth and Ute streets. Here, life from the 1880s to the present is traced through exhibits, including the replica of a uranium mine.

Looking at history from a slightly different perspective, the Cross Orchards Historic Farm (open late spring and summer) lets you experience life as it was in the early 1900s. Guides wear period costumes and take you through the apple orchards, barn and bunkhouse. If trains are your thing, the farm boasts the largest collection of Uintah narrow-gauge railway cars on the Western Slope.

If you think this area is daffy for dinosaurs, you're right. The Grand Valley was home to some of the more spectacular dinosaurs that ever walked the Earth. In fact, paleontologists consider this area one of the most scientifically important in the world.

At Dinosaur Journey, the museum farther west off U.S. 6 in Fruita, you'll receive directions to some self-guided hiking trails deep into dinosaur country. This isn't a Jurassic Park, but it sure comes close. Hiking Riggs Hill will bring you to the site of the earliest discovery of brachiosaur remains. There's a mammoth impression of an exposed diplodocus femur on the walk to Dinosaur Hill. On Trail Through Time in Rabbit Valley, you can take a 11/2-mile walk into a working dinosaur quarry that's rich with remains and fossils. In summer, reserve your spot on a daylong archaeological dig.

At the museum, there are dramatically impressive life-size robotic dinosaurs and hands-on interactive exhibits, such as an earthquake simulator, fossil examination labs and multimedia presentations.

Overseeing all this ancient history are the towering rock monoliths, domes, balancing rocks and canyons of the 20,000-acre Colorado National Monument. There's a loop drive through the monument that defines the true meaning of the word awesome.

For a faster trip back to Denver, hop on I-70 and head east.

Lillian Ross is a free-lance writer who lives in Poncha Springs.

If you go:

Drive west on Interstate 70 to Palisade at exit 44.

For information on the Palisade wineries and the mid-September Winefest, call (970) 464-7458, or log on to www.coloradowine.com.

To learn about the Museum of Western Colorado, the Western Colorado Center for the Arts, Cross Orchards Historic Farms, Dinosaur Journey and the Colorado National Monument, call (800) 962-2547 or log on to www.grand-junction.net.