Paonia, CO

Tuesday, September 14

We’re in Paonia, Colorado for the next few days. Andi’s friend Claire recently moved to this town, and offered to let us “mooch-dock” at her place. “Mooch-docking” is what RVers call it when you park in someone drive-way and use their utilities.

It’s great to see Paonia though a local’s eyes. At first glance, this town didn’t look like it had much to offer. Every business on Main Street was closed Monday evening when we pulled into town around 5:00pm. Talking with Claire is a great reminder that every place has charm, no matter where you are. Last night, she took us to a farm co-op that had fresh meat and dairy products for sale. As travelers passing through town, we’d have never known about this local gem tucked away on a side street in an old farm building. We picked up some local beef, homemade yogurt, and farm fresh eggs for us there.

As RV travelers, we normally don’t stay in a location for more than one night. Since our home (aka: the RV) is also our vehicle, we have to move it from our campsite to get around to various places and activities. And since we’re already packed up during the day, it makes sense for us to move to a new camping spot every night.

However, Tuesdays and Wednesdays on this RV roadtrip are a different story. We’re experimenting with working remotely and those are the days Andi has stacked most of his work and personal meetings. Slowing down a bit on those two days also gives Tory, Aden and I an opportunity to complete a good chunk of our school work so we have more flexibility for other activities later in the week. This week, parking in Claire’s drive-way on Tuesday/Wednesday has worked well for all of this. Andi worked in Claire’s office inside the house today while Tory, Aden and I did school in the RV.Claire was also busy most of the day working remotely from her kitchen.

Around 4:00pm, after work and school were completed, Andi pulled our electric bikes off the RV and wheeled them into Claire’s backyard for a washing. The bikes were disgusting after riding on the back of the RV over so many dirt roads — especially Kebler Pass from Crested Butte to Paonia on Monday which was thirty-one miles of gravel and washboard bumps. Andi recruited Tory and Aden to do the bike washing.

After the kids finished washing the bikes, our family hopped on our e-bikes and rode to the Paonia Farmer’s Market which takes place every Tuesday evening. Claire followed behind us in her vehicle.

Andi and I always say, you can tell a lot about a town after visiting its farmer’s market. First impression of the residents here in Paonia is that they believe in sustainable food sourcing and community. It wasn’t a huge farmer’s market by size of vendors, but each one had so much to offer and were passionate in explaining the products they sold. Local produce, honey, jams, handmade goods and hot food for sale. As soon as the market opened, there was a huge turn-out of residents gathered. Kids playing in the park, friends conversing and patrons loading up their woven baskets with fresh produce for the week.

Claire told us about an neat program they have in Paonia called Community Lunch. For a $15-20 suggested donation, you get a large plate (enough food to feed 2-3 people) of local, organic, home-cooked, chef-inspired food. Claire goes to Community Lunch every Monday to pick up a plate. The organizers also sell the plates of food at the farmer’s market, so Andi and I split one for dinner tonight. The tasty meal included potato salad, zucchini béchamel, beet hummus, cucumber salad, cooked greens w/ garlic, and stir-fried cabbage.

Tory and Aden each enjoyed a burger and a brat from Sunshine Farms, as well as local strawberries at the market. Claire ordered a beet & goat cheese pizza for herself that looked & smelled amazing.

The five of us sat in the grass on a blanket, ate our dinners and enjoyed the live music. The temperature outside was a perfect 75 degrees. It felt like a gorgeous summer night, even though it’s already mid-September. Paonia is in a dry, high-desert climate zone which makes it a great place for growing produce.

Around 6:30pm, Andi, Tory, Aden and I biked back to Claire’s house. Then, all five of us decided to go for a sunset walk near Claire’s house to see some neighborhood donkeys, cows and horses.

I appreciate how sweet Claire is with our kids, and how she's welcomed our whole family into her home this week. We ended the night gathered around the bar in Claire’s kitchen, talking and eating strawberry rhubarb crumble and ice cream.

Wednesday, September 15

Today was another work day for Andi & a school day for the kids and I. Andi finished his calls around 1:00pm and we said good-bye to Claire shortly thereafter. It was so nice to spend time with her in Paonia. We really enjoyed it.

Next stop — Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park near Montrose, Colorado.