Fall Colors are the topic of the day here in the Valley. This Sunday is Color Sunday on the Grand Mesa – less than an hour from Downtown GJ. Naturally, being the outdoors kind of guy that I am, I figured I'd write about the spectacular fall colors and the changing of the Aspen from lush green to golden to rust brown as the season progresses. Low and behold, my other blogging brethren, Food and Wine Expert Wayne Smith, and Arts & Culture Expert Dianna Fritzler, both wrote about the fall colors this week, as well.

Make sure you click on their weekly blogs after you finish reading this one!

Hey, wait a minute... I said AFTER you finish reading this one!!!

We're all enamored with the fall colors around here - Wayne for his culinary arts, Dianna for her painting, me for photographing, all of us for the sheer enjoyment and amazement.

Where should you go to enjoy these gorgeous Colorado fall colors? You could drive from Grand Junction in almost any direction. Most folks around here head to the afore-mentioned Grand Mesa. You can get there in 45 minutes. It's easy: Drive east on I-70 to the Grand Mesa/Powderhorn exit, Highway Hwy 65, a national Scenic Byway. Continue on that through the town of Mesa and past Powderhorn Ski area (you could stop at P-horn and take the ski lift to the top this weekend). You could also turn onto Hwy 330 before you get to the town of Mesa, and head over to Collbran and parts beyond.

You could travel south from Grand Junction on Highway 50 past Whitewater to the Kannah Creek Road and up Lands End. That also leads to the top of the Grand Mesa.

If you didn't want to reach those 10,000-foot elevations on the Grand Mesa, you could drive to Whitewater, then turn west on Highway 141,and travel through spectacular Unaweep Canyon. It’s gorgeous any time of year. Halfway through the canyon, you could turn south on the Divide Road access to the Uncompahgre National Forest and get up high enough to see aspen and something just as spectacular – the brilliant reds, yellows and browns of the turning Gambel’s Oak. Continue through Uniweep and you'll end up at Gateway. Check out the Gateway Canyons Resort while you're there, and maybe have lunch or dinner.

Another option would be to travel through the east entrance of the Colorado National Monument, turn left just past Cold Shivers Point, go to the Glade Park Store, take another left, and drive to the top. You’ll see colors up and back. You’ll see colors right and left. You’ll see colors on private land for the same price you’ll see colors on public land.

Now's the time to get out and enjoy fall's color display. Well, after you read Dianna and Wayne's blogs, of course.