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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – When it’s time to plan fun, healthy, summer family vacations, many people think of Colorado: hiking up snow-capped peaks, biking through pine forests, rafting and kayaking clear, cool rivers — and eating peaches.
Peaches? Yes, peaches. Colorado’s peaches are the state’s largest fruit crop, with an estimated annual production of 15,000 tons worth more than $13 million. The peaches are a point of state and national pride, sought after by people who drive hundreds – sometimes thousands – of miles for the annual August harvest, which ranks Colorado as the seventh-largest peach-producing state in the nation.
At the heart of peach country is the town of Palisade, located just outside Grand Junction in far western Colorado. The 2009 crop of the famed Palisade peaches will debut in late July, with early varieties including Red Haven and July Elberta.
Here come the peaches
In mid-August, at the time of the annual Palisade PeachFest, canning and freezing varieties including Suncrest, Crest Haven, and Flavor Crest will add to the mix. The season will wrap up in late August with Elberta, Redskin and Hales peaches, also ideal for canning and freezing.
When the 41st Annual Palisade PeachFest takes place Aug. 13-16, the town’s Riverbend Park will overflow with more than 100 food, art, and craft vendors, live musical entertainment, a children’s play area, special events and culinary activities.
The old-fashioned festival kicks off on Thursday evening, Aug. 13, with an ice cream social, street dance, and annual “Passing of the Torch” ceremony between the outgoing and incoming “town grouch.”
Palisade restaurants will create specials featuring peach cuisine throughout the festival, and chefs from throughout the area will gather to demonstrate and showcase their favorite peach creations. PeachFest also features a pancake breakfast, peach recipe contest (with sample sales), peach-eating contest, peach-pitting contest, a five-mile running race, car show, parade, and “Big Beauty Peach Contest” for local growers.
Upscale “Feast in the Fields” evening events feature peach-focused dinners at local orchards, paired with wine from local wineries. Each evening’s menu showcases the orchard, its produce and products, as well as wine from two local wineries. And throughout the area, Aug. 1-17, restaurants will offer specials on their menus that feature Palisade peaches.
During the festival days, visitors will also find guided orchard tours, a historical walking tour of the town, self-guided cycling trips, rafting trips on the Colorado River and a Sunday farmers’ market.
Health benefits
But the real attractions are the peaches themselves. Visitors to the area in August will find peaches fresh from the tree – so ripe they can’t be shipped. Parents revel in the constant requests for more peaches from the kids. For the health-conscious, peaches are at the top of the list. The fat-free, cholesterol-free, sodium-free fruit is high in fiber, iron and potassium, and contains only 40 calories (medium-sized).
Phytonutrients found in peaches may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and eye ailments. Flavonoids help protect against cancer and heart disease, while carotenoids help maintain eye health.
PeachFest organizers have kept admission to old-fashioned rates: $3/day for adults, and $2/day for children ages 6-12. Children 5 and under are free. Each paid admission receives one free peach. Parking, and shuttle bus service to and from parking areas and Riverbend Park is free. Tickets for “Feast in the Fields” dinner are additional, with information on reservations available at www.palisadepeachfest.com.
Wine country
And what if you’re not a peach aficionado? The area also produces apples, apricots, cherries, pears and plums, all abundant at roadside stands and orchards. The same climate and growing conditions that produce these fruits also produce grapes, which leads to wine: the area around Palisade and Grand Junction is home to two AVA wine trails (Grand Valley and West Elk), with more than 30 wineries.
Each winery in this “wine capital” of Colorado offers tastings, award-winning wines and gifts. Wines include Merlots, Chardonnays, Rieslings, Ports, sparkling wines and varietals.
Working off the pie (and wine)
To counter the effects of too much peach pie, cobbler and wine, outdoor activities around Palisade range from mild to extreme. Mountain bike trails vary from beginner rides like the Rolling Double Track around Horse Mountain to challenging climbs up Rapid Creek. For road bike touring, choose from three different routes of the Fruit Loop Cycling Tour, pedaling along the Colorado River and through a bucolic setting of orchards and vineyards. Bicycle rental is available in town.
On foot, the Mt. Garfield Trail – a 2,000-foot climb in two miles – provides expansive views of the Grand Valley. Four miles east of town, trails lead up Coal Canyon and Main Canyon into the Little Bookcliffs Wild Horse Range, one of only three federally-protected wild horse areas in the United States. Rapid Creek offers an opportunity to hike alongside a beautiful stream, while the Pictograph Trail highlights just a few of the area’s ancient pictograph panels.
Nearby Colorado National Monument offers extensive trails. Up at 10,000 feet, the Grand Mesa – the world’s largest flat-top mountain, is home to moose, bear, elk and more than 300 lakes.
If you go
Palisade received its name for the austere and dramatic palisades of Mancos shale just north of town. Nestled in the eastern corner of the Grand Valley just off I-70, the Victorian-styled town is located at the base of the towering Book Cliffs just as the Colorado River emerges from scenic DeBeque Canyon.
For more information on the PeachFest, local orchards and wineries, check www.palisadepeachfest.com. Lodging throughout the Grand Valley includes bed and breakfast inns, hotels, motels, cabins and campgrounds. For a full list, see www.visitgrandjunction.com.
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