The Grand Mesa, thirty miles east of Grand Junction on Hwy-65, via I-70, is at 10,000ft the world's largest flat-topped mountain, created over a period of 600 million years by the erosion of the softer rock that surrounded the hard rock of this one-time massive lava flow.

Though its full extent can only really be grasped from thirty miles away, visitors who ascend the twisting Hwy-65 to the plateau are rewarded by a tranquil landscape, covered by pine and aspen groves with over two hundred lakes. Lands End Road, an eleven-mile dirt track, ends at a stunning panorama: lakes, plains, sand hills and smaller mesas separate thick forest on the left from desert on the right, with the snow-crested San Juan peaks far off in the background.

The helpful visitor center near the Cobbet Lake junction of USFS Rd 121 and Hwy-65 on the southern side of the Mesa, can suggest good places to mountain bike and where to head out on cross-country skis or snowshoes in winter.

Pretty campgrounds, open summer only, dot the east side near Alexander Lake (details from the ranger office at 764 Horizon drive in Grand Junction; phone 970/242-8211), as do a motel and some basic cafés. At the bottom of the Mesa, fie miles north of Cedaredge, the hospitable Llama's B&B on Hwy-65 (phone 970/856-6836) offers fantastic breakfasts served on a sun deck, and the chance to meet some llamas.

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