Colorado Press Women’s Fall Conference in Grand Junction combined education with fun Sept. 21-23. Here are some scenes.

Dinner at the home of Ronya Anna & Andrew Jones was followed by talks by Dr. Jones and Grand Junction Sentinel Managing Editor Mike Wiggins.

 

Retired Los Alamos physicist John McConnell began building hands-on science displays with Western Slope students nearly 30 years ago. He led CPW on a tour of a museum he founded now housed on the Mesa State University campus. Students built water table model of the Colorado River, including the tube dam outside Grand Junction which diverts irrigation water.

 

Larry Anna begins geologic tour before before entering Colorado National Monument. We learned the Book Cliffs’ and Grand Mesa’s formations once covered the Monument too.

 

Larry Anna teaching CPW to read the rocks – the patterns of ancient sand dunes compressed into sandstone.

 

The scenery in Colorado National Monument was spectacular.

 

Peter Booth, executive director of Museums of Western Colorado, led us on a tour of the back rooms.

 

Some of the group stayed for a Sunday morning brunch at Gateway Canyons Resort. Well worth the drive.

 

The view from Gateway Canyons Resort.

 

The car museum at the resort – the collection of the CEO of Discovery channel, who built the resort – had cars we never dreamed of.