Winner Erik Hemstad finishes the road course at the sprint triathlon.

Women’s winner Mandy Harter rounds the last corner.

Brittany Reimers starts the 16 mile road course of the sprint triathlon.

A road bike rider finishes the 16 mile race at the triathlon.

A swimmer takes his wetsuit off as he finishes the 500 meter swim to start the triathlon.

A swimmer in the fast heat wades out of the water after a 500 meter swim with many to follow.

Ross Schnell is congratulated by his wife Cathryn in Palisade after the Grand Mesa Grind.

Drew Trujillo of Montrose chips onto the tenth green during play at the 51st annual Home Loan Colorado West Amateur golf tournament Friday at Bookcliff Country Club.

Micheal Dible rides during the Mutton Bustin competition at the first week of the Jim Dible Oil Rim Rock Rodeo at the Rim Rock Adventer Park in Fruita.The rodeo will run each Tue. for the next 14 weeks starting at 7pm with the Mutton Bustin and the rodeo staring at 7:30pm.

Silhouetted against the fairground stands, Thena Walton of Collbran warms up with her horse Tango in the arena before the driver class competition of the Grand Valley Dressage Society’s event at the Mesa County Fairgrounds Sunday.

Kameron Pfaff of Palisade

Doug Simon jumps his dirt bike while racing at a motocross event in Moab, Utah, earlier this year.

Doug Simon at his desk at All-Terrain Motorsports, where he is a salesman. Behind him is his 2003 SRAC Supercross Champion trophy.

Doug Simon with his nieces and his sister, Renae Snyder, at Craig Hospital in Denver, where Simon is rehabbing after a motocross accident left him paralyzed from the chest down on May 13.

Jeff Popick hits a single for CMU.

A few miles south of Page, Arizona, the Colorado River takes a sharp turn, almost making a full circle. This spot has come to be known as Horseshoe Bend and is one of the more impressive views I have seen. It can be reached by a short 3/4 mile hike on a wide flat trail. Boats can be seen on the river kicking up a white wake.

Robert Miceli of Gunnison gingerly wades into the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River near High Bridge Gulch. While this stretch of the Lake Fork can see heavy fishing pressure later in the summer, early June finds it near-deserted.

Ample opportunities for excellent river fishing can be found along the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River north of Lake City. The Bureau of Reclamation purchased several ranches along Colorado Highway 149 to partially offset trout fishing lost when Blue Mesa inundated key sections of the Gunnison River.

Hiking outside Devils Kitchen in Colorado Naional Monument.

Nationally recognized Redlands Mesa Golf Course is tucked in the foothills between Grand Junction and Colorado National Monument.

Polk State (Fla.) College pitcher Alec Asher delivers during a complete game win over Western Nevada College in Game 3 of the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series at Suplizio Field.

Western Nevada College’s Dylan Baker is Perfect Game USA’s No. 1-ranked junior college player, and proved it by making his mark last Sunday in Grand Junction, striking out 10 in the Wildcats’ 9-3 victory over Cisco (Texas) College in an elimination game at the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series.

In one of the more-memorable moments of many from fishing the Gunnison River, former President Jimmy Carter receives some enthusiastic fishing advice from the late Leroy Jagodinsky, one of the true original personalities of the Gunnison River.

It’s probable you won’t find these in today’s fly boxes but for years flies by local tiers such as the late Shorty Mauldin of Delta were go-to flies for anglers on Grand Mesa.