June 30-July 7

Rockin’ Roots Farm in Paonia, Colorado is a small family-run operation. They grow hemp, herbs, lots of veggies, and are rescuing the 100yo apple orchard they inherited when they recently moved to this new plot of land. They make cbd products from their hemp harvests.

Check them out at https://www.rocknrootsfarm.com

I met Candice several years ago because her mom Lori was one of my spiritual guides for several years before she suddenly passed away. It was here we decided to start our journey for several reasons: 1. Still in Colorado yet somewhere on the Western Slope we had yet to visit (or even knew about) 2. Rather than take a deep dive into dispersed camping we could ease into the lifestyle close to a town with needed supplies, friend’s access to laundry and their abundant garden, and time to decompress without thinking about the next place. 3. The desire to get to know the Orlando’s more closely and see what they are up to on their farm and in their community.

So from this beautiful location we did all the fun things; made friends and hung out with goats, sweet farm dogs, and had easy access to Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP and hiking off of Kebler Pass. The kids picked apricots and ate half the harvest for lunch one day, the also biked and played hide and seek with 6yo Athena, took a daily chill off in the small irrigation pond, and played like kids outside most of the time even in the heat of the day. We had a sourdough waffle and smoothie Sunday brunch with the Orlando’s. And on Monday we met up some other friends who had recently moved to the western slope for some paddle boarding in Delta. Overall really enjoyed our transitioning week here going from city life to full time camper living.

We loved Paonia and the whole feel of the place. It’s very community focused, people genuinely help one another and there is something for everyone there with easy access to higher up elevations for hiking and other mountain activity.