So it's looking like another road-trippin' summer for many of us and I'd like to recommend Colorado's wine country near Grand Junction. We're talking not only wine, but Palisade peaches, Grand Mesa, Battlement Mesa, the Roan Plateau and a short drive to Glenwood Springs for the hot springs.

(And if you enjoy kooky small town names, you can say you've been to Silt, Rifle and Parachute along I-70. Yes, I've been to Silt. It's lovely, in a backwater kind of way.)

To help you plan, the Grand Junction Visitor & Convention Bureau has just relaunched its three "expert" culture blogs on its website, covering the area's food, wine, art and outdoor getaways. The site, visitgrandjunction.com, is actually more helpful than the blogs; which have a history of one to two posts per month. But if you happen to be curious about things like Rocky Mountain Oysters (and who isn't?), check out food and wine expert Chef Wayne's post on the delicacy.

Here's the quick wrap-up of an "oyster" tasting that took place last winter:

It would seem everyone is having a ball ... Start packing now.