Kelly Place Bed & Breakfast

More than half a century ago, Denver horticulturists George and Sue Kelly headed west in search of a retirement oasis. They found it on the edge of a desert in Mcelmo Canyon, 10 miles southwest of Cortez. They bought 38 acres and built a Sedona-style lodge that would be their retire- ment home in the midst of apple orchards, gardens and courtyards.

Now, their little Shangri-la is a bed and breakfast/retreat/campground where you can pluck ripe fruit steps from your campers or, just a few more steps away, stroll among the 25 documented prehistoric sites that dot the property. Climb in one of the kivas for a way-back-in-time feeling. You can also head up onto a red-rock bluff adjoining the orchards and hike to spectacular ruins in neighboring Canyons of the Ancients National Monument.

Current ownersmarc Yaxley and Jerenewaite carry on a farm tradition by serving up a country buffet breakfast for guests. Look for jams made from Kelly Place fruits to spread on blue-corn pancakes. Local wines and microbrews are for sale in the lodge and can be enjoyed on a patio lorded over by a watchful kitty. A cozy library is open for sitting a spell on rainy days. Groups can arrange to take part in educational seminars, cooking classes or potterymaking classes held in a cliffside workroom near where Ancient Puebloans once crafted their pots.

14537 G Road, Cortez, 970- 5653125, kellyplace.com