Entry No. 12 — the Grand Junction file — filed under: offbeat-museum
Museum of the Mountain West
“Fike, now in his eighties, often greets visitors himself.”
Retired BLM archaeologist Richard Fike spent decades filling thirty-plus storage lockers, then built a fake town to hold it all. Adobe Flats: 28 relocated historic buildings — saloon, jail, Chinese laundry, a 1913 German Lutheran church — packed with some 500,000 artifacts on six acres. Human skulls sit in the dentist's office, a playing card signed by Sitting Bull during his Buffalo Bill days hangs nearby, and the saloon ceiling still wears its bullet holes. Fike, now in his eighties, often greets visitors himself.
The move: Take the guided tour, count the bullet holes in the saloon ceiling together, then drive twenty minutes east to stare into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
📍 Before you go It sits on Miami Road just off US-50 on the east edge of Montrose, about an hour south of Grand Junction, with parking on site at the gate. Adobe Flats is outdoors — boardwalks and dirt between 28 buildings on six acres — so wear real shoes and budget a couple of hours. Guided tours go deepest; call ahead to arrange one, or pick up the self-guided map inside. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison's south rim is a short drive farther east and makes an easy same-day pairing.
- 📍 Montrose
- 💸 $
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 68169 E Miami Rd, Montrose, CO 81401
Hours: Added 2026-06-11 — confirm current hours before you go.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3
last checked: 2026-06-11