Grand Junction Became The Capital Of The US In This Book

You probably know by now that Grand Junction is pretty great. If not, we need to have a little talk with you. However, you may not realize that in a somewhat recent piece of fiction, Grand Junction actually became the capital of the US. It's true. The book is called Vilcabamba.

I won't ruin the story line for you in case you want to read it, but the premise is that there has been an alien invasion. Here are the plot points from their Wikipedia page.

The story is set sometime in the 22nd century, 50 years after an alien race called the Krolp conquered and occupied much of planet Earth. The story is told from the perspective of President of the United States and Prime Minister of Canada, Harris Moffatt III, who rules a rump United States and Canada that runs along the Rocky Mountains and the Wasatch Range with its de facto capital at Grand Junction, Colorado. Washington, D.C. remains the de jure capital of the United States, although it is under Krolp occupation and the last president to have actually resided in the city was Moffatt's father Harris Moffatt II. Moffatt's grandfather Harris Moffatt was also served as the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada.

After being left alone for decades, the Krolp demand access to silver and a small amount of gold deposits miles deep below the surface of northeastern Utah. Moffat, realizing that any Krolp mining operation will probably leave the remainder of the U.S. and Canada uninhabitable, knowing that Spain had been left practically uninhabitable after the Krolp had strip-mined nearly the whole country for the mercury they discovered deep below its surface, refuses, and launches an uprising. The uprising surprises the Krolp, but is quickly crushed within three days. Moffatt and his wife, Jessica attempt to flee to rump Canada. However, after 20 minutes, they are captured and forced to live out the rest of their lives in exile in the Krolp's North American capital of St. Louis, Missouri.

No need to take my word for it, if you want to read the book for yourself, it's available completely free online.