Western Colorado (April 2012)

Written by ceddammit

During my last few years of living in Colorado and my first few years of living in North Carolina, I made regular (roughly annual) treks to western Colorado. These trips usually centered on the town of Fruita, and the mountain biking opportunities surrounding it. In April 2012, I went on the annual Fruita pilgrimage, but I decided not to do any mountain biking this time. Instead, I wanted to spend the weekend photographing Colorado National Monument, as well as some of the scenery along Interstate 70 between Denver and Fruita. Why don’t we start with the drive out from Denver? Well? Why don’t we? Oh, I guess we do:

Wilmor Lake rest area along Interstate 70 on the way from Denver to Fruita
Wilmor Lake rest area, Colorado, U.S.A. (Photographed April 20, 2012)

OK, so I didn’t get much on the drive out. In fact, Wilmor Lake was almost the only stop I made. But fear not! I had a lot more time to take pictures on the drive back. But we’ll get to that later. First, let’s get to the real reason for the trip: Colorado National Monument. This is definitely one of my favorite places on earth! But I don’t want to oversell it. Let’s start with a cruise along Rim Rock Drive…

The long and winding road…Colorado State Highway 340
Ahhhhhhhh….Mr. Lizard!
One of many rock formations out west named Balanced Rock.
Balanced Rock…meet Dead Tree.
This cliff is FREAKIN’ HUGE! To get a sense of perspective, look for my car parked on the right side of the road.
Rim Rock Road, Colorado National Monument (Photographed April 21, 2012)

Now, we’ll leave Rim Rock Drive and park at the Visitor Center. Why? Because standing right next to the Visitor Center is a big rock formation called Saddlehorn. It looks like this:

Saddlehorn, seen from the trailhead for the Alcove Nature Trail.
Saddlehorn, Colorado National Monument (Photographed April 21, 2012)

If you’ve been paying close attention, you can probably guess where we’re headed next. That’s right: Buffalo. the Alcove Nature Trail. If you’ve been under-impressed so far, hang in there. Things are about to change.

One of MANY examples of strange-looking sandstone erosion here
Grand Mesa in the distance
More funky sandstone erosion
Plants growing in a crack in the rock
Looking down on a yucca
HEY! I was gonna eat that cake! But now it’s all wet and I don’t think I want any!

OK, NOW we get to the really good stuff. The giant cliff and Saddlehorn are cool and all, but the Alcove Nature Trail is about to take us into another world. Observe:

Lichen
Funky lichen
Alcove Nature Trail takes you up into the head of a very narrow box canyon.
Looking up the canyon wall at trees that appear to be growing on rock.
My favorite pic from this trip
Tree root has squeezed down through a crack in the rock, to reach soil.
This is the little “room” at the head of the box canyon.
View up from head of the canyon.
Looking straight up the canyon wall
Big Spidey!
Another heroic tree
These are ant lion holes! Who knew there were ant lions in Colorado?
Arthritic tree
Very interesting variations in the layers of sandstone
This photograph proves there was flowing water on the surface of Mars.
More bizarre patterns in the rock

Okay, boys and girls, it’s time to hit the road again. Next stop: Independence Monument…

The spire on the right is Independence Monument.
Looking out over the city of Grand Junction, Colorado
Independence Monument on the right; Wedding Canyon on the left.

True Story: I used to work with a guy who collected cookbooks. We would frequently travel as part of a team, and everywhere we went, he had to buy a local or unusual cookbook. I never thought to ask him whether he had any cookbooks written or endorsed by Satan. Why would I, you ask? Because our next stop in Colorado National Monument is the trail to a rock formation known as Devil’s Kitchen. Whaddya say we mosey on over and take a walk?

Nearby rock, seen from Devil’s Kitchen Trail
Heroic Trees: even more heroic since they’re growing on Satan’s kitchen.
More weird rock erosion
This picture was taken from inside The Devil’s Kitchen.
This is a view out one of the “windows” of The Devil’s Kitchen.
Is there a petrified eagle on top of that rock?
Way funky erosion!
A view up No Thoroughfare Canyon from Devil’s Kitchen Trl.

OK, we’ve covered a good portion of Colorado National Monument, and the sun is starting to get low. Let’s head back towards Fruita…but not all the way. We’ll make one more stop, at Dinosaur Hill (not to be confused with Dinosaur National Monument). Dinosaur Hill is located just south of Fruita, and just north of Colorado National Monument. NOTE: There are no living dinosaurs at Dinosaur Hill. This ain’t Jurassic Park, folks! So, what’s the attraction here? Well, there’s some nice scenery:

We are on one weird-lookin’ hill.
Looking into the National Monument, you can see Window Rock.
One last look at Window Rock as the sunlight fades away.

Did you get a good night’s sleep? Oh, good! After a hearty breakfast at Starvin’ Arvin’s (the actual name of a local restaurant chain, with actual hearty breakfasts), we’ll head down to the southeast end of Colorado National Monument for one more hike before heading back to Denver. Specifically, we’re going to hike to Echo Canyon. Oh, look! We’re already at the trailhead. Let’s head on down the trail and see what we can see:

Red, swollen cactus…I don’t think that’s normal.
An oasis in the Colorado desert
Collared Lizard
This little bugger wouldn’t shut up about car insurance.
Hey, we got a special on Collared Lizards over here! Two for one!
The one on the left is burping.
Collared Lizard
Would you care for a hamburger?
I’m glad I wasn’t around when that thing fell.
I call this one Monster Face Rock (also the title of an Ozzy album)
Echo Canyon Trail also ends at the head of a box canyon.
This is where the stream pours into the canyon when it rains here.
Fluffy clouds!

As I mentioned WAY back at the start of this post, part of the point of this trip was to photograph the scenery along Interstate 70. So, we now head out of the National Monument, back towards Denver. And what will we see on the way back? Well, this stuff:

This is Grand Mesa, as seen from the Palisade Cemetery.
Mount Garfield, near the town of Palisade, Colorado
I-70 crossing the Colorado River and plunging through a wall of rock.
The edge of the Roan Plateau
Bridge on old US Highway 6, with Roan Plateau in the background.
A train coming down through Glenwood Canyon.
A train coming down through Glenwood Canyon.
A train coming down through Glenwood Canyon.
Empty coal train heads west along the Colorado River, in Glenwood Canyon.
A train of empty coal cars heads west along the Colorado River, in Glenwood Canyon.

Wow. That was a big post! Time to call the dog in and hit the hay (maybe “tamp the hay” would be more accurate). Farewell for now! Next Thursday, we’ll stay close to Denver, and hopefully keep the post shorter. Hopefully.

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