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| Colorado Monument |
After a glorious week in Utah, I headed east into
Colorado. My first stop was to Colorado
National Monument. It’s a magnificent
canyon with many striking rock features (reminiscent of the Moab area, the
glorious Moab area!). There’s a road
that winds its way around the edge of the rim of the canyon with many
outlooks. It was quite a calm and
relaxing way to see the canyon! I also
got to camp in the park. I had a site a
short distance from a historic shelter overlooking the canyon that people
didn’t seem to enjoy gather at any more, which really worked out for me! I found the perfect rock near the shelter and
had the canyon to myself for a while! I
went back out on the road and to several of the overlooks as the sun set. The sun light up the canyon and the rock
formations in such a way that made it even more breathtaking!
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| Colorado Monument |
The next morning I started hiking in the canyon, but after a
while, I saw many menacing storm clouds and remembered all the warnings about
flash flood that I had gotten in Canyonlands.
I decided not to take my chances and turned back. After retreating out of the canyon, I drove
through the mountains for a bit. It was
the most gorgeous section of road that I have been on yet! There were mountains, and streams, and ponds,
and millions of trees that were starting to turn golden! After several stops to admire the view, I
made it to the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I hiked to exclamation overlook, which is
quite aptly named! This canyon is one of
the most dramatic and awe-inspiring things I’ve seen! It’s unbelievably steep! When you get near the edge, you look straight
down thousands of feet and see a river, but first, you hear the river! The roar of river rushing through the canyon
is still impressively loud so far above!
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| Black Canyon of the Gunnison |
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| Dillon Pinnacles |
After visiting the north rim, I headed towards the town of
Gunnison. I got a campsite in the
national forest. My site was overlooking
a lake surrounded by mountains! Better
yet, I got there at sunset! The next day
I went on a hike to see the Dillon Pinnacles.
They are unusual and beautiful rock structures that were created by
volcanic activity!
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| Black Canyon of the Gunnison |
After the morning hike, I went to the south rim of the Black
Canyon of the Gunnison. This side of the
canyon had a road that ran along the rim!
Each view was better than the last!
It is stunning just how deep and narrow the canyon is! The edges are extremely jagged and the river
is unbelievably far below, rushing its way through the canyon! It’s totally breathtaking! U even had the good fortune of randomly
arriving at one of the overlooks right when a ranger program began, so I got to learn all about various types of birds
in the canyon!
The next day, I got up early and drove down the million
dollar highway. It was so beautiful (and
terrifying at moments when I was on the side without the guardrail)! It’s amazing that people get stuff done in
Colorado. I think I would spend all my
time staring out the window at the beauty all around me! Each view is more stunning than the last!
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| Cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde |
After safely making my way down to the four corners section
of the state, I headed west to Mesa Verde.
The first thing I did was go on a guided tour of Balcony House. After walking down several stairs, then
climbing up a ladder, we got to one section of the dwelling. It’s amazing that people were able to build
such amazing structures right into the cliff with so few tools! It’s even more amazing that they are still in
such good shape after more than 700 years!
After touring the rest of balcony house, climbing another ladder, and
crawling through a fairly tight tunnel, we were back in the parking lot. I spent the rest of the day tour other
dwelling sites in the park. The cliff
dwellings are so stunning and really blend in well with the cave! I don’t know if I would notice them if I
wasn’t looking for them!
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| Cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde |
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| Great Sand Dunes |
The next day I drove east across
the southern part of the state. After a
lovely morning of driving through the mountains, I arrived at Great Sand Dunes
National Park. The park has the largest
sand dunes on the continent! I hiked to
the highest point in the dunes. The hike
was surprisingly difficult! The dunes
were shockingly steep, plus I was hiking through sand, plus the elevation was
8,000 feet. It was well worth it
though! The view was amazing! The dramatic and beautiful dunes are
surrounded by mountains! The hike down
was extremely fun! The dunes are steep
enough that you can run/slide your way down!
In fact, they are so steep, that you kind of need to zigzag across the
dune (like when you ski) to prevent yourself from going too fast! I had plans to get my sled and go sledding on
the dunes, but it was pretty cold (it had dropped about 20 degrees overnight)
and it started to rain just as I finished my hike. I decided that sledding in the cold rain
didn’t sound like the best idea I ever heard, so I moved on with my life.
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