Colorado National Monument

We can see it from our back window, but nothing beats making the
drive through Colorado National Monument. On May 21st, it will
be celebrating it's 100th Anniversary as a National Monument and
we feel very fortunate that we're within a few minutes drive to visit.
Today was no exception, as the weather was beautiful and from
Rim Rock Drive, you could see for many many miles. Independence
Monument (in the photo) actually had climbers on the top and I
was kicking myself for not having my better camera to get photos
of them. Alas, the camera on my phone had to suffice. Climbing
this large spire of sandstone is no small feat since it rises upwards
of 450 feet from the canyon floor. No, I have no plans of doing this.
I'm lucky I can climb 4.5 feet, let alone 450 feet! We continued the
rest of our drive though Glade Park and enjoyed the nice weather.
It looks like Spring might finally be on it's way.

Piñon Mesa

It seems that if you live in an area for a while, you've seen
pretty much everything and there aren't any new discoveries
to be made. No so. We took a drive toward Glade Park, and
kept going south, eventually ending up on Piñon Mesa. Since
it's about four thousand feet higher than Grand Junction, it
was also about 20 degrees cooler, making it a very comfort-
able 72 degrees.


A lot of this area is dedicated to ranching and we saw herds
of cows everywhere.


Enoch Lake was a pleasant little spot, tucked away on a side
road.


With meadows come wildflowers and we came at a perfect time
of the year to see really large fields of Arrowleaf Balsamroot.


Ranching has been a way of life up here for many years, and
there are lots of old abandoned barns and homesteads that
testify to this.


I love seeing the huge aspens.


Way above Glade Park.

Little Park

After running a few errands today, Lynn and Leslie and I
took a drive. I had planned on just driving into the Redlands
to look at all the houses that we can't afford. However,
bridgework on the road leading to Colorado National
Monument was closed so we took the detour. This
detour led us through Little Park. I feel almost ashamed
that I never knew that this road or area existed. It's a
really pretty area that takes you through BLM land and
lots of really cool hiking areas that I want to explore in
greater detail someday. The road ends up in Glade Park,
where we've been many times and eventually leads to the
Monument. The weather was perfect and I'm looking
forward to coming back to this area soon. Next time,
maybe I'll remember my camera.