Today, we took a drive through the Colorado National
Monument with Tim & Robyn. The Colorado National Monument preserves one of
the grand landscapes of the American West. Bold, big and brightly colored, this
plateau-and-canyon country, with its towering masses of naturally sculpted rock,
embraces 32-square miles of rugged, up-and-down terrain. You can see
spectacular views around every switchback. The glorious views stretch to
distant horizons.
The Colorado National Monument high country rises
over 2,000 feet above the Grand Valley of the Colorado River. Situated at the
edge of the Uncompahgre Uplift, the park is part of the greater Colorado
Plateau. This plateau also encompasses geologic wonders like the Grand Canyon,
Bryce Canyon and Arches National Park. It’s a semi-desert land of pinyon pines
and Utah junipers, ravens and jays, desert bighorns and coyotes.
We entered the National Monument through the west, Fruita
entrance and started our driving on Rim Rock Drive. The magnificent views
stretch from the colorful sheer-walled canyons and fascination rock sculptures
to the distinct Colorado River valley, purple-grey Book Cliffs and the huge
flat-topped mountain called Grand Mesa.
Tunnels on Rim Rock Drive are not really big. Look at
these dimensions on this sign. There are three tunnels on Rim Rock Drive.
Distant View Overlook offers you a distant view
across the wide Grand Valley to the Book Cliffs and the Roan Cliffs on the
northern horizon. The Colorado River snakes across the floor of the valley and
the town of Fruita glints in sunlight. Grand Mesa, reputedly the biggest flat-topped
mountain in the world, hems in the east side of the valley.
At Balanced Rock View, you can see a precariously
balanced rock. It seems to defy gravity and make us ask the question … When
will it fall? Balanced Rock is a 700-ton boulder perched atop a flat bedding
seam on the edge of a Wingate sandstone cliff. The Balanced Rock won’t topple
for a long time since its base is large and possibly still connected to the
pedestal it sits on.
At the Fruita Canyon View, we could see the Fruita Canyon.
Imagine that! The canyon begins near the monument’s west entrance. It is a
steep canyon lined with towering Wingate sandstone walls. Rim Rock Drive snakes
up the canyon below before climbing its west side. The canyon floor is composed
of 1.5-billion-year-old rock that is the remains of an ancient mountain range.
The broad Grand Valley, carved by the Colorado River, opens beyond Fruita
Canyon. The northern horizon is an escarpment of the dark Book Cliffs topped
with the lighter-colored Roan Cliffs.
We stopped at the Visitor’s Center and watched the film. It was the most uninformative film I have seen at a National Monument, it was more like a series of pictures strung together.
John Otto came in 1907, when he saw the canyons, he felt like he was in the heart of the world! John Otto campaigned tirelessly for the area to be set aside as a National Park. Meanwhile, Otto built miles of tortuous trails through the proposed park area, so others could appreciate its beauty. He did it all without hope of any personal gain. In 1911 Otto's dream came true, Colorado National Monument was established. Otto was rewarded by being named the park's caretaker, a job he gladly did until 1927 for $1 a month.
Independence Monument was once part of a massive rock
wall, which separated Monument and Wedding Canyons. Slowly, as the forces of
erosion enlarged these canyons, the dividing wall was narrowed and weakened.
Weathering and erosion proceeded more rapidly in places where the rock was more
vulnerable, like along natural fractures. Eventually the wall was breached and
parts of it collapsed. Today a remnant of the once solid rock wall survives as
Independence Monument, a free-standing monolith. It too will eventually succumb
to the ravages of time and weather.
From the Coke Ovens View, you can see the 'cone
shaped' Coke Ovens. They were named because of the resemblance to the brick
ovens used to convert coal into coke. The Coke Ovens are a good example of how
Wingate sandstone weathers when it loses its harder cap layers of Kayenta and
Navajo sandstone.
The highest point in the monument is 6,479 feet.
Fruita sits at an elevation, just under 5,000 feet.
Upper Ute Canyon Overlook sits on the south rim of
Ute Canyon in Colorado National Monument. The scenic viewpoint, near the west
end of the steep-walled canyon, looks across at a long, almost unbroken cliff
composed of Wingate Sandstone. The rock, forming massive vertical 300-foot
cliffs at the monument, was deposited in a huge sand dune field during the
early Jurassic Period about 200 million years ago. The cliff is streaked with
black desert varnish, a thin veneer on the light-colored rock surface.
After our drive through the Colorado National Monument, we
headed over to Frankie’s house so he could see Tim. We visited with Frankie and
had a tour of his amazing home! Tim and Robyn headed for Arizona around 2 pm.
Tim wanted Robyn to see some of the beautiful scenery on the way home, since
they came up in the dark! It was a great few days with him and Robyn.
Hopefully, we can get Tim to come to Florida for a bit this winter! They did see a few sights!
Charlie and I relaxed in the afternoon, then we headed over
to Frankie & Davene’s for some of Frankie’s “world famous” spaghetti.
Charlie said “his world is pretty small.” It was a great meal and some great
fun!
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