Detailed review by 1krispy1
1krispy1(62)
Broomfield, USA99%
The second stop on a weekend trip to see western Colorado was to be the Colorado National Monument. This was my first visit to the place and I did not know what to expect.
I drove up US highway 50 from Montrose and my visit to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison the day before. After stumbling around a bit in the dark in Grand Junction I managed to find two things; 1) the entrance road to the monument and 2) a cheap place to spend the night.
I got up early enough that the folks at the entrance were not on the job to collect the nominal entrance fee ($7 for private vehicle and occupants) so I rolled right on in (they check on the way out and collect from the early risers). Right away I was struck by the amazing variety of colors. We are not just talking about the different shades of the vegetation but the wide variety of colors in the rocks that make up the monuments. There are varieties of red, orange, purple and black. These are caused by a variety of iron and other minerals in the rock.
There is a 36 km road that connects the east and west entrances. Grand Junction is on the east side and Fruita is on the west. The drive to the top of the plateau is steep and twisting. I came in from the east. There is one tunnel on the west there is two. As it is sandstone it is still under the very strong influence of erosion. In two places the road was reduced to a single lane with stops signs on either end. Make sure the way is clear then proceed. Also they are working on repaving and in a couple of spots repairing or making sure the under laying structure is secure. This road is called the Rim Rock Drive. It is just that. It runs right on the rim at many places. There are many pullouts with short walks to views. Almost all have placards that explain either history or geology or biology of the area being presented.
My son and I have both posted photographs that will come a lot closer to doing justice to what was seen than I am able to write. The sentinel monoliths were rising up from the canyon floors some lofting 450 feet. There was a canyon within a canyon. A broad U shape was scoured into the softer sandstone by run off water following rain fall or snow melt until now it has reached the much harder Precambrian rock. Here is has started forming an additional canyon with a much sharper V shape. It was easy to see from the vantage point on the canyon rim. The sign made the point that by the time the Precambrian canyon was as deep and the current sandstone canyon the sandstone will have all eroded away. Don't fret however there is still time to make your visit as the process will take millions of years.
Also on the drive were several pull outs at trail heads. Most but not all take the hiker down to the canyons (there are several in the monument) floors. They vary in difficulty, some are a trail all the way out, some one will have to free lance a bit. Should one decide to take a hike remember this is a desert, take water and plenty of it. Also be aware that weather conditions can change very quickly. Thunder storms do frequent the area (remember water is a big contributor to the erosion of the monument to make it a monument in the first place. The place is prone to flash flooding so do not stay in low lying areas should you get caught in a rain, seek high ground.
One last little adventure while I was in the park. Coming in from the east it took a while to get to the visitor center which is closer to the west entrance. Once there I though I would take one last short walk to get some final photographs so I took the Canyon Rim Trail. Believe me when I tell you it is the canyon rim. Standing between two view points some 10 to 15 feet from the shear precipice before me I had the camera up to my eye to take a shot. It was whisper quiet and I was enjoying the solitary moment. Focused on the subject at hand I was oblivious to my surroundings. Just as I was pressing my shutter release some guy behind be started talking in a conversational tone to his escort that sounded like cannon going off.
The views are spectacular. There is plenty of hiking and fauna seeking to keep one's attention for a substantial period of time. My original plan was to shoot through gather a few shots for triavago and head home. Instead I spent over four and a half hours doing photography and only touched the surface of what I would like to do.
Colorado National Monument10
Ratings
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Accessibility
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"Must See"-Factor
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Budget Friendliness
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Accessibility to Colorado National Monument is very easy. There are four exits of I-70 between Grand Junction and Fruita that gain entrance to the monument. In my case I did not use any of them. Since I was coming in from a visit to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison near Montrose I drove in on US 50. I found a hotel very near the east entrance and stayed there.
As for budget friendliness it cost only $7 for me to get into the monument. The pass is good for a week. It is a pretty reasonable rate for as much as there is to do in the monument.
This was my first visit to the Colorado National Monument. I have been here all my life and have been to Grand Junction several times but never ventured into the monument. It is only about 6 km outside of town. I was very impressed. The geologic time span represented here is amazing. In places the some of the oldest rock on earth is present. Some 1.7 billion years old. Most of the rock is much younger in fact there is some 1.5 billion years worth of geologic history missing. The most ancient rocks are on the bottom and visible in a few of the canyons.
The next three layers are all sedimentary rock. The oldest deposited during the Triassic period, the next was deposited during the Jurassic period and the last, which is found on only the Black Ridge, was deposited during the Cretaceous period.
Some of these were wind blown deposits with water coming later in the form of streams or shallow lakes. What followed were a series of uplifts. Not only was this the starting point for the current formations done at this time but Rocky Mountains further to the east were formed during the same time period.
These various sandstone formations have various hardness factors. These factors and other faults like cracks in the rock as well as where the formations lay have a huge influence. The basic factors of wind, water, temperature and time are what have worked to make the Colorado National Monument the fascinating place it is today.
Water works its way into the tiniest cracks in the rock, freezes. As it does this it expands. It melts. This happens over and over and the cracks expand. Parts are washed away by little streams that grow. Finally after millions of years the canyons are formed. Where large expanses of the mesa extended out from the main body the process continues and shapes are formed, some very captivating to the imagination. In many cases the written word fails to accurately portray what I was seeing before me. A 550 metric ton boulder balanced like an egg on end during the equinox, not on a table but on a tiny pedestal. Or three huge formations that appear very much like old coke ovens. There are many other formations and canyons that make this one very interesting stop on any visit to Colorado. I could easily have spent much more time here but I had to work in the morning so it was time to get back on the road to Denver.
