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Colorado
The six photographs below are from two different trips – one in 2007 and the other in 2011 – from five different states.
Fence at Cliff Edge
Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, 2007
Related Video: Devils Tower, Wyoming
Logs of Wolfe Ranch Cabin
Arches National Park, Utah, 2007
Related Videos:
Trail to Delicate Arch 2011
Trail to Delicate Arch 2007
Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2011
Related Video: Garden of the Gods
Sunrise over Madison River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, 2007
Related Video: Along the Madison River
Horse auction, Great Falls, Montana, 2007
Related Video: A Visit to Great Falls
Sandy Cove, Canton Lake, Oklahoma, 2011
Related Video: Sandy Cove
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After 2 weeks in Colorado, we left Grand Junction on a short drive to our next destination, Arches National Park. 
It was 131 miles (211 km), mostly on Interstate 70, though the actual straight line distance was 60 miles (96.5 km).
As we traveled west in Colorado several days earlier, the landscape had gradually changed from high mountain forest and tundra to high desert country, with quite a bit of farming in the Grand Valley of the Colorado River (once called the Grand River). Driving west into Utah, the landscape became more and more desolate with a stark and fascinating beauty.
This was our third visit to Arches National Park. The previous two were brief, but this time we had three nights reserved in the park at Devils Garden Campground.
Arches National Park is in eastern Utah. It has over 2000 natural sandstone arches and many other 
interesting geological formations, such as spires, balanced rocks and sandstone fins. It was designated a national monument in 1929 and became a national park in 1970.
Selected Information Resources:
Arches National Park.
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Over the years, we’d been through Grand Junction at least 4 times, but had never stopped there or visited any of the local attractions. After this trip, Colorado National Monument will certainly be a place we would like to visit again.
Colorado National Monument, established May 24, 1911, is located just to the west of Grand Junction. Part of the larger Colorado Plateau, the monument features canyons that cut deep into sandstone and even granite formation. It is high desert country, with elevation in the park ranging from 4000 feet to nearly 7000 feet above sea level. Summer temperatures are usually very hot, while nighttime winter temperatures can be extremely cold. Precipitation is limited, with an annual average of just over 10 inches..
The monument has a lot of hiking trails, with varying length and difficulty – we took two moderately long hikes during our visit, managing to wander off of the Devil’s Kitchen trail into and unmarked area. We also took the Monument Canyon Trail from the upper trailhead to the Coke Ovens overlook and back. The lower portion of the train from the lower trailhead to Independence Monument and back is highly recommended for visitors looking to do only one hike. It’s a 2.5 mile hike that follows the base of sandstone cliffs, offering views of towering rock formations and, in the fall, it’s the best trail to see desert bighorn sheep.
Photos from Colorado National Monument have been published on the Exit78 facebook page in the “Colorado National Monument” album.
Selected Information Resources:
Karen’s Post – Colorado National Monument
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As we had a few days before our next reservation – Arches National Park, – we decided to stop in an area we had only passed through before, Grand Junction, Colorado. While we were there, we took a stroll down Main Street and discovered Grand Junction’s “Art on the Corner.”
While at Grand Junction, we also visited Colorado National Monument and The Museum of Western Colorado.
The name “Grand” is derived from the Grand River, the name for the upper Colorado River before it was renamed in 1921. “Junction” is from the joining of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers, just southwest of the downtown area.
Selected Information Resources:
Grand Junction.
- Wikipedia
- Wikitravel
- Grand Junction Visitor & Convention Bureau
- City of Grand Junction
- The Daily Sentinel
- Grand Junction Downtown Partnership
- Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce
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Leaving Rocky Mountain National Park on September 16, 2011, our next destination was several thousand feet lower and on the western side of the state – Grand Junction, Colorado.
About nine miles south of Estes Park on Colorado 7, we stopped to take pictures of the Chapel on the Rock – officially St. Catherine of Siena Chapel – on the grounds of Saint Malo Retreat Center. The chapel is built on an large piece of granite that the Colorado highway department once planned to dynamite to widen and straighten the adjacent highway. Dedicated in 1936, the chapel was built from local stone hauled in by mule carts.
In November 2011, a fire heavily damaged portions of the St. Malo Retreat Center. The chapel, several hundred feet away was not damaged.
Our drive for the day was about 300 miles. The first part was on mountain 2-lane highways down to Interstate 70. Traffic was quite light, certainly less than it would have been if we had gone through Boulder and along the foothills of the Front Range as we did in 2009.
I70 meanders up, down, around and through the Colorado mountains between Denver and and Grand Junction. Our little motorhome did pretty good duty traveling over this road once again, though the CRV it was towing was 6 model years newer than the last time.
“The Eisenhower Tunnel, with a maximum elevation of 11,158 feet (3,401 m) and length of 1.7 miles (2.7 km), is the longest mountain tunnel and highest point along the Interstate Highway System.” (Wikipedia.)
We stopped in Vail for lunch and a stretch break. Often, when there isn’t a rest area handy, we’ll take a break after an hour or two of driving by stopping at a “big box” store. Most of them are large enough that we can loosen up by taking a couple of laps walking around inside the store. In Vail, we stopped at WalMart and, once we were loosened up, went back out to the camper and had lunch in our camper.
Our next stop was a rest area in Glenwood Canyon, a rugged and scenic canyon on the Colorado River. This area is one of the most scenic natural features along the U.S. Interstate Highway System. Foot access is available for hiking a four rest areas in the canyon. The highway through the canyon was one of the final pieces of the system to open to traffic and was one of the most expensive per mile constructed in the United States. In its 12.5 mile length, there are three tunnels, 40 bridges and viaducts, and miles of retaining walls. “Through a significant portion of the canyon, the eastbound lanes extend cantilevered over the Colorado River and the westbound lanes are suspended on a viaduct several feet above the canyon floor.” (Wikipedia)
The trip along I 70 was a gradual transition from high mountain forests and tundra west of Denver to the high desert of western Colorado and Utah.
We would be camping in the Grand Junction, 4,593 ft (1,397 m), area for the next 4 nights and would be in desert country for a good portion of the rest of the trip.
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