Colorado National Monument is part of the Colorado Plateau, a geological region encompassing parts of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. Basically sandstone country. Perhaps it is no surprise that I was reminded of Canyon de Chelly, in northern Arizona, which we visited many years ago.
We stopped here not because we had some desire to visit the Colorado National Monument, but because it was about halfway between Baker, Nevada and our next destination, Colorado Springs, Colorado. We figured that if we were spending the night along the way, we might as well see something. In other words, we accidently decided to visit the monument.
Basically a visit to Colorado National Monument means driving up and across a mesa outside Grand Junction, Colorado. It is part of the national park system, so entry was free with our America the Beautiful Pass.
We considered seeing the sights in late afternoon on the day we arrived, but it was too hot, about 100° F (38° C). The thought of walking around the top of a mesa in full sun in that heat did not appeal to us. Quickly we changed plans to go the following morning instead.
We entered the northern end of the park, in Fruita, Colorado, at about 9:00 AM. By 9:15 AM we had already passed several cyclists. Passing cyclists was a recurring theme for the first 10 miles or so of our drive. Local road bike enthusiasts enjoying riding up the road to the top of the mesa – to or past the visitor center – before turning around and coasting back downhill.
Several times we passed cyclists and then found ourselves at a viewpoint just up the road. Inevitably we would watch the cyclists we just passed pedal on by as we were at a viewpoint. It was like leapfrog.
The good thing about visiting in the morning was the cooler temperatures, only about 80° F (27° C). The bad thing was the haze and smog that settled in the area overnight (from wildfires out west we were told).
For most visitors, including us, Colorado National Monument is a leisurely 23 mile drive along Scenic Rim Rock Drive, through three tunnels with nineteen viewpoints, and a visitor center. Drive, stop, get out of the car, look around, move on, rinse and repeat. About half the viewpoints involve nothing more than stepping out of your car onto a sidewalk. Others involve short walks, usually no more than about 50 yards each way, although one is about a quarter mile.
At one stop we saw a large family (maybe 10 people ranging in age from 4 to 40) walking along the trail carrying plastic cups. At first I thought it was an odd way to bring water on a trail. Then I heard one of the kids ask for more ashes. Yikes. Someone was having a funeral along the trail.
There are a number of relatively short hiking trails, but we did not have the time for any hiking during our visit. Next time we will save a day to hike the Monument Canyon Trail. A hike through the wide canyons would be fantastic.
Our drive through Colorado National Monument, with stops, took about three hours. We both really enjoyed it. It was a pleasant surprise.
We drove out of the southern end of the park into Grand Junction and headed to McDonald’s for lunch. There, to maximize our buy one get one free sandwich coupon, and using deals only available in the McDonald’s app, Stephanie and I stood at the counter and placed four separate orders – one at the counter and three in the app.
The guy in charge of handing out the orders was pretty damn perplexed after calling out my name four times in a row. Based on the look on his face, he thought we were bonkers. Or idiots unable to purchase two complete meals a single order.
For the record we bought two spicy McChicken sandwiches, a large fries, and two large drinks for just under $6.00, plus tax.
Miles Hiked:
Zero. Walking to and from viewpoints does not count.
Garrett and Stephanie
To read other posts about our adventures in the National Parks and National Monuments, or elsewhere in the world, check out our Travel Blog. It contains collected links to all of our travel posts.
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