Canyonlands' Needles

Our campsite on Lockhart Rd with a view of Six-shooter Peak

After Bluff, we make a fuzzy plan to head north through Moab to I-70, then west for a few miles and back south down Highway 24 to Highway 95 to view Natural Bridge National Monument and the Valley of the Gods.  It's basically a loop from Bluff that will bring us almost full-circle.

Our first stop is Canyonlands National Park, the Needles District.  There are three districts in Canyonlands: the Needles in the southeast which is not as heavily visited because of its distance from the highway and it's one road in and out; the Maze in the southwest which is even less visited because it has only 4-wheel drive roads and hiking trails in it; and Island in the Sky in the north and the most popular district.  These three districts are naturally divided by the Green and the Colorado Rivers which meet within the park and divide it like a pie into the three sections.  One district is not accessible from any of the others, so you have to drive in, have your visit, and drive back out and around to the next district.  However, Canyonlands is a beautiful park.  We were here in 2009 for a one-day visit and managed only to drive the scenic road through the Needles District.  This time, we will hike the trails and spend more time soaking in the spectacular views in at least the Needles and Island in the Sky districts.

Because we are somewhat remote where we camp, we let Grady out of the trailer for walks.  However, one day he chases something out from under the shrub next to our trailer.  I see it out of the corner of my eye and realize it's a small snake!  I grab Grady, who tries to outrun me by circling the tiny plant the snake has coiled up in the middle of, and I hear a rattle!  Yikes!  The stupid cat wants a rattlesnake.  I manage to grab Grady and put him in the trailer.  The snake is only about 8 inches long and as big around as my finger.  We later learn from a park range that it's a Midget Faded Rattlesnake and definitely poisonous; would likely have killed the cat because of Grady's size and the amount of venom injected.  It would only make us sick.

Grady's Midget Faded Rattlesnake

Climbers are popular in Canyonlands because there are so many vertical ridges and mesas.  These are a very dark reddish-brown and usually covered in "varnish" - a dark staining from high concentrations of iron oxide in water runoff.  In this varnished rock, you often can find petroglyphs which are ancient drawings and symbols chiseled into the rock.  Pictographs are wall paintings and can also be seen here.  Like much of the southwest, nomadic groups of hunter-gatherers inhabited these areas from 8,000 BC to 500 BC.  About 2,000 years ago, people began to farm crops and keep livestock.  They are known as the ancestral Puebloan (formerly Anasazi) and Fremont people.  They lived here from about 900 AD to 1,200 AD.  These are the people who built the dwellings and ruins we see on cliff walls.  It is not known why they left; it is thought that persistent drought was the cause. In more recent years, ranchers used this parched, unforgiving land to graze cattle and their evidence is everywhere.  Many horses and cows are still here today.  Some areas also experienced mining booms (and busts).  But everywhere, there is history - cultural and natural.

Marilyn overlooking the Needles

The Needles District is full of rock formations called - surprisingly - needles.  They are formed in the red and white striped sandstone by water and wind erosion.  There are several long hikes here in excess of 8 miles.  Brad and I max out at about a 7 mile hike, especially if there is a big elevation change.  Remember, if you go down into a canyon, you have to come back up; and vice-versa!  After a long chat with the ranger at the Visitors Center, we decide to take two hikes (on different days): Chesler Park Viewpoint (6 miles) and Squaw Canyon/Big Spring Canyon loop (8 miles).

How does a rock balance like that!?!

The Squaw Canyon trail meets Big Spring Canyon trail about 1/2 way around the loop.  Even though this trail is long (7.8 miles), we decide to tough it out!  The hike through the two canyons is pretty, but not spectacular.  However, in the very middle of the hike, to get from one canyon to the other, we have to scale up the "slickrock" (smooth sandstone which is very grippy and easy to scale) and cross the ridge between the two canyons.  The elevation rise to get over this ridge is probably about 400 feet.  We scramble up a dry water run-off (it looks more like a smooth, slow water slide), and the view from the top is magnificent.  We can see "Six Shooter Peak in the far distance, which we also have a great view of from our trailer.  It's a huge triangle of rubble with six spires on top of it at an elevation of over 6,000 feet.  The desert floor is about 5,000 feet.  Here at the top of the ridge, the rock is dark red with stripes of white and orange below.  These stripes represent the numerous times (apparently 30) that ancient seas have covered this landscape and receded, leaving behind mud or sand deposits which compact into stone with their own weight over millions of years.  But now we have to descend.  The description of this trail follows: "The route between the canyons climbs steep grades that are dangerous when wet and may make people with a fear of heights uncomfortable."  Uh - yeah!  Fortunately, it is neither wet, nor are we afraid of heights, but walking on such steeply sloped rock is terrifying, and the drop is far to the canyon below.  No railings, no cables to hold onto - nothing!  But we survive and actually feel exhilarated.  We did it!  Walking through Big Spring Canyon is prettier than Squaw Canyon, but by mile 6 I just want to be back at the parking lot!  The entire hike takes us almost 6 hours, although we stopped along the way for lunch.  AND, right before this hike we took a short 1-mile hike just after sunrise to get the best photos of the Needles.  So it's been a long day and we've tallied almost 9 miles of hiking - beyond my limit!

Taking a break before climbing up near the peak to cross this ridge

This is steeper than it looks and quite scary!  Called "slickrock"

Red rock formations in Chesler Park

Ahh, Chesler Park.  It's "only" a 6-mile round trip hike with fantastic views of the Needles and Elephant Canyon throughout the entire trek.  There are a few spots where we hike through a narrow split between two humongous rocks just barely wide enough for our shoulders.  we look up about 100 feet to the full height of these rock walls.  Wow!  There is also a lot of scrambling up and down water runoffs, some of which are smooth slickrock and others are thin layers of red clay hardened into rock at a 45 degree angle.  To get to the Chesler Park Overlook we have to hike up and between two needle formations through a steep pass where the wind just whistles through.  At the top, we see the expanse of a valley surrounded the red and orange sandstone needles and spires eroded at different levels.  Some are still tall and others have eroded almost to the ground.  Even the sand here is dark pink because the rock is such a dark red colour.  Such beauty and solitude, although we see a lot of people on this hike today.  It is probably a more popular hike because the scenery is so incredible.  There are also several backcountry campsites out here and we see people at them.  All water has to be carried in - I have trouble carrying the weight of enough water for just me for a few hours.  Some of these guys are carrying 60 pounds of gear!  I prefer my tricked-out trailer!

Brad in a crevice along the Chesler Park Overlook trail

Marilyn in a water runoff on the Chesler Park Overlook trail

Our view for our picnic lunch near Chesler Park

Returning from Chesler Park, the trail climbs through a narrow pass

For the Needles District of Canyonlands, I highly recommend the Chesler Park trail from the Elephant Hill parking lot.  Elephant Hill is a-whole-nother ball game.  This 4-wheel drive road requires a permit and a beefed-up, special 4-wheel drive, high clearance vehicle, as well as a driver with lots of technical experience driving in these conditions.  Some sections require you to go up a steep incline by driving forward, then backing up the next section, then forward, then backwards, because full turns are impossible.  No thanks.  But it's supposed to be quite the adventure!

Next, we'll head to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands to the north.  Tomorrow - stock up on supplies in Moab.

No Bluffing!

We spend a day shopping, doing laundry and getting the oil in our truck changed in the town of Durango, Colorado which is in the southwest corner of the state only a few miles from the New Mexico border (New Mexico the state, not Mexico the country).  To get to Durango from the Great Sand Dunes National Park, we take highway 160 west, which winds us through the San Juan National Forest.  There is a scenic overlook at a series of steep switchbacks, and we stop for a view of the aspens in full fall colour and the valley below.  What an unbelievable sight this is.  In the Great Sand Dunes National Park, the aspens are finished for the season, having peaked almost two weeks ago.  Here they are late, perhaps because we are at a lower elevation.  I would never tire of seeing these brilliant trees.  Farewell Colorful Colorado!

Colourful Colorado!  The aspens are in full colour in the San Juan Mountains

From Colorado, we head south into New Mexico, but after an hour of driving change our minds and decide to go to southern Utah instead where we know the elevation is much lower (for my migraines because the interesting parts of Northern New Mexico are still in the Rocky Mountains).  Our route from Durango, CO takes us in a semi-circle, south to New Mexico, then west to Arizona and north again to Utah, but it is a nice drive just the same and only a few hours.  We have been to southern Utah twice and loved it both times.  Our original plan is to go to Gooseneck State Park, a cliff which overlooks the San Juan River where it meanders through a canyon, but we detour slightly into the town of Bluff for fuel first.

We spot a Visitors Center and decide to drop in.  This turns out to be the best Visitor/Tourist Information Center we have ever been in.  The woman staffing the center tells us about some great hikes just off the highway a few miles outside of town, but she also gets us to watch a 20 minute film about the settlement of the town of Bluff.  In 1880, Mormon settlers from Cedar City, Utah were "called" by their church to establish a colony on uncharted land southeast of the Colorado River.  There were previously two routes to this area, one to the south into Arizona, and one circling to the north.  Both routes were considered much too long, and the settlers attempted a new, more direct route due east through the then established towns of Panguitch and Escalante.  The video, which our host stopped periodically to narrate being a descendant of these Mormon settlers, depicted how the settlers built roads in the rock crevice big enough to fit their wagons through.  At one location, referred to as "Hole in the Rock", they literally created a narrow trough that descended into the canyon below; this pass now lies beneath Lake Powell because of dams.  A blind team of horses had to make the first two trips down because the other horses would not make the steep descent; but these horses finally followed the blind team!

Their hardships were many - food supplies, weather and the brutal landscape which ranges from slippery clay when wet to hard rock with deep crevices and steep canyons and gullies.  Finally, after six months (!!!) they reached their destination of land situated between the San Juan River and a high bluff; hence the name of the town, Bluff.  Two hundred and fifty settlers made the journey and not one person died during the journey; in fact two babies were born.  The average age of the group was 18 years old!  The livestock and the people were exhausted; although some returned to Cedar City and others continued further on.  It is an amazing tale made all the more special by our host who knew many personal stories of the strife that beset these brave adventurers.

Driving through Comb Wash

Along Comb Wash Road

We decide to stay a few days here near Bluff and find BLM land beside Comb Wash where we can camp.  We drive four miles along the creek at the foot of Comb Ridge on a sand/dirt road, park at the fork where the road goes to the river, and hike the rest of the way not wanting to take the truck up a steep, rugged, rocky incline.  Thanks to a map from the Visitors Center, we find the "Rincone" (Spanish for corner), an old trading post from the early 1880s beside the San Juan River.  Only a portion of the stone wall of the milk house and remnants of the water wheel structure remain.  Today, the river is much lower and does not reach where the water wheel would have been.

He looks like a leopard lizard!

Rafters on the San Juan River at the "Rincone"

We sit on a rock-ledge overhang above the San Juan River as four rafts full of supplies and rafters make their way past us.  They are on day 2 of a multi-day journey from the Sand Island BLM Campground to Clay Hill, some 50 miles.  We chat back and forth while they drift past us; this would be a peaceful way to see the views along the river, except I'd never last a week sitting in a raft, nor could I camp out along the river without my luxury trailer conveniences.

We continue along the hike and soon come across cliff dwellings.  A sign tells us that they were inhabited by Pueblo farmers between AD 900 and 1200.  They are in remarkably good shape, with many rooms still intact.  I am amazed that we are allowed to wander among them without any Ranger supervision like at Mesa Verde in Colorado (where we did not go) or the Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico (where we did go two years ago). 

Ancient cliff dwelling

About 3/4 of a mile further down the road, we are told there are hundreds of petroglyphs carved into the varnish on the sandstone wall face.  Unfortunately, others in more recent years have carved their names, initials and dates into the rock also, but the original artwork still stands out.  We can identify many animals - snakes, lizards, dogs or coyotes, and pronghorn antelope, as well as people, some in ceremonial head-dresses and jewelery.  What an historical find!  We wonder what stories they are supposed to tell.

Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs in Butler Wash

We also hike Butler Wash on the east side of Comb Ridge.  Fortunately, this requires a short drive on a fairly decent dirt road and a short hike down into the wash.  There are many petroglyphs on the cliff walls beside an overhang area that looks like it used to be an ancient dwelling.  From the top of the ridge, we can see Pueblo ruins on the other side of the wash.  They are in pretty good shape.  On another trail across the highway we hike down into the same wash and try to find the petroglyphs that the woman at the Visitors Center told us about, but it is a difficult walk scraping past shrubs, bushes and trees alongside the creek and we give up after about a 1/2 mile.  The hike down the red and yellow sandstone rock is amazing though as are the views.  Brad finds a tree branch that has carved grooves in the sandstone rock beside it while the tree is swaying in the wind.  That's pretty cool!

Erosion in motion

Great Sand Dunes!

We spend a couple of days at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve near Alamosa in the south of Colorado.  Here, sand dunes nestle beneath the Sangre de Cristo (Spanish for Blood of Christ) mountains.  The highest dune, Star Dune, reaches 750 feet above the valley floor; the highest in North America.  One of the mountain peaks, Blanca Peak, reaches 14,345 (above sea level) with several other peaks surrounding her being "14ers" as well.

The dunes in early morning at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo mountains

The sand dunes are beautiful.  The dune field stretches over 30 square miles.  The sand has been deposited here by winds which often gust through this San Luis Valley which lies between the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in the east and the San Juan mountain range in the west.  The mountains actually surround the entire valley in all directions.  Because predominant winds are from west to east, the sand from the valley gets pushed up against the tall Sangre de Cristo mountains, falling at their feet.  The morning and late afternoon sunlight give the dunes their best poses.

Many people are climbing the dunes, and we can see several hearty folk at the top of Star Dune.  Now you may think, "Big deal - anyone can climb a 750-foot sand dune."  Go ahead, try it!  Our Niagara escarpment at home is perhaps 200 feet (a Brad guess), so the tallest dune is almost 4 - FOUR - times that.  And when you walk uphill in sand, your foot slips back half a step, so you need to take twice as many steps as you would if you are climbing on a hard surface.  We do not attempt it.  Two years ago, we climbed several hundred feet up the Kelso Dunes in the Mojave National Preserve in California, but we are not feeling as energetic this trip, probably because of the Altitude Sickness.  Yeah, that's it!

Star Dune (the tallest at 750') - can you see the people?  They're dots!

During the spring and summer, two creeks flow around the dunes on each side.  Visitors to the park swim in the creek at the foot of the dunes, although we are told the water is cold as it's snow melt from the mountains.  The creeks are dry now, so Brad can't have his swim.  These creeks are part of a recycling program, taking the sand from the dunes and redepositing it back in the valley, where the wind will push it back up to the dunes again.

Brad standing in the creek at the foot of a dune, with a tumbleweed

For our daily picnic lunch, we travel about a mile and a half down a 4-wheel drive dirt road to Castle Creek Picnic Area.  4-Wheel drive is required because the sand is very soft in spots on the road.  It's not nearly as bumpy or as long as our trip out to Rattlesnake Canyon Arches.  Here, the parking lot and picnic tables are right at the foot of the dunes, surrounded by cottonwood trees (turning golden brown) and other brush.  This is better than near the Visitors Center where you have to walk about 1/2 a mile across the dry creek bed in order to get to the dunes.  We walk up the creek a bit, and there is water in it up stream from the picnic area.  Brad needs his playtime every day, so he plays on the dunes.

Brad playing in the dunes

Brad and me at the "Sand Pit"

Speaking about playtime, Grady has a new experience.  We are camped on BLM land about 12 miles south of the national park.  It is a forestry service road that goes up into the mountains, but just off the highway on this road is a large pull-off area where we park the trailer.  It is several hundred feet from the highway, and very sandy, although the sand is very dirty.  I get brave and let Grady out of the trailer.  He will not wear a leash.  I have tried to train him, but he wiggles out of every harness or collar I buy for him.  Does anyone need a cat harness?  I have several.  At home, he is used to going outside where he stays on our lawn.  He never strays off the property, and we never let him out alone - either Brad is with him or I am.  And he knows to go back to the front door when we clap our hands and say, "Grady, in."  Well, he's the same here.  At first, he is a bit nervous being outside the trailer, but we leave the door open and let him come out on his own.  I get one of his toys that requires a lot of room - "Da Bird" - and we play.  It's fake feathers on a long string and a stick, so I can fly it around and he chases it.  He's not too sure about this dirty sand which billows up in his face when he runs and then comes to a quick stop or turn.  But after a while, he loves being outside and running around.  Perhaps we have created a monster and now he'll cry to go out all the time.

Grady playing in the sand at our campsite - what a view!

At the Visitors Center, I learn that I am suffering from Altitude Sickness and have been since we got to Yellowstone in Wyoming.  The elevation (always above 6,000 feet up to 8,500 so far) is giving me a migraine every 2 or 3 days.  Symptoms of the sickness include headaches, nausea and shortness of breath.  I have all three symptoms although my headaches become migraines because I'm very susceptible to low pressure and the higher the altitude, the lower the pressure.  Thank God it's sunny every day!  Brad is also feeling the effects of the altitude, having the occasional headache and shortness of breath.  Symptoms are supposed to subside within a few days, but for us have been continuing for over 4 weeks.  I think we need to get to a lower elevation soon!

Blue Mesa Reservoir

We travel east from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park further up the canyon to the Lake Fork campground on the Blue Mesa Reservoir.  This is part of the Curecanti National Recreation Area.  The reservoir is created by the Blue Mesa dam on the Gunnison River.  We can see how low the water is, perhaps 30 or 40 feet lower than the high water mark.  The campground is basically a parking lot beside the marina, and it's very windy and cold which may be normal given we are in a canyon.  The lake water is a deep blue, and a few boats are out enjoying the sunshine as this is the beginning of a long weekend.

Our trailer atop the hill on the right overlooking Blue Mesa Reservoir

We drive across the dam and follow the highway west along the north rim of the canyon which is very steep again now that we are beside the river after the dam.  The sights are amazing with the steep, black canyon walls and the fresh blue-green water flowing rapidly below.  We drive only about 10 miles to a lovely picnic area and have lunch, then decide to return to the reservoir and explore further east.

Marilyn, Gunnison River below

From the highway beside the reservoir, we can see the Dillon Pinnacles - tall, jagged rock spires.  If it wasn't so windy, the water would reflect the Pinnacles beautifully, but there are white caps of waves.  There is a 4-mile round-trip hiking trail to the Pinnacles, but the view from the pulloff on the highway is so perfect, we decide not to take it and just enjoy the drive along the water.

The Dillon Pinnacles on the Blue Mesa Reservoir

The following morning, we are getting ready to leave when we realize we have run out of propane.  No more heat, no more hot water, no stove-top cooking; and today is a holiday Monday.  I get on the internet trying to find somewhere to buy propane today.  I start making phone calls and find a KOA campground open today with propane - thank goodness!  We head off to the town of Gunnison to replenish all of our supplies - fuel, propane, food, fresh water.

Oh - Grady - he caught four more mice on our two nights here, two each night.  We have come to realize that they are likely living in our storage compartment under the trailer because we store Grady's extra bags of food there; then they come into the kitchen maybe for warmth.  The food bags have been chewed through, and Brad's paper towels have been shredded, probably for nesting material.  We put the bags of cat food into two large plastic buckets that Brad happened to bring, and seal them shut with airtight lids.  Let's hope no more mice get in.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

The Gunnison is a river and the Black Canyon is the gorge in which the river flows.  This is a national park, but also along the river are the Curecanti National Recreation Area and the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area.  The canyon is the best in the national park and so we camp here for a few nights.  This area is totally different from the orange sandstone formations just one hour northwest in the Colorado National Monument.  Here we can see the Rocky Mountains - the West Elk Range perhaps 50 to 100 miles northeast - and there is snow at the top of the jagged peaks.  Or maybe they are glaciers.  At any rate, the peaks are white!  It is cooler here too partly because we have climbed over 2,000 from the valley below and are now at over 8,000 feet.  I can feel the thinness of the air as I try to breathe, sometimes having to gasp for air and take several deep breaths.  Brad says he feels the same, so I stop worrying that I'm having a heart attack!

View of the Gunnison River in the Black Canyon

At the Visitors Center, we learn that this 48 mile canyon is one of the most rugged in North America based on depth, steepness and narrowness.  The river drops an average of 43 feet per mile in the canyon, but within the National Park an average of 96 feet per mile!  In one 2-mile stretch, it drops a staggering 480 feet!  Even the Colorado River averages only 7 feet per mile in the Grand Canyon, but yet the 217-mile long Grand Canyon gets all the hype!  At its narrowest, the Black Canyon is only 1/4 mile across; the Grand Canyon is between 4 to 18 miles wide.  And because the rock is so hard in this canyon, only 1 inch is eroded each CENTURY!  It is estimated that the Gunnison River has been carving this canyon for over 2 million years!

There are three dams on the Gunnison, with a 5.8 mile tunnel diverting water from the river to the town of Montrose nearby.  The water is used for irrigation, municipal and industrial purposes as well as power generation.  The tunnel was built between 1905 and 1909 - a truly remarkable feat for the technology of that time.

We spend one afternoon driving down to the river some 2,000 feet below us where we see one of the three dams and the intake for the Diversion Tunnel.  The road (thank God it's paved!) is steep - a 16% grade!  The most we've done on these trips is 9% through mountain passes - with the trailer.  No trailers allowed on this road; there are so many hairpin turns that in two places peribolic mirrors are mounted on the rock face so you can see around the corner going up or down.  Unfortunately, it is a windy and cloudy day so the photos are not great.  This is the cold front coming in, so daytime temperatures will be in the upper 60s (mid to high teens Celcius) and at night it will drop to just below freezing.  We have lots of blankets, a propane heater and a propane furnace.  No problem!

Rain Virga - raining only in the clouds

The clouds are getting thicker and over the mountains near us are black as we return to our trailer.  We can see the rain falling from the clouds, but not reaching the ground; this is called "virga" and happens only in the summer (and apparently early fall) when the air is dry enough to evaporate the rain as it falls.  It's a very strange sight.  After the sun sets, we see lightning and hear very distant thunder.  We get a few drops of rain and gusts of wind, but nothing more.

The rock of these canyon walls is like none we've seen before.  It is almost black and extremely jagged, with white and sometimes orange horizontal stripes that look like ribbons blowing in the wind.  These stripes are "Pegmatite Dykes" and are very hard, harder than the black "gneiss" (pronounced nice) so they erode more slowly.  There is also a silver mica mixed in with the rock which gives it a beautiful sparkle when the sun shines.  The turbulent river below (which is always audible) is unnavigable by rafts or kayaks in many parts of the canyon.  The scene is one of great power and natural beauty, a bit fearsome.

Brad overlooking the Painted Wall

The South Rim Drive takes us through the park along the top of the - you guessed it - south rim.  There are several pullouts overlooking this frightening, dramatic canyon.  One formation along the route is "Painted Wall" which is 2,300 feet high - almost twice as high as the Empire State Building.  It is the highest cliff in Colorado and features many ribbons of coloured rock giving it an artistic appearance.  At the end of the 8-mile drive, we hike a 1-1/2 mile trail to a peak that overlooks the Gunnison River at the bottom of the Black Canyon.  It's called Warner Point, named for the man who frequented this natural wonder and was instrumental in its first becoming a National Monument in 1933 and then a National Park in 1999.  It is 2,772 feet to the bottom of the gorge at this point with magnificent views.

Brad at Warner Point, the river 2,772 feet below!

From Warner Point looking up the canyon

Rabbits and Rattlesnakes

Overlooking the town of Fruita from Colorado NM

Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction is another spectacular geological wonder.  We can't take our trailer into the park because there are short tunnels and we're not willing to have our solar panels and satellite dish ripped off our roof.  So we camp (for free) 17 miles away in Rabbit Valley, so named because of the multitude of rabbits that used to inhabit this part of the desert. 

Marilyn standing on an overhang

We drive the Monument park road, Rim Rock Drive, from one end to the other, some 30 miles of twisting with sheer rock cliffs straight up on one side and straight down on the other - no guard rails!  It's amazing that a road could even be built along this cliff face.

Brad overlooking the canyon

The views of the canyons - red, orange, pink and yellow sandstone formations - are astounding.  Different minerals or chemicals give the rock its hues: iron oxide is red, sulphides are yellow, manganese is pinkish.  It's like geological time travel.  When you learn how the cliffs, mesas and pillars are formed - over millions of years of seas and rivers depositing layers of sediments and millions of more years of wind and water eroding the resulting plateaus into the coloured ribbons of spires we see before us, with rivers carving the winding canyons where fractures form in the rocks - you realize how strong a force nature is and how we are powerless creatures in comparison.  The desert and these brightly coloured rocks always make me feel like this - insignificant and inspired at the same time.

Green and yellow lizard - very colourful!

Near where we camp in Rabbit Valley is the Trail Through Time where, in the summer, there are university students excavating dinosaur bones.  Along the 1-1/2 mile trail there are a few dinosaur skeletons petrified in the rocks and these have been left where found with sign posts explaining which dinosaur they're from and which bones they are.  It's like the wall in Dinosaur National Monument, but these are left in their natural setting, outside.  It's a bit freaky, knowing these bones are from dinosaurs that once walked this area.  But we saw only the dinosaur's cousin, this beautifully coloured lizard in the photo.

The Road!  I'm extracting a suicidal butterfly from our grill!

On our last day in this area, we return to Colorado National Monument to access the worst road Brad and I have ever driven - Black Ridge Road - that will take us to the Rattlesnake Canyon Arches.  It's a four-wheel drive road - you need a high clearance vehicle.  Well, we're okay there, but have you ever traveled 13 miles at about 5-10 miles per hour on a pot-hole filled dirt road?  It's a challenge mentally and physically.  The last 4 miles are the worst yet, with rocks jutting straight up out of the road some 8 or so inches and the truck has to climb up and down the levels.  It's a bit frightening, but Brad does a great job!

Can you find me on top of the arch?

We finally get to the trail, and it's like the road - I swear this is really just a dry creek bed that, at one point, is a dry waterfall down the steep cliffside.  Are we crazy?  We're not 25 years old any more!  Unfortunately, this is not a loop trail because there is a high cliff wall at the starting end which requires climbing experience to scale, and we don't have it!  A side trail takes out to the top of the last arch so that we are looking down onto the trail that we will eventually, after 2.2 miles, hike to.  This arch we can actually walk on top of, although it is not really part of the trail.  But sandstone is very coarse and our hiking boots grip well.  But don't look over the edge - it's a long way down.

The main trail descends part way down into the canyon and we hike the 2 miles around the ridge to the arches.  The tops of the arches are about 200 feet up, and the bottom of the canyon must be over 1,000 feet down.  I'm glad we're not afraid of heights.  There are maybe 7 or 8 arches along this ridge and we are lucky that the late afternoon sun is shining on them.  Each is so different and I am again struck by the sense of awe at nature's landscaping.  We take some time to sit on top of the canyon wall and have a snack.  The quietness almost hurts.  It's a very hot, sunny day (as they have been for the last two weeks) and we are grateful for the occasional breeze that wisps up from the canyon floor.

Brad and I resting near some arches

This arch has a sunroof!

Brad at one of the arches

We head back at about 5:30.  It will be dark by 7:30.  Much of the trail is flat, but the last mile is uphill, some of that straight up!  Our knees and calves are screaming - STOP!  We make it back to the truck as the sun sets across the canyon, but we still have to drive out this horrific 13 miles of hell-road in the dark!  Along the route, we have to stop so I can shoo a bird off the road.  It is either a nighthawk or a common poor-will; I don't get a close enough look to tell (and no, I'm not a bird expert, I have the Audubon book in the trailer!)  We don't have dinner until 9:00 and get back to the trailer just before 10:00.  We have been gone 12 hours and Grady is very upset.  He doesn't like being alone this long and we have to play with him even though we are exhausted and aching.  Another fantastic adventure.

PS - we did NOT see any rattlesnakes, although we did see a few cottontails!

No Dinosaurs Here (now)

Dinosaur National Monument is a fairly large park which staddles the Utah/Colorado border.  The wall of bones is located on the Utah side, and we're curious to know what is in the Colorado part of the park.  Even though the Visitors Center is closed, we decide to drive the 32 mile road that ends in a mile-and-a-half hike along a ridge above the Green River.  We are here so we might as well discover this park.

The Green River cutting through the canyon

The drive climbs up with several rest areas to view the valley below and are less than spectacular at first.  Near the end of the drive though, the views of the red canyon towards the east are stunning.  We drive to the end and hike out onto a narrow ridge which ends with views of the Green River some 2,700 feet below us.  Here the Green River converges with the Yampa River and later joins the Colorado River.  The rock formations are typical of the southwest - orange, red and yellow layers of sandstone.

Marilyn overlooking the convergence of the Green & Yampa Rivers

We view a road down in the canyon and decide to drive down.  At first, the road - a bumpy dirt road called Echo Park Road - is a series of steep switchbacks that descend quickly.  At several points, the canyon walls are only about 40 feet apart, with us in the middle.  The orange sandstone walls rise over 1,000 feet above us - an imposing force.  The road ends at the Green River where there is a very primitive campground.  It would be a great place to camp, but we would never get our trailer in here.  Tents only.  We left our trailer at the Visitors Center.

Echo Park Road cuts through a steep, narrow canyon

Marilyn where the Green and Yampa Rivers meet

Along Echo Park Road is an abandoned ranch that was once home to a family for several generations.  The raised cattle and sheep here in this harsh land, but had the luxury of a flowing creek beside the house.  I can't imagine what the soaring summer temperatures would have been like or the brutal, snowy winters.  Credit to all pioneers who braved conditions we wouldn't even consider these days.  They were a hearty, brave bunch!

Abandoned Ranch on Echo Park Road

The river is clear and cool but there is not enough time for Brad to have a swim.  We pass a cave and stop to go inside.  It is only about 6 feet deep and perhaps 70 feet long, but the truly amazing feature is straight up.  There is the outside wall of rock, then a 12-inch gap, another piece of rock, another 12-inch gap and the back wall.  The middle rock, about 2 feet thick, seems suspended in space.  We can't see any light in the gaps when looking straight up, so the ridges must all be joined towards the top.  It's a strange feeling, and standing with my head in one of the gaps is claustrophobic.  What if the slab falls on us?  Well, that's ridiculous of course.  It's probably been like this for many thousands of years, and will be for many thousands more.

Marilyn inside the fin-like cavern

Marilyn and truck at the entrance to the cave - note the sheer wall!

We expected to take two to three hours to take the drive and hike and already it has been six hours!  The drive back takes over an hour.  We have spent an entire day exploring this eastern side of the park which we weren't even planning to visit.  What a great surprise.  we love days that turn out like this, expecting nothing and gaining an experience we'll both never forget.