Colorado National Monument


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October 1st 2016
Published: September 30th 2017
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From the Canyon Rim TrailFrom the Canyon Rim TrailFrom the Canyon Rim Trail

The Canyon Rim Trail started at the Visitor Center and went about a half mile along the rim of the canyon to a campground.
Geo: 39.1589, -108.728

After visiting the sanctuary, we drove on to Fruita
(pronounced fruit-ahh, not fru-ee-tah) and after
checking into our motel drove on to the visitor
center for the Colorado National Monument.
Colorado National Monument is located in the
middle of the western edge of Colorado just south
of the shores of the Colorado River as it makes its
way west and south from Colorado through six
other US and two Mexican states. The visitor center
is located about 4 miles from the west entrance to
the monument along the Rim Rock Drive, a scenic
23 mile drive through the park. We checked with
the ranger at the center as to conditions of the trails
and which were recommended. I had picked several
that looked promising, and we ended up hiking in
two of those areas on the next day. After our visit to
the visitor center, we hiked a short way along the
Canyon Rim Trail that ran along the edge of the bluff
above Wedding Canyon where we would hike the next day. Returning to
Fruita, we had dinner at Suds Brothers Brewery, one of
From the Canyon Rim TrailFrom the Canyon Rim TrailFrom the Canyon Rim Trail

Independence Monument is the large formation just to left of center.
the two local
craft breweries there.

On Saturday, we drove to the trailhead
for a 5 mile loop hike along the Wedding Canyon and Lower Monument
Canyon trails with only about a 500 foot elevation gain. The trail
head was just off of state highway 340 below the mesa some 1,500 feet
above. We were visiting on the same weekend that a huge bike event
was occurring, and on our drive to the trial head, we shared the road
with hundreds of bikers. The hike was very enjoyable with lots of
unique rock formations along the way and, though very steep in
places, a much easier hike at an elevation of around 6,000 feet
instead of 12,000. After these trails, we drove on to our next hike
at the Wildwood Trailhead. This hike was along the Liberty Cap Trail
with a return along the Corkscrew Trail, making it a total of about
4.5 miles and, with an elevation gain of 1,100 feet, somewhat more
strenuous than the earlier canyon hike. We were very glad to be at
only 6,500 feet instead of 12,000. The hike to Liberty Cap was about
1.5 miles and was where most of the elevation gain occurred. The
actual liberty cap was a huge sandstone dome formation sitting on a
flat shelf about ¾
The Rim Roock RoadThe Rim Roock RoadThe Rim Roock Road

From an overlook along the Canyon Rim Trail.
of the way to the top of the north wall of Ute
Canyon. We arrived there around 1:30 PM and found a good spot to
rest and eat lunch near the edge of the flat area overlooking the
Colorado River valley and the towns of Fuita and Grand Junction some
1,200 feet below.

After these hikes, we returned to our
motel, cleaned up a bit and drove to the downtown area in search of a
spot for dinner. We had planned to go to a pizza place called the
Hot Tomato Pizzeria, but when we arrived there it was so extremely
busy that we went looking elsewhere. Found what looked like another
small craft brewery called the Copper Club Brewing Company. And
that's what it was. In fact, that's all it was. You could get beer
there but no food. But – all was not lost. They actually
encouraged you to go to a restaurant and get take out and bring it to
their place to eat it while you drank their beer. And that is what a
whole lot of people were doing. The people there were really
friendly and encouraged us to get a pizza and bring it back. They
even had a menu for the Hot Tomato which was just around the corner,
so
Another of the Rim Roock RoadAnother of the Rim Roock RoadAnother of the Rim Roock Road

As it climbs to the Visitor Center.
I called them on our cell phone (I know how to call out, just not
sure how to answer a call on it) and ordered a pizza, then ordered a
beer and waited about 30 minutes, walked around the corner to pick up
our pizza, back to the brewery, ordered another beer, and we ate our
pizza. This was really a laid back place where families with
children and even the family dog were all welcomed. Think I gave
then a 5 out of 5 stars on TripAdvisor.

The first six pictures on this page were taken on our first day in Fruita just after we arrived and checked out the visitor center. The rest of the pictures are from the two hikes on the second day there.











Additional photos below
Photos: 24, Displayed: 24


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The Balanced Rock  The Balanced Rock
The Balanced Rock

Along the Rim Rock Road.
Wedding Canyon WallWedding Canyon Wall
Wedding Canyon Wall

From near the entrance to Wedding Canyon. On the right side of the wall is a "Window" - a little hole at the end of the mesa.
Wedding Canyon TrailWedding Canyon Trail
Wedding Canyon Trail

View along Wedding Canyon Trail.
Wedding CanyonWedding Canyon
Wedding Canyon

From along the Wedding Canyon trail near the head of Wedding Canyon. This hike circled a sort of island mesa with Wedding Canyon on the northwest side and Monument Canyon on the south east side. The wall of the island mesa is on the left side of the picture.
Wedding Canyon & Monument Canyon junctionWedding Canyon & Monument Canyon junction
Wedding Canyon & Monument Canyon junction

The Wedding Canyon and Monument Canyon trail junction is just below the wall on the right. The wall is the north face of Monument Canyon.
Monument CanyonMonument Canyon
Monument Canyon

To the left of center is a formation called Kissing Couple - two towering formations leaning against one another. On the right is Independence Monument.
Monument Canyon Monument Canyon
Monument Canyon

Another view along the Monument Canyon Trail.
Independence MonumentIndependence Monument
Independence Monument

Up close and personal, Independence Monument is very near the junction of the two trails that make up this loop hike..
Independence Monument Independence Monument
Independence Monument

From the Monument Canyon trail, looking back up canyon as we headed back to the trailhead. Independence Monument is to the right of center.
Monument CanyonMonument Canyon
Monument Canyon

The view of the mouth of Monument Canyon as we hiked back down to the trailhead.
View from Liberty CapView from Liberty Cap
View from Liberty Cap

Liberty cap sits on a relatively flat shelf about halfway up the side of Ute Canyon. We had lunch there and this was the view from our lunch spot.
The Liberty CapThe Liberty Cap
The Liberty Cap

The Liberty Cap is a large sandstone dome near the top of the north wall of Ute Canyon.
The Liberty CapThe Liberty Cap
The Liberty Cap

Another of the Liberty Cap.
View from Liberty CapView from Liberty Cap
View from Liberty Cap

A view of the top of Ute Canyon from the Liberty Cap shelf.
Ute CanyonUte Canyon
Ute Canyon

Looking South up Ute Canyon from the Liberty Cap shelf.
The Corkscrew TrailThe Corkscrew Trail
The Corkscrew Trail

Going down from the Liberty Cap. The Corkscrew Trail follows one of the original routes blazed by John Otto, one of the first explorers of the area and the primary promoter of making it a National Monument.
Corkscrew Connector TrailCorkscrew Connector Trail
Corkscrew Connector Trail

Once we descended the Corkscrew Trail we had about another mile of relatively flat trail back to the Liberty Cap trailhead and our car.
The tail of the snakeThe tail of the snake
The tail of the snake

Anne saw this rattler in the middle of the Corkscrew Connector Trail. He slid off the trail and almost all the way under a tree root before I could get his picture. Big snake!


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