Colorado's Geological Wonderland

If you enter Colorado National Monument from the west side, you may think you have made a wrong turn and are heading toward a dead end. Surely, the paved road can’t penetrate Fruita Canyon, the formidable, rock-filled fortress that lies before you, can it?

But you soon discover that finding your way through this maze of scarlet-covered strata is as much fun as sightseeing along the way, looking for wildlife and enjoying grand views

Colorado National Monument is a terrific place to spend a day or two–or more. The monument is near the cities of Fruita and Grand Junction in the western part of Colorado. It preserves one of the eminent landscapes of the American West and a spectacular road. You can take a scenic tour along 23-mile Rim Rock Drive, camp in the area, and go hiking, biking, rock climbing and horseback riding.

We spent a couple of days hiking short trails, gazing into canyons and enjoying the antics of the wildlife.

Ancient Inhabitants
Habitation of the area goes back thousands of years to prehistoric people of the Grand Valley, who moved through here seasonally. Rock art and temporary shelters suggest routes of travel through the canyons; stone chips are evidence that the people used local materials for tools. The Utes were the last group of American Indians to hunt and live in the area, staying until 1881, when they were forcibly moved to Utah.

The area gained protection as a national monument on May 24, 1911, thanks to an effort initiated by John Otto, who explored the area and single-handedly built many of the trails that are in use today. He was also the park’s first caretaker. Otto arrived in the area in 1906. A year later he wrote, “I came here last year and found these canyons, and they felt like the heart of the world to me...I’m going to stay...and promote this place, because it should be a national park.”

If you enter the monument from the west, you will come upon a visitor center four miles up the road. Be sure to stop at the center because there are two animated slide shows that you won’t want to miss. In addition, helpful personnel can point you in the right direction for a hike. Guided walks, porch talks and evening programs are also common in summer. The park is open year-round.

Elevations in the monument range from 4,000 feet to more than 7,000 feet. Expect desert, semi-desert and upland climates with an annual precipitation of 11 inches. August through October are the wettest months. Summer, of course, is the hottest time, while winters are pretty mild, with lows rarely dipping into the sub-zero readings. The monument can get snow, but that only makes for wonderful, moody pictures.

Spectacular Drive
It took 19 years to build scenic Rim Rock Drive, which has three tunnels. You can opt to drive a loop, but driving from one end of the road and back is certainly worthwhile. The drive has much to offer, including spectacular views of Grand Valley, the Colorado River and multiple canyons.

The deep canyons and monolithic towers of sculpted rock embrace 32 square miles of rugged terrain. Among the feature attractions are the towering freestanding rock formations called monoliths, which include Independence Monument, Kissing Couple, Pipe Organ, Preying Hands and Coke Ovens.

Remote and rugged, it’s the kind of place where desert bighorn sheep roam and golden eagles soar. During the summer, the temperature will increase once you descend into the canyons and you’ll hear the tumbling song of the canyon wren or maybe see a mule deer. Up above, on the rim of the canyons, you’ll stand 2,000 feet above the Grand Valley of the Colorado River. A semi-desert landscape covers the canyon and plateau country with pinyon pines and Utah junipers woodlands.

Informative Walk
To learn more about the geology and nature of the monument, my husband, Mike, and I walked the Alcove Nature Trail across from the visitor center. A self-guided trail points out Entrada sandstone. The rock here was once a large sand dune on a seashore. Along the trail we learned not to walk on the dark, lumpy soil called biological soil crust, because it’s alive and can be easily damaged.
Markers on the trail inform visitors about the trees in the region, the various sandstones, and the cactus-like plants called yucca. American Indians used yucca to make baskets, mats and sandals. Utah juniper is also visible along the trail—its small, blue-gray berries were an important source of food for the American Indians, who ground them into a flour to make juniper cakes.
Many other short trails offer a chance to stretch the legs and a way to see even more spectacular views. Window Rock Trail is a half-mile round-trip and offers views of Monument and Weddings canyons. Canyon Rim is a level trail that also offers outstanding views.

The park campground is in a pinyon-juniper woodland near Window Rock Trail. Campsites are first-come, first-served, and provide a picnic table and charcoal-only grill. Although the Saddlehorn Campground has nice restrooms with running water and flush toilets, those with large RVs may want to camp just north of the park at Fruita. Monument RV Park offers full hookups, grass and spacious sites. Another option is to camp at the Fruita section of James M. Robb-Colorado River State Park, which offers sites with full hookups or electricity only.

Pets are welcome, but they must be leashed at all times and are not permitted on any trails or in the backcountry. Although bikes are welcome, they are only allowed on the paved roads, and are exempt from trails. Horses are allowed on several backcountry trails. Admission fee to the park is $7 for a seven-day pass.

For more information, contact Colorado National Monument at (970) 858-3617 or www.nps.gov/colm and Colorado State Parks at (970) 434-6862 or www.parks.state.co.us. Monument RV Park can be reached at (888) 977-6777 or through www.monumentrvresort.com.

Donna Ikenberry is a writer and photographer who lives in South Fork, Colorado.

Dinosaur Side Trip

On a visit to the Colorado National Monument, you might want to stop at the nearby Dinosaur Journey Museum in Fruita to learn more about the dinosaurs that once inhabited western Colorado and eastern Utah. Real bones, cast skeletons and robotic dinosaurs (such as the stegosaurus and triceratops) give visitors a look at some of the unique finds discovered nearby.

Another attraction in the area is Dinosaur Hill, about a mile south of the museum. A one-mile loop trail leads past the mold of a diplodocus leg bone. The femur belonged to a 25-ton, 85-foot-long plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 151 million years ago. A very important find here in 1901 was the discovery of a giant brontosaur. One of the most complete specimens found to date, it is on display at the Field Museum in Chicago.

For information on the museum, call (970) 858-7282 or log onto www.dinosaurjourney.org.

And if you want to pursue dinosaur explorations in neighboring Utah, visit www.undiscoveredutah.com, which will direct you to museums and historical sites in eastern Utah.