Colorado National Monument

One of the reasons I bought a National Parks Pass this summer was because I knew that Yellowstone would not be the only NPS site we would be passing.

The first site we came to after the St. Louis Arch (except for ones in Kansas that weren't open when we passed them) was Colorado National Monument.  I hadn't managed to connect with anyone in Grand Junction to see about meeting up for a few minutes or for lunch, so we decided to take a quick trip into the monument.  It was a hot day, but I was reminded how much more bearable the heat is in the west because it is dry.  It was ninety degrees, but it wasn't insufferable in the shade at all!

Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grand landscapes of the American West.  Bold, big, and brilliantly colored, this plateau-and-canyon country, with its towering masses of naturally sculpted rock, embraces 32 square miles of rugged, up-and-down terrain.  This is a special place, where you can contemplate glorious views that stretch to distant horizons; where you can discover solitude deep in a remote canyon; where you can delight in wild country where desert bighorns roam and golden eagles soar.  In the spirit of John Otto and others with the foresight to create Colorado National Monument in 1911, and the many since who have sought to protect it, please treat the park with respect so we can share in its grandeur tomorrow.--from Colorado National Monument NPS brochure

When we drove into the park I pulled out my pass for the first time.  When I'd purchased it they hadn't punched the month that it was obtained--which indicates when it will expire the next year.  The ranger who checked it insisted on punching it--but since I had purchased it on June 1 it will be valid through the end of June 2013--thirteen months instead of just twelve.

It was a winding drive up to the visitor center, but the scenery was beautiful.  I'm quite glad we came in at this entrance as the visitor center wasn't that far in (it is the only one in the park and much closer to the north-west entrance than the eastern entrance to the south).  I don't know that I've ever been to the monument before, but I definitely want to go back.  Of course Amy thinks it is all "snake country" even though we didn't see a single one the whole time.

The visitor center is a nice building that seems to blend in with the landscape.  I learned a bit about it by picking up a brochure about the landscape.

The Monument could no longer afford the expense of water to maintain the Kentucky bluegrass lawn that was once in front of the Visitor Center.  The grass died and left a barren greeting for all visitors.  In 2004, the Monument secured a grant for revegetation.  At the time Pete Larson was in charge of the revegetation and non-native plants management program in the Monument...  Pete began searching for suitable plants, rocks and other materials.  The result is a lasting tribute to his devotion by creating a place that people can enjoy as well as learn about and appreciate the beauty of a high desert natural landscape.
--from Pete Larson's Native Landscape

Of course I had to pick up more literature (it was where I got the native landscape brochure quoted above) including the park newspaper.  These are interesting to see at different sites as they have seasonal information and often more details than the basic brochure can provide.  From this I learned that the monument was 101 years old (having celebrated its centennial last year in 2011).  The interpretive signs inside were also quite interesting (and of course I took pictures of many of them).

I especially enjoy seeing interactive signs.  The ones below are part of pieces barely visible at the bottom of the picture above.  There is a display for each stone with a question that slides away to reveal the answer.

We didn't get to see any wildlife while we were visiting, but we didn't look around that much and didn't hike at all.  I think it is amazing that so much life exists in arid climates like this (and ones even drier)--all of which are a testament to the variety that God programmed into the various animal kinds.

I found a description of the Ute Creation story quite fascinating.  Is it a corruption of Genesis 11 and the account of the scattering of the nations from Babel?  I know flood stories are found around the globe--but I haven't heard about scattering tales also.

The Ute Creation Story
In the beginning there were no people on the Earth.  One day, Sinawavf, the Creator, cut sticks and placed them in a large bag. 

Sinawavf told Coyote to take the bag to teh mountains.  When he got to the mountains, Coyote became curious and opened the bag.  many people came out of the bag, and as they ran away, they were all speaking the same language. 

When Sinawavf discovered what Coyote had done, only a few people were still in the bag.  He was very angry that the people had scattered across the land.  His plan had been to distribute them equally.  Sinawavf took the people remaining in the bag and placed them in the mountains. 

Of the people remaining in the bag, Sinawavf said, "This small tribe of people shall be Ute.  They will be very brave and able to protect the rest."  And so, the Ute People were placed in the mountains of Colorado.

I remember seeing quite a bit of cactus when I visited my grandparents in Tucson over the years, so I enjoy seeing it now.  There isn't too much here in the east, ;-).

The cactus model above was part of a fascinating display with many native species and signs explaining each of them--signs that are of course not out in the wild.  It would be an excellent primer if you were going to go hiking and wanted to be able to identify many species.

In addition to the many plant species in the park there are also desert bighorn sheep, golden eagles, collard lizards, Jerusalem crickets and more!  I like one line in the brochure talking about appreciating these creatures: "Examine scat (with a stick!) to learn about an animal's eating habits."

Of course the caution was also given to enjoy the animals from a distance.  I do not understand why people find this injunction so hard to follow.  In Yellowstone we saw tourists getting far too close to bison--and they're large and dangerous critters!  People are killed by them frequently, or by animals that can bite or otherwise attack when feeling threatened.

You can always get my attention with a map!

After we started driving out I stopped at a couple points to take pictures of the awe-inspiring landscape.  We did drive down into the campground.  I'm not sure I'd enjoy it in a tent as it was very dry and there was little shade.  I'm sure it cools down at night, but until then it would be very dry and hot.

What to Call a Monolith (Besides Big) 

Curious visitors to Colorado National Monument often ask, "Like, where's the monument?" Park rangers are often tempted to say, "You're, like, looking at it."
That would leave many visitors scratching their heads.  People from as near as Denver and as far as Denmark get confused upon arrival.  they expect to find a shiny bronze plaque bolted to a big chunk of hand-carved stone, something resembling Webster's definition of monument: "a tablet, statue, pillar, or building." 

But Colorado National Monument is a 20,000-acre park unit.  And within that park unit rises a 450-foot sandstone monolith (a large free standing rock formation) named Independence Monument.  A pair of monuments, both with names that have become familiar to locals, continue to confuse newcomers.  no wonder visitors scratch their heads. 

If neither Colorado National Monument nor the monolith fits our conventional image of "monument," that's OK.  There is nothing conventional about this extraordinary place.  It is truly unconventional, just like John Otto, the Monument's founder.  This rugged conservationist in his cowboy hat and droopy mustache labored alone among the geological wonders that became Colorado National Monument in 1911.  This special place not only changed his life--he changed it too.  Otto lived in the canyons, carved trails with iron tools, erected barbed wire fences, and chiseled handholds for climbing Wingate sandstone walls. 

He also took it upon himself to name many of the monoliths.  Names such as "Needle's Eye," "King Apple's Castle," and "Temple Rock," were all his doing.  He christened Monument Canyon's iconic spire "Independence."  Otto, a proud patriot, honored Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, McKinley and Wilson by naming monoliths after them.
--from Colorado national Monument Visitor Guide

When I saw the balancing rock I had to stage a picture with Amy.  It took a few tries, but we finally managed one shot that turned out rather well I think.  She promised that she wouldn't actually tip it over.

Here is just a little bit of the scenery.

If you looked down you could see the road that climbed up to our location--it had quite a few twists and turns.

~Matt

PS All of the pictures above (and many more) are in the slideshow below.  You can click on any of the pictures to go visit the album and see all of the pictures.