beyond cinderella

Yesterday, our daughter, Katie Roden, and her family, gave us a guided tour of the Colorado National Monument. They have lived here for a long time and have visited the Monument several times and know a lot of information about it. We had never been there, but it just happens to be right down the road from the RV Park where we are staying in Fruita, Colorado, so there was no way we were going to miss visiting it while we are here.

The information booklet we received when we went through the entrance says “Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grandest 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 terrain. Here you can contemplate the glorious views that stretch to distant horizons, discover solitude deep in a remote canyon, and delight in wild country that has roaming desert bighorns and soaring golden eagles.” I can say that definitely describes what we saw and felt while we were there.

Right out of the gate we saw wildlife just grazing along side of the road.

The beautiful rock formations are breathtaking.

The weather was perfect for sightseeing.

Around every curve in the road is another spectacular view.

We learned that ” the many sheer-walled canyons were carved primarily by the erosive force of floodwaters flowing over the plateau for millions of years.”

Vertical cliff walls and great natural rock sculptures tower over deep canyons.

The domed rocks in this next picture are called “coke ovens” A series of colorful rock domes created by the natural sculpting forces of water, ice, and wind.

I thought this looked like someone carved a statue into the wall.

And then, you almost always come across someone that has to try to be a show-off, and take unnecessary risks. The rock that looks like it is balancing on the end of the bigger rock in this picture, had a grown man squatting down making the peace sign with his hands as he posed for a picture that was taken by others in his group. I didn’t even want to take his picture while he was out there because that, to me, would be like condoning his, in my opinion, bad behavior.

It was a fun-filled day on the Colorado National Monument with our daughter and her family. After the guided tour, we went to their house for a delicious lunch.

Thank you Katie, Josh, and Emma, for sharing your knowledge of the Colorado National Monument. We love you and enjoyed our time together.

Stay Tuned!