From Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park, I drove north toward Grand Junction, Colorado. A little road called "Lands End Road" (had to see where it went) took me to a view of the Grand Mesa National Forest.
But another road caught my eye; Reeder Mesa Road.
Mounds of curvaceous beautifully pastel colored hills!
A sign told me this was "Mesa County, Colorado".
I was smitten by these mounds.
See the road lower left, lower center and lower right? I loved driving and curving around these mounds. Had the road to myself.
Reeder Mesa Road (south of Grand Junction) is a beautiful scenic road.
It was Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, so I hurried north of Grand Junction to Colorado Monument National Park to get a camping site. There's a scenic park road, Rim Rock Drive, which is 22 miles long; twisting, curving, climbing, descending . . . it's a favorite road among bicyclists.
Rim Rock Drive is extremely scenic.
The road was a Depression-era public works project. Click here for a history of this road.
There were several overlooks to pull-off the road.
How they managed to build the Saddle Horn Campground in this difficult terrain is a marvel. The campground is located behind the Sentinel Spire (see photo below). And in the very background, the line of hazy mountains, that's called the Book Cliffs. The white Sprinter on Rim Rock Drive is just to offer a perspective.
There's barely space to park off the one-way campground loop road, but many big rigs manage.
View of the Sentinel Spire from near my campsite.
Here's a better view of the Book Cliffs in the background.
This is my favorite photo. Do you see the white SUV on Rim Rock Drive? Hint, look under the 3 tiny white clouds.
Zoomed-in white SUV below, same photo.
This park is bold, big and brilliantly colored!
Park Ranger Paula gave an informative talk on this national park. She's from Texas by the way; a retired school teacher who works here most of the year, then goes home to Texas for the winters.
She showed me a poster; four states share the "Colorado Plateau" and its geological history.
And within this area are ten national parks and 17 national monuments.
Ranger Paula also explained the different layers of rock; the oldest layer is 1.5 billion years old.
I took a bicycle ride one morning and noticed a camouflaged lizard on a red rock. It's a side-blotched lizard.
When I got closer, it came running over the rock toward me -- lizard language translation, "This is MY rock, no trespassers allowed!"
Upon research, I discovered they are prone to "engage" when intruders (humans, too) are near their territory. Intimidating eh?
These rounded rocks are called "Coke Ovens" (an old steel/iron term which few of us know about).
More unusual shapes.
Lots of pretty cactus flowers were blooming.
I walked the short "Otto's Trail" named after John Otto (click here for his story). This deformed juniper on the trail caught my eye.
Ranger Paula has enthused me to visit Dinosaur National Monument, a short drive north of Grand Junction. Never figured I'd be in Colorado this long; will be almost two weeks!
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