Tuesday, May 28, Colorado National Monument, Fruita/Grand Junction, CO

Until we started planning our visit to Colorado, I don't remember ever hearing about Colorado National Monument. Joani booked us for a week in Monument RV Park in Fruita, CO, (just outside of Grand Junction, CO). Our site was only a few miles from the entrance to what turned out to be a very nice surprise.

On our first morning in Fruita, we decided to see just what the Monument had to offer. We followed the camper, below, into the park and were fascinated by their collection of stickers - they had obviously been traveling for quite a while.

Seriously, every state but Nevada? (Or did the sticker just fall off.)

We drove right by Balanced Rock without noticing it hanging above the roadway. I pulled over when I noticed a wide shoulder and a park information placard. When we got out of the car and turned around we finally noticed the huge boulder balanced precariously on a thin column of rock. The red sandstone rock all around us was now pretty familiar but we still found it amazing to see the eons of history written in the stone walls.

600-ton boulder perched on a pedestal.

After a quick visit to the Visitor's Center, we quickly headed to the Independence Overlook to catch a Ranger talk about the geology of the park. Unfortunately, the ranger was a no show but we were able to study one of the signature features of the park - Independence Monument. Climbers raise an American flag atop the structure every Fourth of July.

Independence Monument is 450 feet tall.

As we continued further along the rim drive we noticed how drastically the shape of Independence Monument changed.

This is the same formation (Independence Monument) from the side.

Maybe it's a phase, but we both have been enamored by the rugged, windswept grain in the cedar trees and their contrast with the red in the sandstone so you might see a lot of wood and stone compositions in the near future.

The tall spire to the left in the picture below was named the Kissing Couple. It did not register until we reached the Monument Canyon Overview later.

At the Monument Canyon View overlook, the Kissing Couple, now to the far right in the picture below could be seen as two separate rock columns.

Early visitors thought these shapes looked like man-made structures called coke ovens.

That is one stubborn chunk of rock to hang on to the cliff face.

I see a Viking warrior. What does your imagination see?

 What can I say, lichen fascinates me.

Is it possible this was an inspiration to the guy that invented the bar code?

Oh, and do you see a mummy? 

A placard told us to look for an Egyptian mummy and sure enough, now that is all I see.

The knob below was some distance on the north side of Grand Junction (maybe 10-15 miles away) and the snow-capped mountains were obviously even further giving the picture a very hazy, surreal look.

The thistle, Scotland's national flower, is edible; raw, steamed, or boiled. Yum!