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Rim Rock Drive

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Pothole Point Sunset
Catching the sunset over Monument Canyon from Pothole Point.

For most of the day we had an overcast sky with the occasional light rain shower here in the Grand Valley, but as it got later in the afternoon the clouds started to break up a bit and the chances of a nice sunset were looking good. I decided to head out with my camera and take a drive through the Colorado National Monument on Rim Rock Drive so I could take a few photos from the overlooks until sunset. The late afternoon light breaking through the clouds turned out to be pretty nice at times. When I reached the Book Cliffs View near the Visitor’s Center and campground I decided to finally climb to the summit of Saddlehorn (5,770) nearby. It was a short and easy climb, but it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and am happy that I can finally cross it off my list. Here are a few photos from my evening along Rim Rock Drive.

Nice light on the landscape beyond the Devil’s Kitchen.

Devils Kitchen

Spotted light on the landscape with the Grand Mesa in the background.

Valley Layers

A different view over No Thoroughfare Canyon and Devil’s Kitchen.

No Thoroughfare View

Light on the sandstone wall of Red Canyon.

Red Canyon Layers

The typical view down Red Canyon over Grand Junction to Mount Garfield.

Red Canyon

Nice clouds from the Fallen Rock Overlook in upper Ute Canyon. You can see the Ute Canyon Trail switchbacks on the slope to the right if you look closely.

Fallen Rock View

Evening light on Monument Mesa.

Monument Mesa

Upper Monument Canyon from Artist’s Point.

Upper Monument Canyon

A great view across the Grand Valley to the Book Cliffs.

Across the Valley

The view from the top of Saddlehorn looking towards the Grand Mesa.

Saddlehorn Summit View

A little post-sunset glow on the sandstone monoliths below as I left the Monument.

Afterglow

>> Rim Rock Drive Photo Gallery

2 Comments

  1. Joe Reed
    Joe Reed November 14, 2015

    Thanks for sharing your trips with us. The effort that it takes to publish this blog is appreciated. You are giving me many ideas of where to go when I am in Colorado. Your photographs are really very well done and clearly show the areas you write about. Looking forward to more new postings.

    • Randy Langstraat
      Randy Langstraat November 14, 2015

      Thanks a lot, Joe!

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