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Kodels Point

McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area
Friday, April 17, 2020

This evening after work I drove up to the Visitor Center in the Colorado National Monument so I could try to hike to the top of a distinctive high point located above Kodels Canyon. I’ve looked upon this prominent sandstone outcrop many times as I have driven west on I-70 through Fruita and always wondered if it would be possible for me to climb to the top of it. This point sits on a narrow strip of land within the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area that is sandwiched between the Colorado National Monument and the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness. Since this prominent butte is located right above Kodels Canyon, I have come to refer to it as Kodels Point, as it does not have an official name on any map that I have seen. Today was the day I was finally going to see if I could find a break in the cliffs and scramble to the top of the point, but to be honest, I knew that chances were going to be slim and that I would be perfectly happy just walking around the base of it and taking in the views while I was up there!

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Nine Mile Canyon 2018

Diane’s Birthday Weekend | Saturday & Sunday, October 20-21, 2018

Since it was Diane’s birthday was on Saturday and she wanted to spend the weekend in Nine Mile Canyon, that’s what we did! It actually worked out great since neither of us had been there yet this year and I like to try to get there at least once each year. We left home early on Saturday morning, stopped at the gas station in Wellington and then headed right into the canyon to see what we could find. There was nothing in particular that I was looking for on this trip, so we just drove slowly through the canyon and kept an eye out to see what we could find. It’s really amazing that no matter how many times I have driven through this canyon we were still able to find quite a few new petroglyphs and pictographs, and even a couple ruins. We spent all day in the canyon and then returned to Wellington where we took a little break from camping and spent the night in a hotel. Then on Sunday morning we were back in the canyon for a few more hours before heading back home. It was a great time! Here are plenty of photos from the weekend.

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Nine Mile Canyon Revisited

Friday & Saturday, December 9-10, 2016

After attending a concert in Salt Lake City on Thursday night it was time to start heading back home on Friday morning. However, I planned to spend Friday afternoon and all day Saturday in Nine Mile Canyon before finishing the drive back to Grand Junction. I had hoped to revisit some sites lower in the canyon that I had not been to in many years plus find a few sites along the road that I had missed or not found during previous visits. I was also planning on photographing The Great Hunt Panel at sunset on Friday evening. For being December, the weather was not too cold and there was very little snow in the canyon. Friday afternoon was the nicer of the two days with temperatures in the upper 40’s and the sun was out, while Saturday was a little bit cooler with overcast skies and a cold wind that had picked up. Enjoy plenty of photos of the rock art below!

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Devil’s Canyon

Sunday, April 10, 2016

A hike into Devil’s Canyon is always a good way to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon. Since it rained for much of the weekend and I was able to get some work done on my Jeep on Saturday, Diane and I decided to go hiking in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area late on Sunday morning since it looked like the rain was done for a while. We hiked to the old cabin in Devil’s Canyon on the D3 Trail and then completed the loop back to the trailhead. As we started the hike, the creek in Devil’s Canyon was flowing from all the recent rain and it was also pretty humid out.

Colorado National Monument Western Loop

Colorado National Monument Traverse III
Sunday, March 20, 2016

After our overnight hike along the Black Ridge Loop in the Colorado National Monument last year Diane had mentioned to me that she enjoyed the hike up the Fruita Dugway and wanted to hike it again, so this year I planned a different loop that included the Fruita Dugway, Black Ridge Trail, CCC Trail and then returned down Monument Canyon. It would make a nice 13.5 mile loop on the western side of the Monument. We dropped my Jeep off at the Lower Monument Canyon Trailhead shortly before sunrise and then drove over to the Fruita Dugway Trailhead and started climbing the trail as the sun was coming up for the day. The Fruita Dugway is probably one of my favorite and often overlooked trails in the Colorado National Monument.

Tag: devils canyon

Kodels Point

Nine Mile Canyon 2018

Nine Mile Canyon Revisited

Devil’s Canyon

Colorado National Monument Western Loop