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Saddlehorn Trails at the Colorado National MonumentSaddlehorn Trails at the Colorado National Monument

Saddlehorn Trails at the Colorado National Monument

Heart of the World | Wednesday, January 1, 2025

This year for New Year’s Day I actually decided to go in to work instead of heading out to the local backcountry for just a day trip in the middle of the week since I have a busy spring coming up and need to conserve some of my PTO for then. But after spending a day alone in the office and getting a lot done I still wanted to get out for my first hike of 2025, so after leaving work I headed up into the Colorado National Monument to start working on my Heart of the World project by hiking some of the shorter trails located around Saddlehorn and the Visitor Center. Once I arrived at the parking lot for the Visitor Center I followed the Canyon Rim Trail to the Book Cliffs Shelter and then continued on the Window Rock Trail to the campground. I then made a short detour to the top of Saddlehorn before returning to the trailhead and hiking the Alcove Nature Trail. It was a nice way to spend a couple hours after work and get in my first hike of the year!

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Snow Day at The MonumentSnow Day at The Monument

Snow Day at The Monument

Sunday, January 6, 2019

This weekend Diane and I stayed home and took it easy, but we did take some time on Sunday afternoon to visit the west side of the Colorado National Monument for a couple of hours during a snowstorm. We drove a snow-packed Rim Rock Drive to its closure gate at the Independence Monument Viewpoint and stopped to take a few photos along the way. We only saw a handful of other vehicles up there braving the winter road conditions. I was hoping to hike a few of the shorter trails along the rim of Wedding Canyon near the Visitor Center in the snow, but once we got up into the Monument we found that the clouds were low and there was no view into the canyons. I didn’t want to hike those trails with no views, so we decided to skip them and only hiked the Alcove Nature Trail this time. I think the last time I hiked this short trail was almost ten years ago, so it was nice to finally revisit it.

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Wedding Canyon Loop 2018Wedding Canyon Loop 2018

Wedding Canyon Loop 2018

New Year’s Day | Monday, January 1, 2018

After going on my last hike of 2017 the previous day, it was now time for me to go on my very first hike of 2018! I woke up early on Monday morning and drove over to the Lower Monument Canyon Trailhead in the Colorado National Monument so I could hike the Wedding Canyon Loop. This is one of my favorite hikes in the Monument and one I recommend to anyone who asks me about hiking in the area. Hiking this loop on New year’s Day has become somewhat of a tradition for me the past couple of years, and I wanted to keep that up. Plus, it’s just a great way to start off the new year close to home!

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Colorado National Monument PhotosColorado National Monument Photos

Colorado National Monument Photos

Thursday, September 22, 2016

After work I grabbed my hiking gear and started heading out to Rabbit Valley so I could hike to another summit in Mesa County, but as I was driving west on I-70 I noticed the sky was much cloudier and darker out that direction and I was concerned about the weather I would encounter. It appeared that the edge of the storm system moving through the area was over Fruita and Grand Junction and it looked like I’d have better luck closer to town this evening. So when I reached the Fruita exit I decided to get off and head up into the Colorado National Monument instead. The clouds and sky were nice for a few photos during my drive through the western portion of the park, plus I still got a little hiking and exploring in. Here’s a few photos from the evening.

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Return to the Colorado National MonumentReturn to the Monument

Return to the Colorado National Monument

Monday, May 9, 2016

It’s been a while since the last time I took a drive through the Colorado National Monument and it’s also been a while since I’ve gone out specifically to take photos around sunrise or sunset. After all the rain we’ve been having in the Grand Valley lately, it looked like the storms were finally clearing out this evening so I decided to take a drive on Rim Rock Drive in the west section of the park this evening and stopped at a few of the viewpoints along the way to take a couple of photos.

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