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Colorado National Monument Western LoopColorado National Monument Western Loop

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.

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Moore Fun EastMoore Fun East

Moore Fun East

Monday, March 14, 2016

After hiking the west side of the Moore Fun trail last week, I headed back to the Kokopelli Trailhead after work this evening to hike the east side of the trail to it’s high point. While the trailhead was actually closer to the high point on this side, the trail was full of switchbacks and the length was a bit longer. With a storm moving across the valley it was very windy the entire hike but I did manage to miss the rain and I wouldn’t see the first raindrops of the incoming storm until I was almost home.

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Moore Fun WestMoore Fun West

Moore Fun West

Thursday, March 10, 2016

This evening I drove back out to the Kokopelli Trail System after work so I could squeeze in another hike before it got dark out (this should become easier next week after we change our clocks for Daylight Savings Time over the weekend). I returned to the Mack Ridge trailhead and followed the Moore Fun trail from the west to it’s high point above the Horsethief Bench and then returned the same way I had come. I would have preferred to have completed the entire loop but I wouldn’t have had enough daylight and didn’t really want to hike half of it in the dark, so I will have to return and hike the rest of this trail from the east on another day.

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Fresh Snow & Fog at the Colorado National MonumentFresh Snow & Fog

Fresh Snow & Fog at the Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument | Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Visiting the Colorado National Monument in the winter with a fresh coat of snow and canyons filled with fog is a magical experience that doesn’t happen too often. But that’s exactly what I woke up to this morning! I took a detour on my way to work so I could spend a little time photographing the sunrise in these conditions and I’m glad that I did since it turned out to be one of the more spectacular sunrises I’ve witnessed in the Monument. Enjoy the photos!

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Colorado National Monument Morning FogMonument Morning Fog

Colorado National Monument Morning Fog

Friday, January 8, 2016

There was a fog advisory in the Grand Valley this morning so I took a chance and headed up to the Colorado National Monument to take a few photos before heading into work. The fog filled Fruita Canyon and Wedding Canyon when I arrived shortly before sunrise, but the sun never made an appearance since there were some high clouds to the east. I took a few photos and then drove back down to work.

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