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Lower Bangs CanyonLower Bangs Canyon

Lower Bangs Canyon

Veteran’s Day | Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Since I had Veteran’s Day off from work but Diane still had to go to work and school, I contacted Marty over the weekend to see if he was up for some hiking. He was, so we planned to stay close to home and explore the lower reaches of Bangs Canyon just outside of Grand Junction this morning. After a night of rain and snow we knew it was going to be a wet hike. I met Marty at the trailhead just outside of Whitewater along East Creek at the mouth of Unaweep Canyon about an hour after sunrise.

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Triple Bridges in the Colorado National MonumentTriple Bridges

Triple Bridges in the Colorado National Monument

Sunday, November 8, 2015

On Sunday Diane and I stayed close to home and did a little backcountry hiking in the Colorado National Monument. This time we were in search of a little-known set of natural bridges located at the head of a short unnamed side canyon that have no official name, but are collectively known as the Triple Bridges. In recent years a fourth opening has appeared that is becoming the start of a fourth natural bridge (you can see the tiny hole in the photo above that is below the set of two bridges), however at this point I would consider that opening so insignificant that I don’t feel there is currently a need to rename these arches to the ‘Quadruple Bridges’ – but maybe one day!

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Fallen Rock Fall ColorsFallen Rock Fall Colors

Fallen Rock Fall Colors

Monday, November 2, 2015

After returning home from Denver this afternoon, I decided to drive up to the Colorado National Monument about an hour before sunset to see if the cottonwoods in upper Ute Canyon had changed colors yet. I had checked on them a few times over the past two weeks and found them to be mostly green, but this time many of them had changed to a nice golden yellow. After taking a quick hike over to Suction Point, I watched the sun set from near the Fallen Rock Overlook and took a few photos after the sun was down. On my way back down from the overlook I also stopped for a quick photo over Red Canyon towards the city lights of Grand Junction in the distance.

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Rim Rock DriveRim Rock Drive

Rim Rock Drive

Sunday, October 18, 2015

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.

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