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Old Gordon Trail: Historic Toll Road to Glade Park

Heart of the World | Thursday, November 6, 2025

As it’s getting closer to the end of the year and I’m getting very close to completing all of the trails for my Heart of the World project in the Colorado National Monument, I thought today would be a good day to hike the Old Gordon Trail right after work. While this has never really been one of my favorite trails in the Monument, which is probably why I haven’t hiked the entire trail since 2011, that’s part of the reason I started this project and I was a little interested in seeing the trail again with fresh eyes since it’s been so long. After work I headed over to the Devils Kitchen Trailhead and started hiking up the Old Gordon Trail which follows the route of a historic toll road built by John Gordon in the 1880’s that was used to move stock and timber between Glade Park and the Grand Valley. The temperature out this afternoon was mostly comfortable and nice, but it was a bit breezy at times which made it feel cold- but not quite cold enough for me to want to put on a jacket. The round-trip hike was 7.5 miles with about 1700 feet of elevation gain which I finished up in just about three hours.

Serpents Trail: The Crookedest Road In the World

Heart of the World | Wednesday, September 10, 2025

I had some time to continue working on my Heart of the World project after work today and decided it was time to cross the Serpents Trail off the list. It’s been a long time since I hiked the Serpents Trail in the Colorado National Monument and I honestly don’t even remember when the last time was, but I would guess it’s been at least eight to ten years now? It’s interesting to think about because there was a time when I hiked this trail pretty regularly to stay in shape, but I guess that’s the main reason why I started this whole project in the first place- so I could return to some of the trails in the Monument that I have not been back to in a long time. Although it was still over 90 degrees out this afternoon when I started hiking up the historic route, there was a strong wind that helped keep it feeling a bit cooler out, plus there were plenty of clouds that helped block the sunlight and made for some nicer photos.

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Lower No Thoroughfare Canyon

Heart of the World | Monday, August 18, 2025

Although I was running short on time as we prepared to spend the latter part of this week up in Wyoming, this afternoon was probably going to be my only opportunity to squeeze in an August hike in the Colorado National Monument for my Heart of the World project that I’ve been working on completing this year. So after work I waited until about 5:00pm in the evening, hoping the temperature would start to cool off a little, and then headed off to the Devils Kitchen Trailhead just inside the East Entrance so I could hike into Lower No Thoroughfare Canyon to the First Waterfall. It was still almost 100 degrees out as I started the hike, but there was an occasional strong breeze that helped cool me off, plus the parts of the canyon that were already in the shade felt pretty nice.

East Entrance Trails: Devils Kitchen & Echo Canyon

Heart of the World | Thursday, May 29, 2025

I headed out after work this afternoon to the East Entrance of the Colorado National Monument so I could continue working on my Heart of the World project by hiking the Devils Kitchen and Echo Canyon trails. These are two trails close to home that I have hiked a number of times in the past, but I now realize that it’s been quite a while since I have hiked either one of them. After quickly looking through my old Trip reports it seems that the last time I hiked to the Devils Kitchen was almost a decade ago and the last time I was in Echo Canyon was way back in 2013. I guess I have been long overdue for a return and it was nice to revisit these locations at the east end of the Monument this afternoon, even if it was pretty warm out!

A Drive through the Colorado National Monument

After Work Adventures | Tuesday, September 10, 2024

So, this post isn’t really going to be much of a Trip Report, I just wanted to share a few photos I took during a quick drive through the Colorado National Monument this evening. I just bought a new compact camera that arrived yesterday and I wanted to put it through it’s paces right away in order to make sure that I really wanted to keep it, and I figured that stopping at a few of the overlooks along Rim Rock Drive would be a quick and easy place for me to do that. Plus, it’s been quite a while since I drove though the Monument and I was long overdue for another visit. Anyway, here are a couple of the test shots I took this evening, and so far I am pretty impressed with this little camera and am going to keep it.

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Tag: no thoroughfare canyon

Old Gordon Trail: Historic Toll Road to Glade Park

Serpents Trail: The Crookedest Road In the World

Lower No Thoroughfare Canyon

East Entrance Trails: Devils Kitchen & Echo Canyon

A Drive through the Colorado National Monument