Colorado National Monument: Canyonlands for People Who Don’t Want to Get Out of the Car

Real Canyonlands is better, or course, but it also requires getting out and hiking some.

Colorado National Monument is located near Grand Junction, Colorado. The drive is the interesting part; it looks like southern Utah, so long as you look toward the mountains. If you look toward the valley it looks like Grand Junction. And if you reach the top of the drive, it looks like a bunch of boring, scrubby trees. The in-between, though!

As testimony of the thing that Colorado National Monument does well, then, here are photos I took while driving.

IMG_0425 IMG_0413 IMG_0407 Colorado National Monument IMG_0369 Tunnel Entrance, Colorado National Monument Colorado National Monument

  • I think the photos are shown in reverse order of when they were taken. I don’t know how WordPress decides.
  • For variety, one of those photos was taken through the passenger window rather than the windshield.
  • It seemed like they could have used more guard rails in places.
  • The road and trails and stuff were apparently a CCC project. Of course.
  • I hadn’t taken a bunch of pictures of red rocks since last time I was in southern Utah.
  • It was definitely worth the, oh, 90 minutes including bathroom time?
  • I did also take a walk to some view point. It was mostly for walking’s sake.
  • I was driving a rented Nissan Versa hatchback. It looked like this:
It looks better than it drives.

It looks better than it drives.

I’m still planning on one day putting together a photo essay entitled “Through the Windshield”. Maybe after the dissertation. Or maybe FOR the dissertation…! Probably not though.

That’s plenty.

bkd

3 comments

  • Megan Littlejohn

    Hi Brian! I found you! I loved your pictures of Co, and UT!! I’d forgotten how arid and beautiful the landscape is! Meg’s !

    • bkdunn

      I got kind of burned out on it when I still lived out west, but coming from Pittsburgh it seems pretty special again. Thanks for stopping by!