The Week of Your Lifetime Itinerary

That’s what’s coming up: ‘The Week of Your Lifetime Itinerary’. Well if that prospect of several perfect days is good, this is even better. Perfect days in a string, one after another, have indeed started already with yesterday. Today it happened again. This could be the start of something really big.

I wound up yesterday’s post with the plan for today; driving a relatively short distance from Grand Junction, Colorado to Moab, Utah and visiting Arches National Park. That unexpectedly, didn’t happen. On arrival in Grand Junction yesterday, I saw a sign showing this was the exit for access to the Colorado National Monument. Planning the trip I recall seeing it and recognize this exists but for some reason I didn’t consider it as a stop on my planned itinerary. This even though it’s right on the path out of Colorado on the way to Utah’s Arches NP. It bugs me.

So on departing this morning for Utah, I ask Bill at the front desk (yup, he’s on duty again this morning) about it. Sure enough he proceeds to dig out a local map that shows the east portal to CNM is right here outside the motel’s threshold, just south across town. How did I miss this? Bill shows me the way through town and I’m on it. At the entrance gate I show the National Park Service Ranger my NPS lifetime senior pass (the best $10 I ever spent) and I’m in. It’s a 23-mile drive with lots of overlooks along the way. It turns out that this drive is knock-your-socks-off awesome; one of the best NPS parks/monuments I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. Talk about serendipity; this CNM is a gem. And to think, I almost missed it.

The photos I take say it all. There’s better at: https://www.google.com/search?q=images+of+colorado+nat&biw=1438&bih=677&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiY7a6z8eTLAhVLz2MKHUa7Ak0Q7AkIQw&dpr=0.95    But these are mine and I’m sticking to the sequence.

The drive is really on the top of the overall landform – Rim Rock Drive. It’s many overlooks are looking down, across several major canyons, several of which include views of the town of Grand Junction just below. But getting up there at the start, and down at the end, are chilling. The way up is very steep and exhilarates right from the get-go. Switchbacks to be taken at 15 to 20mph are the norm. The first three miles get the juices flowing. Oh my, I never would have expected it. I am now at this point totally psyched.

The first overlook and the first of several canyons is Red Canyon. Here it is – the first photo of the signage that explains the geology and the what the canyon is all about. The second pictures the actual vista. The rocks at the bottom of the canyon that are Pre-Cambrian; 550 million years old. The varied-color layers of rock visible in the walls were laid down by ancient seas starting at the bottom. The town of Grand Junctions sits at the foot of all this and is barely visible in the photo.

Further on is the Fallen Rock overlook. This shows how huge slabs of the rock wall are broken off, similar to the calving of a glacier face. Instead of falling face forward like a breaking wave, the slab falls thirty meters straight down; like it just slides downward, intact. You can see this fallen slab dead-set in the high-middle of the photo.

The next photo shows the two species of trees that grow here; the Pinyon Pine and the Utah Juniper. Seeds from these are favored by the jays and mice. These animals may forget where they stowed these and these seeds can sprout into new trees.

Artists Point is down the way. Knockout spectacular. I reluctantly walk off this overlook and think that I’m so fortunate to experience these vistas. It’s like God waved his heavenly wand and lightly bopped me on the head with it. He’s saying “You’re anointed; this is your lucky day.”

Hoodoos are seen at the Coke Ovens. Not surprising. Utah is right next door and the Bryce Canyon hoodoos are not all that far away.

Monument Canyon is next and the first photo is of the iconic and classic Independence Monument from an approaching one-car turnoff (it shows up right-of-center). Thankfully there are few other visitors here. The small overlook parking lots are empty. On the whole drive through, I talk to only one other person seen in all of these overlooks. I’m sure that in ‘high season’, they are overcrowded and might be virtually inaccessible (parking cannot be had on the narrow two-lane roadway). More pix of this taken at the overlook, one up-close-and-personal with the aid of camera zoom. The further-off photo demonstrates that once long ago, one could walk over the top of three landforms before the spaces in between were eroded away.

What a surprise this drive turns out to be. A tunnel at the start and two at the end. In between the vistas are awesome. Who knew?

In a jiffy I’m at the Visitor Center near the northwest portal. It must be brand new. Modern, with excellent interactive exhibits. This photo is of the diorama here. It’s not clear in the photo but it shows the three dimensions of the canyons here. Please note the drive is at the top, overlooking the canyons.

There’s two movies to be seen. Like at the Black Canyon, there’s so few us here, that one of the two young lady Rangers initiates the first one for me at my request. It runs for 12 minutes and explains the multi-million-year geology of this place. This video was prepared by the University of Colorado. It has a time line at the top and an animated visual explanation of the evolution of the CNM. I’m keen on the geology and this video is beyond excellent. Please go to: http://igp.colorado.edu/library/ and scroll about 60% down to: The Geologic Evolution of Colorado National Monument. I stay for the second video which is a decidedly more poetic presentation. Great pix. The first video is academic/mental. This second appeals to the emotions. Also excellent.

What a deal. I am so awed by this entire experience. And grateful for it. I thank the Ranger ladies with gusto.  I’m outta the Visitor Center and driving down the last series of switchbacks to get out at Fruita and on I70W. Next objective is Moab. Forget about Arches today. It’ll have to be tomorrow. The road beckons.

Phase II of today’s perfect day is a change of mood. The Utah border is just a short ways away and the speed limit goes up to 80mph. I’m at my normal 65. There’s no hurry. Few other travelers on the road and even fewer cross-country truckers that were seen in abundance last week on I-80. There’s so little going on here; few ramps and where they are, there’s ‘No Service’ signs. I’m calm and quiet. Empty-headed. Able to think without the distracting (and sometimes annoying) day-to-day clamor.  If the human condition can be seen on a continuum of physical to mental to emotional to spiritual, I find myself able to move effortlessly, more easily than normal, toward the latter two. Reason is I’ve got time on my hands. It’s like what happened on my trip to Alaska, getting this way, only now it’s happening sooner this time.

In the last moments, the drive in to Moab on Highway 128 is getting me excited again. The landscape, and landforms become interesting. Here’s the best of the photos I take. Can you see the white-capped mountains in the distance, between the two monoclines?  Sheesh, my camera can’t quite capture it.

Motel rates. Elevated because it is still spring break time; the week before and after Easter.  I see lots of tourists in downtown Moab driving in and later in the day they are arriving at the motel after departure from home this morning.  I expect to see a lot more of them at the park than I did at CNM.

Well that’s it.  For me it’s another perfect day. I’m not trying to string any of these together. If it happens, okay. If not, okay too. But here comes the ‘Mighty Five’.   Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion. What could be more exciting than to see these? So glad to experience all this with you. Ready for a ‘Lifetime Week’? I am. Are you?