Ridgway State Park- Ridgway, Colorado

This morning we departed from the James M. Robb State Park in Fruita, Colorado to head for a higher elevation.  We traveled to Ridgway State Park, which is south of Montrose and north of Ouray.  We are now settled in for the weekend at 7000 feet elevation and the temperature is in the mid 70’s.  Camped in the Elk Ridge section, we are shaded by Pinyon pines  and Junipers while being treated to majestic views of snow-capped mountains.

Ridgway State Park has over 14 miles of marked, well maintained trails.  We will be hiking and biking this weekend!  The reservoir will host a fishing tournament tomorrow, so we will likely stay off the water.  But Caleb quickly located the swim beach and tested the mountain snow melt.  He said, “It takes some getting used to.”  Nonetheless, he swam and loved it!

Colorado National Monument- Fruita to Grand Junction

Colorado National Monument is an area not to be missed!  One can access the monument either in Fruita or in Grand Junction and travel the scenic 23 mile drive.  There is plenty to do and we only scratched the surface.  There are plenty of overlooks, hikes, and an informative visitor center.  The monument has a campground, but it is much more suited to tents or small campers. 

We hiked to the Book Cliffs overlook to enjoy the vast view.   The Colorado Plateau’s erosion takes shape so differently depending on the area.  All of the park’s we’ve seen this year, including the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Zion, Capitol Reef and the Colorado National Monument are all part of the Colorado Plateau.  The Kayenta Sandstone on the top of these formations is harder than the layers beneath.  Spires are formed when a portion of the Kayenta layer is thinner or is eroded more and then the softer layers beneath erode away.

There are three tunnels in the monument to travel through.  They were originally blasted in the 1930’s by the CCC work crews.

The monument stretches from valley to valley but peaks at 6640 feet elevation.  The valley floors had few flowers still in bloom but the higher elevations were blanketed with Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Indian Paintbrush, Perky Sue and more!  Without shoulders on the road, however, we had to view from afar.

Caleb completed his 4th Junior Ranger program thus far!  Tomorrow is a travel day to another Colorado State Park for the weekend, where more exploring awaits.

Colorful Colorado- James Robb State Park–Fruita

Before leaving the Capitol Reef area, we took a scenic drive up over Boulder Mountain.  Climbing to the summit at 9,000 feet we saw grand views of the valley below and snow at the top!

Many of the Aspens still do not have their leaves and there are many fallen trees and branches, apparently from the heavy snow fall.  After descending down into the town of Boulder and further into Escalante, we were greeted with completely different scenery.

We traveled over the Hogback, a section in which Utah Scenic Byway 12 travels along a ridge that drops off on both sides.  We saw many RV’s traveling this route, but we were glad on this very windy day to just be in our truck!

With winds predicted to fade away, we departed Utah on Tuesday morning, traveling north and east into Colorado.  Eventually we will end up  in Northwestern Ontario on Lake of the Woods before making our way back to Arizona.  For now, we are at the James Robb State Park’s Fruita section campground.

The Colorado River next to the park is near flood stage with the recent snowmelt.

Colorado State Parks are wonderful for stays during the week, but the weekends are usually full months in advance.  We will do a bit of kayaking on the park’s ponds, make a visit to the local Cabela’s, wash many loads of laundry and restock the fridge while we’re here.