Colorado Monument, CO

June 14 & 15, 2010 - Driving a short 5 miles from Fruita, we arrived at our campground in Colorado Monument, where we FINALLY enjoyed blue skies and our first camp spot since Ocracoke, NC!  With all the bad weather throughout South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming & Utah, camping was just not attractive enough for us to rough the daily rainstorms we were experiencing in these states.

Back to Colorado Monument-  This gorgeous, canyon carved monument was totally unexpected.  Red rocks of sandstone, pinyon and juniper trees, lizards & colorful flowers covered this high desert plateau, with the sun finally shining on our road trip.  We spent 2 nights hiking, enjoying the monochromatic sandstone-carved monoliths, & taking in the scenery from a rim rock drive.  Originally, we were heading for greener forests in Colorado, but with a forecast of thunderstorms throughout most of Colorado, we were lucky to accidentally find this not so well-known monument near our overnight stop by the Utah border. 

Our camp spot in the Saddlehorn Campground.

Yucca with a backdrop of the Colorado Plateau.

Sandstone monolith canyons jutting from the earth.

Pinyon hanging on the canyon cliff.

Plateau view from our campsite.

How amazing is this lilac colored floral poof, with the canyons in the background!

End of the road for our hike, with a spectacular view.

Charlie taking in the beauty.

How RAD is this colorful lizard chilling in the heat of the canyon!

Sandstone rock piles.  Pretty sweet.

Charlie climbing around an internal cove of rock piles!

Driving Colorado Monument, heading for a tunnel.