September 17 - Colorado National Monument

I had to get up in the middle of the night and move to the car. It really wasn't as cold as it had been the last two nights, but it was just cold enough I couldn't get comfortable. The car, unfortunately, wasn't much better. After three days of not great sleep, I lie there in the wee hours of the morning thinking, "Why am I doing this to myself?" But as with most things in life, the thought passed as the sun shone on a new day. Now as the sun warms my back, I look ahead to new adventures. I am heading into town to restock supplies then heading on to Utah.

The drive through Colorado National Monument was absolutely spectacular. A couple I had the chance to talk with while at a scenic overview said they actually liked it better than the Grand Canyon because that was just one big canyon, while this was several canyons, so had many more interesting views.

I saw 4 longhorn sheep up on a ledge. I kept tracing the ridge and ledge lines but I could not for the life of me figure out how they got up there. This is an area I would love to explore more. Living in Fruita or one of the other towns down in the valley would be phenomenal from an outdoor activities perspective. They sit in a long valley created by two huge mountain ranges that just seem to go on and on, with the Colorado River running through the middle of it.

John Otto called this "the heart of the world" and dedicated his life to protecting and promoting this land. I think you could spend a lifetime exploring here.