On The Road - Colorado National Monument and The Needles, Canyonlands National Park

It is always absolutely incredible to us that we actually ever take off on time.  There is always so much to do to get ready for these trips.  We took off in our usual frenzy-don't know why that is, but it always seems to be the case.  We, as usual, figured out that we had forgotten some things but, as time went by, they didn't seem very important at all.  We decided on Colorado National Monument as a first stop and were delightfully surprised by how wonderful our campsite was, overlooking Fruita Valley and the Colorado River.  There were a few moments of panic over the road and the narrow tunnels, but a couple of glasses of wine later, it seemed like a very small concern.

This spot was just below our camp site.  Notice the
Book Cliffs in the background, the Colorado River
about midway and the incredible cliffs of the Monument
in the foreground.

Sunset

Maxine's first campground of this trip

The camera doesn't do justice to the colors.

The tunnel
And, I'm driving!  Ranger told us to hug the middle as the
walls are too narrow for most RVs!

A beautiful but very narrow and steep road to the campground

We woke up bright and early on Tuesday and decided to skip 128 area around Arches, which we love, but have been to so many times before.  Instead, we headed south to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.  The Rangers we talked to recommended that area instead of Island in the Sky because it was larger and farther away from Moab.  We had been to the campground there (Willow Flat) a few years ago with Susan and David Zoia, so were happy to try something new.  However, we had been to this Needles campground with the kids probably 30 years ago!  We remembered it as spectacular.

And, so it was!  We got the last site and we think-the best.
Very private.  Right at the trailhead.  No one around us.

Jimbo got dressed up for our first grilled meal-chicken fajitas!
This was the first trip that we brought the grill.  We finally
made room for it and never regretted it.

Right behind our campsite was the most beautiful park-like
setting with lots of cryptobiotic soil.  You want to stay on
the path, knowing how fragile this environment is.

This was the path right beside our campsite.  We saw very few takers, as it was a really hot few days.  But we would get up early or hit this at the end of the day and found it to be spectacular.

Incredible rock formations

Cool areas to relax beside the trail

The juxtaposition of bright green shrubs and
trees with the red rock was something we
just fell in love with.

A Rorschach test:  I see two loving human beings
who might be mummies! :-)

Can't get enough of these colors

Wow-what a little wind and water can do
over time!

I can't stop taking these pictures!  It just
blows me away!

This almost looks like it could be someone's home.

End of the Line!
This was the rest of the route of this trail
which went on for many more miles.  I did
walk up this but found that these old legs
don't quite work the way they used to.
Better safe than sorry, I wandered back
to the campsite.

Not a bad place to hang out!

...And we went walking down the road on
the very safe pavement.

The light here is something to behold.

And so are my man and my dog!

Needles view at sunset

Wordless to describe this view!

Back home again....

We moved on down the road to another campsite which had the bigger view.  We loved all the privacy this one afforded, too.

We spent the days inside this wonderful rock formation where
the temperature was about 20 degrees cooler and a wonderful
breeze worked its way through the rocks.

Cute guy, adorable dog and a fabulous view on a perfectly
gorgeous day!

I just loved these little rock formations that looked like
a miniature village.

Pretty cool looking rocks

Not to shabby a place to spend an afternoon

Could you ask for anything more?

The rocks were so cooling....

The skies down here never cease to amaze us.

Can you beat it?  I'm only sorry I couldn't get pictures of
what the Milky Way looked like at 2 am!  Like a trillion
exploding stars!

Wildflowers and red rocks-a beautiful combination!

OH MY GOD BEAUTIFUL!

Everywhere you looked....

Luscious juniper berries

This is my favorite picture from the whole experience here-
watching this shadow form on the cliffs in front of us- to me
a regal lady offering something wonderful and powerful to
those above.

Ravens are so much a part of what I love about the
Canyonlands.  This guy was just sitting on a car in
the parking lot of a hiking trail-we think trying to
figure out a way to get at the goodies inside.

A final look at some of the incredible beauty of
this area

We will be back!

Soon!

Newspaper rock-an amazing display of rock art through the ages.