Colorado National Monument
July 8, back to Salt Lake City
Arrived late morning, we get the pass for Christine. Then, we spend the whole afternoon to write e-mails and manage various administrative problems on the phone.
July 9: on the road to the Rocky Mountains
We take the road to what must be the last wild step of our trip: the Rocky Mountains National Park. We plan one step at Craig, Colorado, a small town forgotten from sightseeing tours.
We like Craig. No problem of accomodation: Best Western offers a princely suite at the price that we paid for a motel room in a tourist area. We have dinner in a restaurant downtown. Sitting on a tired bench leather , we enjoy a delicious plate of Ribs.
Back to the hotel, a surf on a weather forecast website alarms us: the weather forecast on the Rocky Mountains are disastrous. No hesitation, heading to the sun, tomorrow we drive south toward the Colorado National Monument.
July 10: hotel, camping, or both?
We arrive around noon at Colorado National Monument. Saddlehorn campground is very nice and we decide to pitch our tent. We find it difficult to properly install the tent on the stony ground. Christine appears more and more puzzled by the result: the location is certainly charming, but the tent is not really flat and mosquitoes are a little aggressive. In short, no need to dwell: we paid ($ 10) to advance self-service for the location. So we will leave the tent in its place, and go book a room at the nearest Super 8!
When evening comes, we explore Ute Canyon and then return to our campsite for a nice evening with BBQ and beer, except that once the grill off and the dishes cleaned, we fold the tent and go to bed at the hotel. ..
July 11: hiking Monument Trail
The Super 8 is not far from the park entrance. Raised at dawn, we are at 7:00 at the start of the hike. We hope to meet the Big Horn Sheeps which, it seems, inhabit the slopes of Monument Canyon. We'll just see their more or less fresh little poop , but will not see the shadow of a horn. Consolation: the sky and the intense light of the morning offer a wonderful spectacle of red and tormented cliffs.
Early this afternoon, we take the road to the north, Grand Lake and Rocky Mountains National Park.
A few showers later, we arrive at Grand Lake, near the Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a very touristy town and stylish, built in a lake surrounded by beautiful villas, most with garages for boats.
