Colorado National Monument

With Brooke starting the in-person portion of her master’s degree program at University of Michigan in August but needing to be have reliable internet access for the online summer session, the job of driving Brooke’s car from California to Michigan fell to me and Jim. So, of course, we had to make a road trip out of it with some fun stops along the way! The first awesome stop was at Colorado National Monument. We entered the park at the west entrance near Fruita and stopped at the visitor center to get our bearings. A park ranger recommended that we start our tour of Colorado National Monument with a walk along the Canyon Rim Trail to the Bookcliff Overlook. Due to the wildfires burning in California, the skies were a bit hazy, but the views were still incredible!

Back in the car, we continued following the Rim Rock Drive stopping at many overlooks and doing another short walk - Ottos’s Trail.

On Otto's Trail

Apparently these formations look like coke ovens.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the Devil’s Kitchen Picnic Area before exiting the park at Grand Junction. Steamboat Springs would be our final destination for the day as we made our way toward Rocky Mountain National Park.