I rode the scooter to the Cummins Rocky Mountain Service Center yesterday. It’s in Grand Junction, a few miles from our location. I picked up a fuel filter and air filter for our Onan 7.5 KW Quiet Diesel generator. The filters are due for replacement after 500 hours of run time. We have about 470 hours on the generator now. So, I picked up the parts while it was convenient and will do the maintenance work later.

The highlight of the day came when Donna and I rode the scooter through Grand Junction to the east entrance of the Colorado National Monument. We brought our America the Beautiful National Parks Pass. Without the pass, there is a day use fee to enter the monument. When we pulled up to the entrance kiosk, it was closed. There was a sign directing us to pay upon exiting the park. Seemed strange, but we rode in and immediately began climbing a steep, twisty road.

At one point, we entered a tunnel and felt the coolness deep inside the rock. After passing through the tunnel, we stopped at Cold Shivers Point. The elevation was about 6,200 feet – we’d climbed nearly 2,000 feet in seven miles. Cold Shivers Point overlooks Columbus Canyon. I took many photos, so today’s post is picture heavy. However, I couldn’t capture the enormity, the steepness and the depth of the canyons.

View from the road climbing from the east entrance

Looking toward the head of Columbus Canyon

The walls of Columbus Canyon are sheer drops of several hundred if not more than 1,000 feet. I’ll admit that parts of the overlook were frightening. You can stand on the edge of the canyon wall, unrestrained and look down.

We continued riding westbound along Rim Rock Drive, stopping at view points along the way. This is a road you don’t want to make a mistake on. It snakes along the rim of the canyons with no guardrail between the road and rim. At times, the shoulder is only a couple of feet wide before the terrain drops vertically.

Donna at the Red Rock Canyon Overlook

Narrow Red Rock Canyon, looking north

Again, the photos do not capture the scale of the landscape. The floor of Red Rock Canyon covers a few miles before it drops away to the Colorado River to the north. The juniper and pinon pine trees on the bottom are mature and much larger than they appear.

Colorful rock on the south side of Rim Rock Drive

The largest canyon in the Colorado National Monument is Ute Canyon. We stopped at several view points overlooking this enormous canyon. We hiked down a couple of trails that had placards identifying the plants and some of the animals found in the park. The road topped out at 6,640 feet above sea level. We began a gradual descent along the rim of Ute Canyon. I’ve run out of adjectives to describe the view. Below are a few images of Ute Canyon.

Ute Canyon

View from Artists Point

Coke Oven Overlook

Monument Canyon view

Monument Canyon

There are a number of hiking trails throughout the park, many of which are described as “difficult.” It’s also a popular cycling route that requires lights on front and back to travel safely through the tunnels.

We stopped briefly at the visitor center, then made the rapid descent to the west park entrance. I pulled up to the kiosk, ready to show my park pass. It was empty. There was a sign posted that said “Temporarily Closed.” I guess entry into the Colorado National Monument was a freebie yesterday.

We rode on CO340 into Fruita. We stopped at Suds Brothers Brewery downtown and had a cold one with a plate of hummus and veggies with warm pita bread. The Red Monkey Butt amber ale was very good, full-bodied and well-balanced.

Last night I grilled teriyaki salmon on a cedar plank. Donna served it with pineapple salsa and sauteed spinach.

Teriyaki salmon with pineapple salsa

Today, Donna will catch up on some work and then get out for a bike ride. I’ll see if I can make arrangements to have the transmission in our coach serviced next week.