Grand Junction and Colorado National Monument

I love the west. There’s no doubt about that. As an east coast girl, coming out here is like coming to a different planet. It’s dry and sunny and beautiful and deserty and awesome. I’d never been lucky enough to end up in Western Colorado before, and got in a little early after I left the DNC in Charlotte. It was a wise decision.

When I first got in, I was like, holy cow, what do people do here? I drove from the airport in my rental and was pretty underwhelmed. Then I actually went out and explored after I checked in and finished up a little work.

Thursday nights in Grand Junction, they do a farmer’s market downtown, but it’s not just food. They sell crafts, clothes, produce, and just about anything you can think of. There was live music and the street was lined with cute little shops and restaurants (including a real live record shop!). At the recommendation of the guy at the front desk of the Fairfield Inn, I went to a microbrewery and had a good little beer called the Widowmaker Wheat. Totally good and light, and perfect for the dry heat.

Before I left, I ran into a ranger from the Colorado National Monument park. She told me about this place that was roughly 10 minutes from where we were. After my lunch break the next day, I decided to go for a drive. This is what I found.

Colorado National Monument Park

Also, this.

The Coke Ovens

Also, this.

Colorado National Monument

And this.

Independence Monument

Basically, it was gorgeous. It’s desert meets the Rockies and I just fell in love with the hard red rock that jutted out everywhere.

I made my coworker come back with me after I picked her up from the airport, because obviously that was necessary.

Sunset

So awesome. It was totally worth going twice. Tons of pull offs and places to stop and take pictures. There were a lot of hikers and bikers, and there didn’t seem to be too many restrictions about where you could and couldn’t go in the park. Basically, don’t be dumb and fall off a cliff and you’re good.

I didn’t get too excited about the idea of hiking it – too hot and dry for me. I was content to drive around and walk out to the various viewing areas.