Grand Mesa and Colorado National Monument

Grand Mesa, Colorado N.M. and

 Black Canyon of the Gunnison N.P.

 From Dinosaur N.M. we wound our way on backroads into Northwest Colorado in the area of Grand Junction and are spending a week on Grand Mesa - at the Powderhorn Ski Resort.  When we got here on Saturday the weather was in the high 70's and blue skies - but since then we have experienced snow, hail, and temperatures down in the 20's.   Our timing was perfect to have our week of timeshare (that we traded into) happen with the abrupt weather change.  
     This is a beautiful area with many scenic drives, quaint small towns, amazing National Monument in the Colorado N.M., and Grand Mesa itself.

The Grand Mesa is a large mesa in western Colorado in the U.S.   It is the largest flat-topped mountain in the entire world, has an area of about 500 square miles, and stretches for about 40 miles east of Grand Junction between the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers.  The mesa itself is formed from a basalt flow - some 10 million years ago that filled a valley and being harder than the surrounding area remained while the surrounding area was eroded away from the 2 rivers.  After the receding of the ice age some 15,000 years ago the mesa top was eroded further and left with more than 300 lakes.

                                   Heading into the high country of Grand Mesa

                                         Hillside above our Condo when we arrived

                           

After the Snowfall

                                                                         Aspen

                                                     Moon Rise over Grand Mesa

A National Monument that we visited once before is Colorado N.M. which is at the back door of Grand Junction, CO.

The Colorado National Monument raises up nearly 2000 feet above the Grand Valley, and is 32 square miles of total area. It is located on the edge of the Uncompagre Uplift which contains geological phenomenon like the Grand Canyon and Arches. The Monument is made up of mesas, buttes, buttresses, pilars, and spires. Many forms contained in the Monument have been formed by wind and water erosion. The rock strata has been forming for over 1.5 billion years, and has been laid down in sequential order. There are nine different rock formations

                                                           trail to Devil's Kitchen

                                                                      Devil's Kitchen

                                                                     We made it!!

                                                   Don't get too close to the edge

Our last Day at Grand Mesa -  we headed south across the mesa and into the Delta/Montrose area which is most famous for Black Canyon of the Gunnison N.P.
This is a 2 million year old canyon of volcanic rock including Gneiss, Schist, and veins of lighter colored pegmatite.  The Gunnison River is in a very narrow, steep walled canyon because it drops an average of 34 feet per mile (6.4 m/km) through the entire canyon, making it the 5th steepest mountain descent in North America. By comparison, the Colorado River drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile (1.42 m/km) through the Grand Canyon.

Thanks for joining us on our trek!

Don & Carol