Sock Monkey Trekkers: Colorado National Monument (with video)

The fourth part of our loop took us from Streamboat Springs, Colorado to the Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction.

The Colorado National Monument is spectacular!!!! We were mesmerized. This is a gem that you rarely hear much about. (National Monuments in general are under-appreciated.)

Courtesy Google Maps

[This is actually Vlog #3]

After another great breakfast at Freshies Restaurant in Steamboat Springs, we drove four hours to the Saddlehorn Campground in the Colorado National Monument.

We love this park. The views are incredible. The hikes are along straight edge cliffs (watch the kids here closely). We had a fantastic time.

The Saddlehorn Campground is nice. It's an older campground and has lots of un-level spots. The farthest loop ("B") is the nicest loop. You can reserve the sites on loop B. If a site is marked "open" on loop B, you can stay one night without a reservation. There are a few sites with great views. It's $20 bucks a night (standard rate). There is a fee to get in the park without a "America the Beautiful" pass / card. There are tables and fire grills. Water is available from a few spigots in the area. There are nice bathrooms with flush toilets. I thought I saw that the bathrooms were heated, as many national park managed bathroom tend to be. You can get large rigs up here. We saw 5th wheels and large buses in some sites. There are walk-in sites for traditionalists and youngins.

I believe we were in site 47, which was relatively flat (I did put a flat rock under one tire) and had a great view if you walked a few steps down towards the site table.

We toured the visitor's center that is within walking distance to the campground. We watched the informative geology movie. We walked from the campground to the nearby Window Rock overview site. WOW what a view!

The next morning, we ate our oatmeal, packed up and took the incredible scenic drive south through the park. The views are unbelievable. If you are a fan of the Grand Canyon, you will likely love this place too.

We then drove south to Orvis Hot Springs (commercial) near Ridgeway, Colorado where we soaked and read our books. We spent a restful night there. The next morning we drove over the million dollar highway to Durango. The aspens were in full color and spectacular.

We continued to Farmington, New Mexico and to our favorite Tequila's Restaurant there. This family Mexican restaurant is very pleasant with great food.

After a great meal we headed the rest of the way uneventfully home to Los Alamos. What a fun trip!