Driving Dist/ Time: 268mi./ 4h 14 min. (to Colorado NM); 104mi./ 1h 39min. (to Moab, UT)
Sights seen: Rocky Mountains; Colorado National Monument
There are a lot of scenic roads in America. From the Blue Ridge Parkway of Virginia and North Carolina to the Pacific Coast Highway, Americans have always placed a premium on seeing beautiful bits of nature from the comforts of their automobile as they guzzle copious amounts of fuel. This is also very true of I-70 as we learned as we crossed the Continental Divide today. This major asphalt artery crosses the continental divide at over 11,000 ft. and proceeds to wind its way through the Rockey Mountains along the course of the upper reaches of the Colorado River. As we continued our trek along this road, we came across the like of Vail and Eagle, Colorado, until we reached the primary goal of our day's journey, Colorado National Monument.
Colorado NM offers the visitor a variety of geological formations, most notably Monument Canyon (pictured above), which runs the length of the park. Aditionally, the Monument offers the visitor miles of hiking trails and fantastic vistas of Grand Mesa, the world's largest mesa with an area of approximately 500 sq. miles. With the unique and breathtaking views of the Mesa, the Canyon, and the Colorado River Valley as a whole, Colorado NM offers a great taste of the natural wonders that are to come along the rest of the Colorado Plateau.
States visited to date: 11
National Park Passport cencellations to date: 11
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