Colorado National Monument

 In 1911, President William Howard Taft created the Colorado National Monument.  Tucked in the southwestern corner of Colorado, near Grand Junction, this Monument is an often overlooked member of our National Park System.

Today, as Trish and I traveled toward work in Utah, we visited this beautiful and impressive Monument.

Though established in 1911, the Monument was largely inaccessible until the 1930’s when the Civilian Conservation Corps began building the rim road.  They worked until WW II stopped their work, it was resumed after the war by the National Park Service and completed in 1950.  The road deserves its name as it, very frighteningly at times, runs right on the rim of the canyons.

The first time I visited this Monument, many years ago, I told myself that I would never drive that road again. But…knowing that I wanted Trish to see all that beauty, with deep prayers and focused thoughts, we did it again!  Now we are both glad we did!