Colorado National Monument

When I was planning my route, I figured I'd go from Rocky Mountain National Park towards Arches & Canyonlands National Park but I ran into a hitch, Moab is one heck of an expensive place to stay. I had Colorado National Monument pinned as a location I wanted to check out and it was about 2 hours from Moab. I looked in that area and it's where I found my first monthly stay AND the first park that really felt like home, Canyon View RV Resort. I was still pretty new to backing in my camper to a site but when I checked in, they had an attendant who showed me to my spot and helped me park- 10/10 arrival service.

I saw my first meteor shower here, a beautiful Hunter's Moon (pictured above), and my first cactus growing out of the ground rather than a pot. I was so excited completing my first hike to Devil's Kitchen, and I kept having flashbacks to the old Western movies I watched with my dad growing up. I felt so invigorated by the huge slabs of red rock and vast landscapes that I think I must have been a cowboy in a past life. Looking over the land, I understood why it was once called the wild west; it felt lawless. Every weekend, I drove out to Moab, but stayed local and hiked around Colorado National Monument on the weekdays.

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Devil's Kitchen

Luckily, I did not meet the devil on this hike BUT I did see where he allegedly cooks. This hike was super easy and I did it at sunset immediately upon arriving in Grand Junction, CO. Seeing the sun hit the rocks was invigorating, and I'd never seen monoliths or huge boulders like this. The rock formations and colors alone took the breath from my lungs. This trail was super easy, and very few people were on it. I found that if you walked past where the trail "ends," you get some breathtaking views of the canyon below.

1.1 miles

269 feet elevation gain

45 minutes

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Monument Canyon Loop Trail

I completed this hike after work and had to speed walk most of it. I was terrified of losing the sun and having to hike in the dark (I had a headlamp just in case). Luckily, that was not the case, additionally, that night there was a Hunter's Moon, which provided a lot of light throughout the evening. The hike started off strictly uphill; I was out of breath and exhausted, but the view was worth it. The second half of the hike was completely downhill, and I was able to take my time a little more. I could not stop thinking about being a bandit hiding out in one of the many rock outcroppings that scattered the mountainside, and wondered if maybe I was an outlaw in a past life rather than a cowboy.

The end of the loop on this hike is along a fence lining many homes. When I got back to my wifi, I looked up the cost of these and was astounded at the price; they were beautiful and had a nice view of the canyon but no privacy! This is when I really started thinking about the lack of trees in general in the area and decided I could not live in the desert.

4.5 miles

767 feet elevation gain

2 hours 5 minutes

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TikTok alerted me that there was going to be a meteor shower, which I usually don't pay too much attention to, but did this time because part of Colorado National Monument is "dark skies" area, which just means you can see the sky really well. With that in mind, I decided it would be cool to see as much of the metor shower as I could before falling asleep. I packed up my tent and other necessities and headed up the mountain for the night. The view from my campsite was incredible and I saw a number of shooting stars. Only issues I ran into was that it was FREEZING and my air mattress ended up having a hole in it so I woke up on the ground. Overall, it was worth it, the night was magic.