Field Trip: Colorado Western Slope Road Trip

This past June My wife and I took a mini road trip to Black Canyon of The Gunnison National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park. We did all in three days.

Our first stop was Black Canyon of The Gunnison National Park. When you first get there you see how deep the Canyon is, I was pleasantly surprised. The roads curve back and forth. There are some spots that the curve comes up on you pretty quick. If you are into panoramic pictures this is the place for it. At each stop it felt as if I was doing a pano. The views are well worth the winding roads and small birds zipping past your head in some places.

When we first entered Mesa Verde National Park it overwhelming to see all the dead burnt trees. From the top of the first couple stops we could see a fire they were monitoring. The dead trees were from a fire in 2002.

The cliff dwelling are something everyone should get to see at least once. It is amazing to see what people did without machines or computers. There are straight lines and 90 degree angles. I was blown away by the architecture. The way they got in and out of the dwellings where by rock climbing.

Canyonlands National Park gets over looked by its neighbor Arches. But it is amazing to see all the canyons that were created over millions of years by water. The landscape looks like being on a movie set about Mars.

Lastly we visited Arches National Park. Again seeing these structures carved from rain and wind over thousands of years was amazing. The crazy part is they are still forming and at some point they will fall down. Knowing that they aren’t permanent makes me really cherish seeing them.

Overall this was a great little get away with my wife. Our little focus got us to every location without any issue. I would highly recommend visiting one or all of these national parks.