Colorado National Monument Trip Report
Friday – 3:00 pm
I decided to go check out Colorado National Monument this weekend. It’s located just outside of Grand Junction on the western slope of Colorado, about 4.5 hours from Denver.
I debated throughout the week whether to leave after work on Friday and get there late, or get up real early on Saturday and make the drive. I opted for the Friday night run to give me a full Saturday to explore the area. It’s three o’clock on a Friday afternoon as I write this. I’ve got a truck full of gear, a grocery bag full of perishables in the office fridge, and the only thing I need to do is run home to grab the dog and pack a gym bag with some clothes. The anticipation gnaws at me…
Saturday – 1:00 am
Fast forward a few hours, I ended up hanging out with a friend from the office for a few hours and I don’t hit the road until 8:00 pm. I’ve got Charlie the Adventure Beagle riding shotgun and we made it into Saddlehorn Campground at Colorado National Monument about 12:30 am only to find that two of the three campground loops are open and they’re all full! I wandered into the closed loop, took the first campground by the road (didn’t want the Ranger to have to walk far to kick me out). After setting up camp I dutifully walked back to the entrance station to pay my $10 fee and was relieved to see the deposit drop box crammed full; there hadn’t been a Ranger in the campground for at least a week. I can rest easy knowing that I have a good chance of sleeping until morning without getting evicted. It’s a clear starry night, and it’s already 1:00 am so I take a little gamble; if it hasn’t rained yet, it probably ain’t going to; I opt to leave the rainfly off the tent, fire up the Coleman heater and roll down the tent windows for a night under the stars. Anyway, it’s pretty dark, so no pictures…
(Ok, one picture. This is Charlie, the Adventure Beagle after a restful night buried under a blanket in the tent)
Saturday - 7:30 am
Ahhh, morning! I roll down the tent windows I had closed in the middle of the night to see where I was. Given the choice I prefer to travel during the day; I like see watching the scenery. Last night was an exception, but it was a neat feeling to roll into a new place under the cover of night and wake up not knowing what the hell the landscape is going to look like outside the tent.
Nobody kicked me out of camp so I decide to make some breakfast – thick sliced peppered bacon and some biscuits on the griddle.
The (short) Tale of the Griddle
It all started when I saw that Coleman made a griddle top for their stoves. I saw it an Amazon, it looked great, but it cost $80!!! I drove down to the local Wal-Mart and found a generic knock-off in the outdoors section for $22, ok that’s a little better. I tossed one in the cart and was headed to the register when I noticed a $13 motel over in the lawn & patio section. It’s designed for a home gas grill, but it actually looked like a nice piece of iron than the $22 model; out with the old, in with the new. This morning is the first trial run of the griddle and I am very happy with my $13 purchase! Up until now I had been cooking bacon in a frying pan, this is SO much easier!
