Colorado National Monument

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Independence Monument – we did a morning valley hike to see this pillar up close.
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There are naturalization ceremonies here and 4th of July flag raisings and rock climbers today! The library had an entertaining John Otto impersonator talk about how he built these trails and championed for this to be a National Monument. So glad we had people like him in the early 1900’s!
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Another day hike from the valley to Liberty Bell formation – named after the bell in Philadelphia.
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It is a steep hike but worth it to enjoy the solitude and views.
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Nice photo op!
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Another day we drove the full rim drive – this is looking back at the Liberty Bell across Ute canyon.
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There are so many canyons that would be fun to explore. We enjoyed all the little overlook hikes, a cooler day, and no need to hurry.
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These are the coke oven formations. There is a CCC water diversion tunnel built near here with some information on their time building the roads as well as a ranger cabin that is still standing. Such amazing stone work!
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Big horn sheep live here – we felt so lucky to see them!
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The back side of Independence Monument looking down on the trail we hiked.
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We enjoyed this view of Independence Monument while eating our picnic lunch.

Grand Mesa National Forest

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A perfect fall day for a drive up the Mesa!
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The amount of aspen around Powderhorn Ski area was breathtaking.
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Quaking aspen in a light breeze, shimmery golden in the sun – actually quite a bit of orange on the leaves as well which was a bit unusual.
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This is real – just an amazing blue sky!
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A hike up Crag Crest to enjoy the view with our picnic lunch -notice a bit of snow on the trail….winter is coming.
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Amazing views were worth the three miles or so to the summit.
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Clouds were forming only over the peaks but added some interest to our views.
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It was great to hike amongst the colors, the views and the sunshine. A great day!

Little Book Cliffs and Palisades

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This area is where the wild mustangs range so we decided to spend some time looking for them.
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These were the only horses we saw but we did see piles of wild stallion dung marking their territory and hoof prints coming down to the creek.
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It was a beautiful hike even without the wild mustangs! We met up with friends from Denver in Palisades for lunch – and a bit more wine tasting!
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Bookcliffs winery had a vineyard tour before the WineFest in Palisades.
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We had the opportunity to compare and taste the different grapes – Tempranillo, Merlot, Sryah, Cab Sav! We learned the first day of frost is usually mid November and last is mid April so a long growing season – perfect for all the produce grown here.
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Then we went on the Palisade Rim hike above the vineyards looking across the Grand Valley.
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An interesting canyon behind the rim, away from the noise of the highway and railroad.
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And petroglyphs of elks!

Historical Route Back to Colorado

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Pipestone National Monument is all about the perfect stone to make pipes. This Indian face looks out over the quarries where the best veins of the stone lie.
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I appreciated the Colorado  connection – imagine Freemont’s time and traveling this country in 1838. We spent the night in South Dakota at an Indian Casino – how times have changed!
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We spent the day at Lewis and Clark Lake, a dammed up area along the Missouri. We took a tour of the dam, watched a movie in the visitor center, and had found this spot to camp for the night!
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Spirit Mound Historical Site was one of the first land areas along the Missouri that Lewis and Clark came ashore to explore.
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This is a description of what L & C experienced.
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And we did see the buffalo at this monument for the signing of a Sioux treaty.
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Looking across the Missouri River from South Dakota to Nebraska.
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The cliffs along the shore – very picturesque!
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The country side near the Niobrara National Scenic River.
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Believe it or not – we have put 9,000 miles on our van as we head across the plains of Colorado!
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We spent another wonderful evening with our friends in Ft Collins. G helped H level the van with a lift and we were shocked how much off level we had been!
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Our nephew is trying to patent a game the has invented – we got to watch and learn the rules.
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Such a joy to spend time with this delightful girl…
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and her happy, fun loving brothers. So glad we had some more time together!
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Our camping spot on Vail Pass with a morning hike to Shrine Pass.

Voyager National Park and more of Minnesota

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Desert following a nice dinner at The Chocolate Moose in International Falls
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Ranger led pontoon all day boat trip to experience the waters of Voyager National Park.
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A lot of islands but this is not really a canoe/kayak type of park as the distances are greater and water is not calm.
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We spotted over 23 bald eagles on our voyage – the ranger knew where many of the nests were as well as the juveniles that were getting ready to be on their own.
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What a joy to watch them take off and soar!
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Kettle Falls Lodge was the historical destination for lunch.
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We chose to picnic by the dam/falls and enjoy this view.
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This international border marking was under the boardwalk so needed to be pointed out by the ranger.
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This beautiful private beach in Chippewa National Forest on Cass Lake was our home for three nights.
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Nice to relax and take some time off driving. Life doesn’t get much better than this!
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Sunset #1
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Sunset #2
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Sunset #3
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The artistic shot!
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This is Rividoux CCC Camp – a volunteer/camp host gave us an amazing tour. He really brought that era to life and we could envision the men in the camp between their park work.
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The Cass Lake State Park visitor Center was built by the CCC.
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Amazing stone fireplace – notice how the rock placement is so symmetrical.
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This is the Supervisor Office in the city of Cass Lake – also built by the CCC.
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We could not leave Minnesota without visiting Paul Bunyon! Where is Babe? I think he left her back in Michigan!