Independence Monument from Grand Viewpoint
Although it rained during the night, the first rain we’ve had since we left Canada, it was partially clear this morning. That was nice, since we drove the Rim Rock Drive through Colorado National Monument today, a 23 mile long, stop at every viewpoint drive, to photograph the beautiful red sandstone cliffs and monoliths. These pictures are available at http://www.digipac.ca/pictures
We walked a couple of the short hikes at viewpoints, not much, just a kilometer or so at each one. For lunch we walked the trail to the Coke Ovens viewpoint. If we hadn’t seen the charcoal kilns in Death Valley last year, we’d have had no idea why they call these features the coke ovens. However, their bee-hive shape certainly does look something like a charcoal kiln.
It sprinkled a bit in the early afternoon, but hardly enough to wet the ground. However this evening it did rain for a couple of hours, a thunderstorm as we were making supper, and it got quite windy.