Grand Mesa - Exploring

 Grand Mesa is a very large area. We have skied there many times and hiked some of the trails. Today we hiked a few more trails mostly around lakes. We started at the visitor center and learned more about hiking options and looked at some maps. Sone day we need to go to Colbran and access the area from the other side. There are a number of roads off the main road (65) that should be explored some day. We started at the Land O Lakes Overlook trail which is a quick easy walk to a great view looking down on six lakes and a large area we have probably skied through. The remaining trails today were just beyond the Crags Crest trail area. We went on Island Lake Trail, Ward Lake, and Barron Lake trails. You could see the lakes are very low at this point. We then traveled about 10 miles out on a dirt road to Lands End Observatory. A different area although still up on the mesa. Lots of big open areas with short bushes and grass. Big open spaces much different than the pine and Aspen forests we had been hiking in. Views West toward Grand Junction and Utah. You could see the rain falling in different areas of the valley.

Lots of wildlife sightings today:

Big horn sheep, Coyote, Red fox, Gray Jay, Long horn stear, lots of cows, Lots of chipmunks, Bald Eagle, Turkey, Deer

Lunar Eclipse

 We went up to the Monument to view the lunar eclipse. Two rangers and a few volunteers set up three large telescopes. One of the rangers gave a talk about the eclipse. Very interesting. As the moon slowly got covered it turned an orange color. As the moons light was blocked you could see lots of stars. The rangers would point a telescope at a planet or another galaxy. You could see the milky way clearly when the moon was mostly blocked. Great place to view the night sky. I tried to take a picture through the telescope eye piece but it didn't work out.

Mcinnis Canyons D3

 This hike is on BLM land but it should be a national park. I went on a 7 mile mostly loop hike in Devil's Canyon (D3). The trail starts in a wash and then loops around both sides of the canyon. About 3 miles in there is an old cabin. Still standing with some artifacts inside. It is a hit day with highs near 100 but comfortable when I was out from 8:00 - 11:00.