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The canyon country near Grand Junction, Colorado features one of the highest concentration of sandstone arches outside Arches National Park, with fewer people and no entry fee. (All photos copyright Stan Wagon.)
Crown Arch, near Grand Junction, Colorado, is one of a collection of arches in the rugged canyons of western Colorado, near Grand Junction. PHOTO BY STAN WAGON.
Summit County resident and desert explorer Stan Wagon and his wife, Joan Hutchinson, recently spent a few days exploring some of the more obscure arches in the canyonlands outside Grand Junction.The area they visited is near Rattlesnake Canyon, with a reputation for having one of the highest concentration of those stunning rock formations outside Arches National Park. See more on this area with this link to Wagon’s website.
Story and photos by Stan Wagon
“Our explorations began May 13 with a hike on the Boy Scout trail in Glenwood Springs, and then with a trek to West Rim Arch, also known as Finger Arch, on the west side of Rattlesnake Canyon, opposite to the more famous series of arches.
“This arch is as spectacular as any over there, and fun to find. Here are UTM coordinates in the 1983 system. (Be very careful: The topo map uses the 1927 system, and I often forget that. Coordinates for the West Rim Arch: UTM 1983 = Zone 12; 686294 E; 4333134 N. There is a new Trails Illustrated/National Geographic map of the area, and that lists this arch with latitude/longitude coordinates. (more…)
Filed under: Geology, Travel | Tagged: arches, canyoneering, canyons, Colorado, desert, Grand Junction, Mee Canyon, Rattlesnake Canyon, sandstone, sandstone arches, Stan Wagon, Travel | 2 Comments »
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