Dear Isaac, Maia, and Virtual Wanderers,

I’ve called the Colorado Plateau home since I went to college at Mesa College (now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction. I grew up in the Rocky Mountian region. I thought I knew Colorado, but then I went with friends to the Colorado National Monument. I was awestruck.

Over the decades, I’ve explored the Plateau. It’s the icons come to mind – Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Grand Canyon, Zion, Mesa Verde. But, it offers diverse landscapes that complement the red rock country. There are mountains, sage plains, juniper/pinion forests, grasslands. It’s a diverse ecosystem and the drive through Arizona is all of the above.

There is magic in the diversity of the Plateau. There is also a magic in leaving. That is, the Plateau evaporates into the Rocky Mountians, the Great Basin, the Sonoran Desert, the Rio Grande. And, as the uplift of the Plateau blends with its neighbors, the impact is stunning.

Today was about that shift in ecosystems. We started near the Petrified Forest in a windstorm. After driving southwest for about an hour, we came to the Mogollon Rim. Looking out from the rim, the low desert looks like felt overlays in different shades of blue. It’s breathtaking to see from the tall pines.

We stopped briefly at the Mogollon Rim Visitor’s Center. It’s always cool and windy from the lookout. The Visitor’s Center wasn’t open, but it’s fun to walk around and take in the view.  The dogs enjoy the cool grass but watch out for foxtails.

Then, on to Payson, except we took a detour to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park. The bridge is in what’s called the transition zone or Central Highlands. It’s about 10 miles north of Payson on mountainous roads. The road into the Park is a steep drop-off from the main road.

The Park is dog-friendly to all 4 viewpoints of the natural bridge and has nice picnic areas. The pups and I had a light lunch and enjoyed the paved hike to those viewpoints. The whole ecosystem is stunning. Large prickly pear but water dripping from the mossy tops of the bridge. It also has a rocky backdrop that looks like the Plateau.

Some of my favorite places to visit are on the borders of the Colorado Plateau. Montrose’s Black Canyon where I live is the eastern edge. Dinosaur National Monument where we camp at Gates of Lodore is on the Northern edge. To the west, is the Zion area. But what brings me to the low desert year after year is that view from the Mogollon Rim.

It was a mellow day with some minor health issues because of that road trip food. Fortunately, I pack my car with shelf stable camping food year-around. But, not enough for a trip where I was looking forward to eating out. Road trips are the very stuff of life – things happen every trip that call for a change in plans. We settled into the motel and ordered groceries on DoorDash. It’s kinda like camping, actually. Gotta roll with the punches. Tomorrow, hopefully a hike at Tonto National Monument and forgiveness from my GI track.

Happy Trails, GM Cathy Hartt