La Garita Arch and Penitente Canyon

We have read about a volcanic dike that had eroded into a natural arch somewhere in the middle of the Rio Grande National Wilderness area, so we set off in search of it.  It was about an hour's drive on mostly gravel roads to get there, but we did find it.  It was bigger than we expected, as you can barely see Denisa in the very bottom center of the picture.

It was also prettier than we thought it might be, and is secluded enough that we had the whole place to ourselves.  You can barely see Mark, standing in the left-hand side of the opening of the arch.

This is another one of those places with no guard rails and no tickets to enter.  Just another one of God's wonders for all to enjoy.






 


It was one of those God's Window views of the surrounding meadow.

Mark can't stand to just look at something like that, and there certainly were no signs saying that you couldn't climb on it.  The first climb up the end of the rock wall was actually the hardest.

Then it was walking over some rough terrain while he made his way higher and higher across the wall towards the arch.  This is Mark's view of the walk on top of the rock wall.

He wasn't the only Engelman up on top of the rock wall.  No, it wasn't Denisa--it was this Engelmann cactus that somehow found enough dirt to live on top of that dike.  We have seen quite a few of these cacti since we left the desert, but these mountain cacti don't look like they are enjoying these 60 degree summer days as much as we are.

Mark made his way along that long wall until he could stand over the arch.  You can see him standing up there with the clouds.

He took a few pictures, but this one with his foot on the edge will probably give his Mother a thrill and make his Mother-in-Law say, "Oh Mercy!"  You can see our lonely car far below in the parking lot.

You can barely see him as he walked back down the wall, all the time exclaiming about the beautiful view from up there.

After playing on the arch, the sensible thing would be to walk back through the arch opening and directly to the car.  But there was another ridge behind the arch to see.  We ended up walking all the way to the end of the rock wall for a 3 mile up and down climb back to the car.

There is another natural feature in this area, so we left the arch in search of Penitente Canyon.  Again on gravel roads, we found the canyon just as the storms lets loose.  It seemed a good time to eat our picnic lunch under the pavilion, and then take a nap.  Denisa is obviously better at pavilion napping than Mark, who mistook this for a photo opportunity.

After the storms past, we headed up the Penitente Canyon Trail.  Doesn't Denisa (in the bottom center of the picture) look rested and refreshed after her nap?

Of course, Mark can't stay on the trail.  No one will be surprised to see that he is already crawling on the rocks.

But this canyon is famous amongst rock climbers all over the world.  There are metal rings attached to the tops of many of the walls, and the literature said there are over 200 rock climbing trails throughout the canyon.  On this rainy afternoon, we had them all to ourselves.

This view over the top of the canyon shows that it stretches for a mile, with branches and inlets that are easy to get lost in--ask us how we know.  We were literally wandering His wonders today trying to find our way out.

There were some swiss cheese rocks that made for some great hand and foot holes.

And there was just enough water in the canyon to grow some of that moss that looks like green velvet.

If you get lost enough, you might even stumble onto the wagon tracks.  Made by pioneers on the Old Spanish Trail in the 1800's, Denisa has her feet in one of the ruts carved from countless wagon wheels traversing this rocky section of Colorado.

We finally found the trail back to the car, and we only had to slide down one 12-foot wall to get there.  But that vantage point allowed us to watch an owl swooping down over our heads to the canyon floor below.  We have truly been blessed with God's wonders today.