Colorado National Monument – Bahhhhh!

We spent two half-days traversing the 23 mile winding Rim Rock Drive that runs basically north and south through this spectacular hidden gem in western slope of Colorado.  Rather than do a day 1 in the park and day 2 in the park blogs, I’m going to do the blogs following Rim Rock Drive route starting at the Fruita (or west entrance located on the northern end of the park) and ending at the Grand Junction entrance (or east entrance located at the southern end of the park).  But this first blog will focus on something very special … a highlight for sure!

Highlight of Day 1

Desert Bighorn Sheep sightings--plural!  While we were blessed with four sightings of groups of sheep, they say that a sighting is a special event because the sheep are wary of human contact—hard to believe with what we experienced.  Then take into consideration that the National Park Service estimates about 40 Desert Bighorn in the Monument and we probably saw 20 of those 40—about 50% of the total population—which is totally awesome, amazing, and unbelievable!  I got awfully close to one group and got some great photos which you will soon see.  One of the four sightings was much further away and included only four sheep running along a hillside and no photo opp.

Sighting #1 came right after we stopped at the park entrance.  The Park Ranger had just finished telling Gary to drive slowly because the bighorn can run right out onto the road when he turned and saw a ram running across the road!  We drove over to the sighting and there were 7 to 8 of the awesome bighorns—all different ages, including ewes—hanging around munching lunch in a small depression on the side of the road.  This group contained an older ram because he had quite a rack on him.  Oh, how blessed and thankful we were to have this sighting right away.

Incidentally, the whole six months we were in Canon City near the Bighorn Sheep Canyon, I had one small bighorn sighting and we were going too fast to stop and take a pic.   But all that was redeemed with the number of bighorn we saw today.

Here are some photos of Sighting #1 ...

 

Sighting #2 was after our stop at the Canyon Rim trail.  Desert Bighorn were almost extinct at one time, but were reintroduced into the Monument in 1979.  Desert Bighorns have adapted to hot, dry climates and have longer legs, lighter coats, and smaller bodies that their Rocky Mountain cousins.  They can live without water for days. Their diet of bluegrass, brome, fescue, clover phlox and cinquefoil supply a good portion of their water needs.

The head honcho ram in this group was a younger male because as you can see his horns aren’t as well developed as the ram in our first sighting. By the time a ram is 7-8 years old he can have a full curl, a spread of 30 inches, and a weight of almost 30 pounds!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sighting #3 was on our way back to Fruita and the Visitor’s Center (we turned around at Highland View because we knew we’d be coming back to the park the next day).  I believe it was the same group of bighorn as Sighting #2.  We just caught them again, crossing the road again. 

 

 

 

 

Desert Bighorn Sheep have amazing hooves! The rim is made of hard material that makes firm contact with rocks, while the spongy inner pad absorbs impact and prevents the hoof from bouncing. As more weight is applied the hoof spreads apart at the tip, adding stability. 

How awesome and exciting it was to get this last close-up glimpse of the bighorn sheep of the Colorado National Monument. 

Our second day in the park, driving from the Grand Junction entrance/exit all the way through to the Fruita entrance/exit (all 23 miles of Rim Rock Road) did not produce even one Desert Bighorn Sheep sighting!  Truly, our day 1 sightings became even more special than before.

Psalms 95:6-7

Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.  For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.