Colorado National Monument, Colorado

 

Colorado National Monument, Colorado [allposters.com]

As stunning as this Colorado monument's Rim Rock Drive is, it pales in comparison to a firsthand experience of the depths of Monument Canyon, where steep-walled gorges and naturally sculpted rock formations are a textbook of 1.7 billion years of geological history. Solitude and the singing of birds add to its pleasures. The signature hike is Monument Canyon Trail, which descends 600 feet in the first mile, then flattens out and continues another five, passing some of the park's most striking landforms along the way. Note the layers of rock, from variegated sandstone and mudstone to dark reds of Kayenta and Wingate sandstones. About halfway down are three major formations—Pipe Organ, Praying Hands, and Independence Monument, the latter a remnant of a wall that once divided Monument Canyon from Wedding Canyon. But the hike isn't entirely made of stone—it also leads through pi?on pine and juniper trees, and bighorn sheep might be spotted along the way.