Dinosaur Natl Monument – Echo Park – Day 1

Northwest Colorado has this huge area of carved canyons, and scenes like Moab. We are only a few miles from Utah border. The Echo Park is a portion of the park with great camping near the Green River which merged with the Yampa River.
Cycled on jeep trails only as this is all Federal land with National Park Service. Famous for dinosaur bones and petroglyphs from ancient settlers. Photos are not optimal since there is wildfire smoke from fires across the state. It is unusually hot and dry here.
No cell service at all as this is an incredibly remote location and I see only a dozen people or so.
The rafters you see are on multi-day trip as this is not a stretch of river for half day tourist rafters. Great camping except occasionally the wind whips up and there is a fine gritty dust that gets everywhere.

Canyon walls surround the Echo Park. No radio stations, no cell service. Wonderfully remote and the milky way visible late at night.
Whispering cave is along to the right. There are vertical cliffs everywhere you ride here.
Colors mark layers of ancient geologic formations back to the dinosaur ages.
The Echo Park road is 12 miles of dirt riding down to the campground area close to the river.
Chew Ranch, now an abandoned historic site has buildings intact from the first pioneer settlers. Names after the Chew family.
Backdrop from Chew Ranch.
The roof of this ancient cabin is made of the same mud found everywhere at this location where reddish soft rock is quickly being eroded.
The author and the shaky looking cabin ready to collapse one year.
Home sweet home for someone, years ago.
Petroglyphs carved into canyon walls by the Fremont people going back 3,500 years ago.
These folks on day 3 of a 4 day overnight rafting trip down Yampa on their way to Utah.
Steamboat Rock, the most recognizable feature and most photographed in this Dinosaur National Monument.
Water is cold clear and rather fast moving.
Managed of photo of the deer spying on me.

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