Natural Bridges

Road Trip!

~ Four Corners ~ Mesa Verde ~ Natural Bridges ~

On our way home from Mesa Verde, we decided to stop at Natural Bridges National Monument.  Natural Bridges are sandstone formations that were formed by erosion from moving water, like a creek.  Our first stop was an overlook where we could see one of the three bridges, Sipapu.  From this view, it really blends in with the canyon walls behind it.  

James and Hayleigh decided to hike to the bottom of the canyon to the base of the bridge.  I twisted my knee a bit on the Petroglyph trail hike at Mesa Verde, and this trail had ladders, stairs, and switchbacks, so I decided to sit this one out.   James took the camera and snapped a few on the trail.

Some pretty red flowers he thought I'd like... He was right!

A view of the bridge from the beginning of the trail.

Almost there!

Interesting, twisted tree near the bottom of the canyon.

A view of the arch from underneath.  Pretty cool how the bridge is blocking the sun.

On the way back up...

Looking into White Canyon

Next we took a short hike to an overlook to see Horsecollar Ruin.  It is one of the best preserved ruins in the area.  If you hike the trail at the bottom of the canyon, you can go right up to it.  This is on our hiking to-do list!  

Dad and Hayleigh... Love!

The sandstone formations in this area were formed primarily by wind.  This shows the different striations in the stone.  

Just a little lizard sunning himself..

Dad and Hope looking into the canyon.  

Here's a the second bridge, Kachina, from the overlook.  I decided to hike this one and go to the bottom.  So, James, Hayleigh, and I started off.  Hannah and Hope stayed in the van.  Again. 

About half-way down!

Almost there!

Here we are!  This is the 'youngest' bridge, and it is massive!

Checking out some of the rocks in the river bed

Exploring under the bridge and on the other side

See James, up on the ledge?  Well, he found something interesting...

He found an archeological site that is not disclosed to the public!  How cool is that??  

              

And, here's what was up there...

Handprints on the wall...

Etched drawings... And, that spiral to the left resembles the spiral that was carved on the brick at the Pipe Shrine House at Mesa Verde.  

Lizard, maybe?

Grinding stones

Butterfly?

More handprints...

Looking down from the ledge as we left.

Our next stop was the oldest bridge in the park, Owachomo.  As the bridges age, they get wider and skinnier.  James and Hayleigh hiked to the bottom of this one, too.  After our hike to Kachina, I sat this one out.   Here's the bridge from the overlook.

From below...

And, Hayleigh in a crevice... 

And, thus concludes our road trip!