West of Grand Junction, Colorado, the Colorado National Monument is a great example of desert landscape. Canyons, mesas, cacti, lizards, sagebrush, juniper, and lots of great rocks greet visitors.
Spring is "mud season" in the mountains, so we like hitting the desert this time of year. The temperatures are near-perfect in April and May, and many plants are blooming.
You should stay on the trail, so as not to disturb the fragile environment. Cryptobiotic soil is fascinating but easily disturbed. For this shot, I did leave the trail, walking up a wash a few yards. There's no cryptobiotic soil in the bottom of a wash, because of the spring run-off, so I didn't have that worry.
