Browns Canyon October 1, 2020

 Our trip to this area included the always interesting ascent up Monarch Pass at over 11,300 feet. Dragging a car 10 miles up (and down) a 7% grade puts a bit of a strain on the RV. But we made the trip just fine.

Buena Vista, CO is a jumping off point for Browns Canyon National Monument, add to the park system in 2015. The canyon follows the Arkansas River and is a popular destination for fishing, white water rafters, ORVers, bikers,  and hikers. Since it is so new, there is not a lot of infrastructure similar to other monuments and parks. There's no set entrance, just places where you can start hiking, or put into the river.

We stopped at one of the centers for activity, Ruby Mountain. The campground there looks great (dry

camping only), and there is a ramp for putting your boat into the river. The scene was lovely, and I walked down to the river to get a better view upriver. Rather than walk down the boat ramp, I figured I'd stay out of the way of anyone who might come and want to put their boat in, and I stayed to a slightly elevated way on the left of the ramp. Less than a minute after I'd started down this path, I heard a pounding noise to my right. A quick glance showed me 6 cattle galloping toward the river down the ramp less than 10 yards from where I was standing. They hit the water with a splash. Needless to say I was freaked out. Four of them crossed the river, and 2 stood in the water for a bit and took a drink. This IS free range country.

We then decided to take one of the trails in this area, and walked about a mile up the trail, with the idea that we would take a spur down to the river at some point. One of the problems with being a newer monument is that trails are not as well marked as in other parks, and maps don't show distances to trail junctions. With uncertainty as to where our river cutoff was, we decided to turn back.

We then drove up  CO route 306, a scenic ride that took us up to Cottonwood Pass, at 12,126 feet right on the Continental Divide (the next pass north from Monarch Pass). At the top, the wind was howling, and I could barely stand up. Ray took the .2 mile path to the highest viewpoint.

After descending the pass, we stopped at a town park in Buena Vista, and walked down to the river, a lovely spot.