Colorado National Monument

Well, driving my little Sentra around all the mountain roads in Crested Butte really aggravated the already leaking exhaust.  So, I headed to get that fixed up.  Although it was kind of fun sounding like a race car... After a crazy high fix estimate ($1000+) and talk of it taking 4 days to get all the parts in, I decided to drive to a  bigger town & try my luck.
I found a local guy that was willing to get me in the next morning and for the low price of $75.  He was awesome. 
Since the repair was done by 9 am, and Colorado National Monument is the back yard of Grand Junction, I decided to do a drive thru. 

Really pretty canyon and nice hikes out to look at the formations.  I ended up camping in the park and was rewarded with a beautiful view of the valley till the sun went down.  The weather was good so I slept with my rain fly off my tent and enjoyed looking up at the stars.  Drawback? There were these tiny gnats called no-see-um.  And they bit the heck out of my arms and ankles.  So itchy!  The pharmacist in Aspen had just gone thru a round with them too, so she gave me good advice and mentally prepared me for the fact I will likely have the itching for close to two weeks.  UGH! I am hoping they are not surviving living in my trunk for the last couple of days, and the next camp out will not result in more bites from any gnat hitchhikers.