Picketwire Canyon
Slideshow of the Picketwire Canyon trail in the Comanche National Grassland near La Junta, Colorado. The trail leads past the Dolores Mission and Cemetary to the largest dinosaur trackway in North America. More information is available on gjhikes.com.
Dinosaur tracks in Picket Wire Canyonlands, Comanche National Grassland, Colorado
From a USDA Forest Service flyer dated September, 2014; Located on the banks of the Purgatoire River in southeast Colorado, this dinosaur tracksite is the largest documented assemblage of trackways in North America.
Over 1500 prints in 100 separate trackways extend across a quarter mile expanse of bedrock. Apatosaurus and Allosaurus are two types of dinosaurs that left prints in the mud over 150 million years ago.
Picket Wire Canyonlands is located in the Comanche National Grassland in southeastern Colorado near the town of La Junta.
Here's my personal webpage about paleontology:
Here's my page about history:
Here's my page about Colorado:
04-06-2019
Picketwire Canyonlands Dinosaur Tracks :: Multicast Spitfire video
Visited Picketwire Canyonlands in South-central Colorado near La Junta with family and friends. We took the Auto Tour that has been made available starting in 2013 by the Forest Service. Great trip seeing the Canyonlands, Native American petroglyphs (although better ones can be seen on the bike/horse/hiking trail), a pioneer / Spanish Mission, and the Rourke family farmstead, and of course the largest dinosaur tracksite in North America.
Our guide was excellent and had plenty of facts, legends, stories and information about the Canyonlands, geoology, pioneers and of course Dinosaurs! Great way to see the canyonlands especially if you are not able to do the advanced 10+ mile round-trip hike!
Although not an advanced 4WD trail, high clearance and a good spare tire are required for this trip. Search the web for Picketwire Canyonlands Guided Auto Tour for more information!
The music in the video is my band, Multicast; a western themed ambient electronic adventure in and of itself! Enjoy! The track is called Spitfire!
Not For Sale Don't Ask La Junta Colorado
2017 06 Comanche National Grassland
Picket Wire Canyonlands Guided Auto Tour in the Comanche National Grassland.
Tres Ritos, NM Feb 2012
Tres Ritos, NM Feb 2012: Water Fall on NM 518, Tres Ritos Historic Site, Rio Pueblo de Picuris, La Junta Canyon, Ranger's Yard, Rio Pueblo de Picuris on NM 518
Camanche National Grasslands,(Part 2) Vogel Canyon: Canyon And Overlook Loop Trails
So I made my drive and got comfortable for the night in part 1. I am at Vogel Canyon and about to explore the trailhead and hit the trails in this beautiful location. A historical area with relics from the past including petroglyphs in the rocks and early settler construction surrounded by breath taking views, make this journey worth a trip to Southeast Colorado.
Mis-Adventure in Picketwire Canyon...THE MOVIE!
Join Off Trail Travel while we explore the best dinosaur tracks in North America and Native American rock art in Picketwire Canyon in Southeast Colorado. Despite the mountain bikes that didn't work out so well, it was a great adventure close to home.
Vogel Canyon -- A Renewed Face, A Renewed Spirit
1999. Vogel Canyon is a distilled record of the human past on the High Plains in southeastern Colorado. This video celebrates the successful partnerships which have preserved this important record of the human past. Produced in partnership by the Pikes Peak Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society and the U.S. Forest Service, Comanche National Grassland this 21 minute video summarizes an important conservation project south of La Junta, Colorado. The program includes video of graffiti removal, trail construction, and contains a strong anti-vandalism message.
Funded through a grant from the State Historical Fund in Denver.
Hiking Vogel Canyon
Vogel Canyon
Picket Wire 7x7 Bull Elk in Colorado
Picket Wire 7x7 Bull Elk in Colorado by Lone Star Outfitters
Vocalist at La Junta Early Settlers Day 2009
Blackberry phones do not record that well.
Colorado Petroglyphs with Proto-Canaanite
See viewzone.com/expo2002.html for details.
How did a 3000 year old text find its way to ancient America?
MHBC Goes to Vogel Canyon: Hiking
On 08/29/2009, members of the Mile High Bug Club made a quick trip to Vogel Canyon, down by La Junta, CO. They saw many neat insects including many butterflies, grasshoppers, mantids and many, many pepsis wasps.
They also found a few male Aphonopelmas wandering across the highway. To see images of those check out the Mile High Bug Club Flickr at:
These trips are a lot of fun! Register on our club forum to get invites to our summer field hunting expeditions:
Connect Care helicopter lands at the Arkansas Valley Fair Rocky Ford Colorado 2017
North La Junta dirt landing
Picketwire Canyon Revisited (Dino Tracks & Native American Rock Art)
This video is a continuation of A 12 Mile Hike Through Picketwire Canyon but in this video I cover all the things I had left out of the first video. All the dinosaur tracks are shown in the first half of this video while I also show you one other settlement that I had passed up the first time around. In the second half of the video are videos and a short slide show containing all of the Native American Rock Art that is known to exist in the canyon. There are so many miles of canyons that I am sure more exist but they have yet to be discovered.
Also, I included GPS coordinates for each of the Rock Art sites in annotations along the way in case you feel like you are frisky enough to take the hike and experience the canyons for yourself.
A New Years Day Out
A new year's day out in Vogel Canyon, but first we start off with a little New Years Eve firework show! Enjoy!
New Brush Fire Burning In Southeastern Colorado
A fire burning in Otero County has burned about 100 acres south of La Junta.
Dji phantom professional 3 dinosaur tracks Picketwire Canyon Colorado
.Instead of making the hike to the dinosaur tracks I decided to let the phantom make the trek. Stopped off for a quick look at the old church and cemetery. I'm a little shaky on the controls cause the home point is higher then my flying altitude so I'm never really sure how close I am to the ground except for what I can see on the video.
2016 State Honor Award - Santa Fe Trail
After Mexican independence in 1821, American and Mexican leaders developed the Santa Fe Trail. It quickly became a commercial and cultural link between the two countries. The trail also served as a road of conquest during the Mexican War, and later the Civil War. After the completion of the Santa Fe Railroad to Santa Fe in 1880, the trail was abandoned as a national route. The story of the Santa Fe Trail in Colorado cannot be told without Bent’s Old Fort – built in 1833 by William and Charles Bent and Ceran St. Vrain, the fort was an important outpost of American commerce along the Mountain Branch of the Trail. It was reconstructed in the 1970s and is operated as Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site by the National Park Service.
The La Junta Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution owned the site of Bent’s Old Fort from 1926 to 1954. During their ownership, the Chapter maintained the site, which included the construction of the stone gateway at the original entrance to the roadway leading to the Fort. In addition to being stewards of the Bent’s Old Fort Site, between 1902 and 1912 the DAR placed twenty-seven markers along the Trail in southeast Colorado. Without those markers, many segments of the trail would have been lost to future generations. For over 100 years, DAR has continued as a protector and supporter of the history of the Santa Fe Trail and Bent’s Old Fort.
The Santa Fe Trail Association, Bent’s Fort Chapter, focuses on the history of the Santa Fe Trail and the branches in Baca, Bent, Las Animas, Otero and Prowers counties of southeastern Colorado. The purpose of the Santa Fe Trail Association is to protect and preserve the Santa Fe Trail and to promote awareness of the historical legacy associated with it. Chapter activities include trail treks, lectures, and museum tours that enable trail enthusiasts to share information and learn more about the international, national, state and local significance of the trail. The Chapter also has an ongoing project to place signage where the trail crosses public roads in Southeast Colorado.