President Teddy Roosevelt used the power given to him in the Antiquities Act of 1906 to declare Devils Tower in Wyoming the first national monument. He thought Congress was moving too slowly and it would be ruined by the time they made it a national park.

John Otto, the Colorado National Monument's first caretaker, watched Roosevelt's actions closely. He, too, believed Congress acted too slowly to protect our nation's treasures, so he kept pushing and pushing for action to protect the magnificent canyons forming the southwestern border of the Grand Valley and Grand Junction. Finally, in May 1911, Otto got his wish, and the Colorado National Monument was born.

One good way to get to know the monument – as well as a get in a quick hike and a great drive – is to trek along the Alcove Nature Trail across the road from the Colorado National Monument Visitor Center on Rim Rock Drive.

To reach the Alcove Nature Trail, take Grand Avenue across the Colorado River to Monument Road. Turn left and go through the east entrance of the Colorado National Monument. You’ll need to pay, of course. I have a $15 yearly pass, which is a bargain for the number of times I’m on the monument. Seven-day passes cost $3 for bicycles and $5 for cars. You can also get a national parks pass for $50. This time of year, the entrance stations are closed, so you’re supposed to pay at the Visitor Center, which is directly across the road from Alcove Trail.

Forking over five bucks is one way the monument staff can maintain at least a minimum amount of services available on the monument. Besides, you’ll want to stop in at the Visitor Center to see all the neat stuff displayed there.

The Colorado National Monument Association (CNMA) runs the bookstore at the Visitor Center. CNMA is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to assist the National Park Service (NPS) with scientific, educational, historical and interpretive activities at Colorado National Monument.

Through operation of the bookstore, membership dues and other fundraising activities, the association raises money to publish interpretive materials and to help fund NPS activities and projects in the monument, as well as outreach activities in the nearby communities.

CNMA produces the nifty Alcove Nature Trail Guided Tour brochure, available at the trailhead or in the Visitor Center for a whopping 50 cents. (If you don’t have that much cash on you, you can borrow a copy as long as you put it back at the end of your hike!)

With one of those brochures, you’ll sound like an expert when you take others on this scenic 16-mile drive over the monument – because once you've been here, you'll surely want to come back.

You’ll discover that the red color of the Entrada sandstone comes from iron oxide, just like rust on a piece of metal. The reason, according to the handy tour brochure, is that “the iron oxide has been washed out of some parts of the rock. This layer of sandstone is very old. It was formed between 95 million and 195 million years ago.”

You’ll learn about the single-leaf ash, Kayenta sandstone, rabbitbrush, dark, lumpy microbiotic crust, sagebrush and pinyon pine.

You’ll see a plant called Mormon tea, named so because Mormons who settled the area learned from Native Americans how to boil the stems to make tea.

Cool, eh?