COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT ASSOCIATION

FALL 2021 NEWSLETTER

Have you seen any tree leaves change their hue? Have you detected a cooler breeze entering our valley? At the monument the bighorn sheep have started their rutting season and the broom snakeweed are in full bloom. Fall is here!

Colorado National Monument has been rolling with the punches and getting acclimated to a busier norm. The visitor center continues to bring lots of visitors to accentuate our busy schedules.

We're getting ready for a flurry of activity with Walks and Talks, Tour of the Moon, Monuments and Canyons Plein Air Art Invitational, and BANFF film festival. Will we see you at any of these events? We hope so!

Did you see CNMA at any farmers markets this year? We set up booths this year to sell some merchandise, but mostly to meet community members and chat about the monument. We look forward to more community engagement in the months to come.

CNMA has continued to fund educational materials including the Junior Ranger program. Did you know there have been 3,387 Junior Rangers sworn in at the monument so far this year?!

The Saddlehorn project's design contract is complete and the construction documents have been received! Hooray! The hard part is done as there are so many details to consider with projects on protected lands plus all construction has to preserve the historical nature of the current structures. The environmental and cultural compliance process is nearing completion and once that is done then trail work can begin and construction documents can be submitted to our contracting office. In a perfect scenario construction would be completed next fall, but as we all know, this date is uncertain in these especially uncertain times.

COVID-19 still affects all of our lives, but we hope to be able to get out into the community and see all of our members soon. Along with the events listed above, we will also be at Ramblebine Brewery on October 14th to celebrate the release of the beer made especially for CNMA! We also are planning a CNMA member event for the beginning of November. Keep your eyes out for more information on these fun events!

CNMA wouldn't be where it is today without our supporters and we are so thankful for everything you do to help us in achieving our mission.

With Gratitude,

Johanna van Waveren and John Lintott

CNMA Co-Executive Directors

The time has come, and we couldn’t be more excited. On September 26th through October 3rd, 22 artists from around the country will spend their days and evenings creating paintings of Colorado National Monument and its surrounding areas.

During this week you may see an artist or two painting off of Hwy 340, or along one of the many trails in the monument or the BLM areas nearby. Stop by and say hello! 

This year, the public will have the opportunity to see the artists in action not only randomly during the week, but also at two designated group paint outs. On September 29th, from 8:30am to 11am the artists will gather at the Saddlehorn picnic area in Colorado National Monument, to paint the stunning views of Monument Canyon. Then on Thursday, September 30th, from 8:30am to 11am artists will gather at the Devil’s Canyon Trailhead in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, and paint throughout the network of trails in that area. These two gatherings are a great opportunity for the public to come and see the artists in their process and to engage and ask questions. 

At the end of the week, the artists will display the works they created at the Carlson Vineyard Tasting Room on Main Street in downtown Grand Junction. The exhibit begins Friday night from 5pm to 8pm for the member and sponsor preview night, and awards ceremony. Free admission for all sponsors and members of the CNMA.  Non-members must purchase tickets for $30 (includes a Chinle level membership with the Colorado National Monument Association). This year there will be a cash bar with Carlson Vineyard wines (there will not be refreshments). It's an exciting opportunity to be among the first to see these incredible artists's work!

Then on Saturday from 10am - 5pm and Sunday from 10am - 2pm the exhibit will be open for free to the public. Note: on Saturday from 9am -10am we will have a block of time for high risk individuals to view the show, with the least numbers of people.

We are grateful to many of the people in this community that support the arts and support this show. They are the patrons that have made this show a success for now the 5th year.  This year’s sponsors for the 2021 Monuments and Canyons Plein Air Invitational are: Family Health West, Quick Temps, LLC, and Lithic Book Press. Thanks also to Enstroms, Junt’n Square Pizza, Loki, Eureka! Science Museum, and Carlson Vineyards.

To see the artists and examples of their work visit: www.coloradonma.org/plein-air/

A wood hauling business was started in the park by Otto during WWI

He aspired to finance the completion of his pet project, “The Union Road, from Grand Mesa to Grand Canyon” with the revenue raised in a wood hauling project. In a letter addressed to the Department of the Interior he asked for permission to supply dead wood from the park to economically depressed Grand Valley residents in order to heat their homes. He felt that leaving the dead timber to rot was a waste of resources. Permits were issued for 50 cents a load for those inclined to haul their own wood out of the park. 

This wood hauling business ran into several obstacles. One gentleman refused to comply with Otto’s regulations and hauled the wood home without a permit. John obtained a warrant, took along a sheriff and ordered the man to pay up, which he did. Not all residents approved of the project, claiming it was “unamerican to make old timers” pay for wood taken from any public place. Once the National Park Service learned that he was making money off the wood business, they demanded that he send them every dime: $35.05.

When trying to choose a name for the park, the most accepted reference was “Monolithic National Park.”

Other possible choices were Otto’s National Park, Centennial Park, and Mile-High National Park. John, jokingly, announced in the Daily Sentinel that it should be called “Smith National Park” for it would bring in a multitude of visitors named “Smith.” Ultimately, Congressman Taylor’s wife recommended Colorado National Monument. Taylor thought that to be a fitting name in that he was in the process of renaming the Grand River the Colorado River.

Otto’s Trees of Life

While reading an article in the Mesa County Mail and Fruita Tribune, he discovered that the Queen of England had announced that citizens should plant more trees in order to beautify the countryside. John was inspired! He suggested creating an area on the Monument called the “Trees of Life” to provide additional beauty and shade to the area. These trees would include grapevines, Weeping Willow, evergreens, and apple trees. 

In the spring of 1911, just after Arbor Day, John extended an invitation to the public to travel to Monument Canyon for the planting of apple trees near “Big Apple Spring.” Otto had converted small flows of spring water into catchments to benefit visitors and pack animals. Roughly 30 residents from Fruita attended the event. After the planting and naming ceremony, “Boys with proverbial tomato soup cans packed water from the pools to properly soak the soil around the roots.” The following year he planned to plant a pear, prune, peach, quince, and crab apple tree. “Then in the course of time, someone may come along and tell us that the National Monument Park is a modern Garden of Eden.” 

Otto celebrated patriotic holidays with enthusiasm

In 1908, in observance of Thomas Jefferson’s birthday and to keep the community centered on the canyons, he lit a huge bonfire on the rim rocks. He announced, “I am going to pile up dry waste wood and set a match to it about 8 o’clock pm” in recognition of the author of the Declaration of Independence. The unusual spectacle was so well received that he decided to repeat it in an observance for the Fourth of July. In Monument Canyon, he set 15 gigantic bonfires blazing in a line. Grand Junction spectators who viewed the display were dazzled by the sight of the glowing fires and Otto continued to produce them for several weeks.

In 1924, John Otto came up with the idea that a herd of big game should inhabit the monument

He convinced the Colorado Game and Fish Department to ship six young elk, and succeeded in getting the local Elks Lodge to pay for transportation costs. After several years, however, the elk found their feeding grounds too sparse of vegetation and water and migrated to Pinon Mesa, where their offspring can still be found. Otto was not discouraged, however, and came up with the idea to start a bison herd. It was to be acquired by school children’s donations of buffalo nickels, the Odd Fellows, and others. In addition to the deer, elk, and bison, Otto aspired to add antelope and bighorn sheep to establish “Uncle Sam’s Ranch.”  During the 1940s to 1970s, overgrazing persuaded park managers to repeatedly reduce the herd size and ultimately move the entire bison population. The last of the Colorado National Monument’s bison were relocated to Badlands National Park in 1983.

Otto’s deep empathy for his fellow man.

Fifty years after John Otto’s death in 1952, Michael O’Boyle, CNMA member and Todd Overby, CNM’s Fee Supervisor, brought an impressive sandstone monument, purchased with contributed monies, to Yreka, California in order to place it on Otto’s grave. The celebration was attended by about 50 townspeople and 25 Grand Junction citizens who wished to pay their respects. Both O’Boyle and Overby tell of an encounter with an elderly gentleman named Earl Skinner who told an interesting story. Skinner worked at a local foundry and one day Otto came to his workplace with “quite a bit of gold” he had collected when panning. He asked the foundry to make a mold in the shape of a star in order to make stars for the Gold Star families who resided along the Klamath River. Another illustration of Otto’s compassion, in addition to his involvement with women’s suffrage and labor issues was, of course, his desire for all to enjoy his beloved Colorado National Monument by establishing trails and championing for a road through the monument.

In Al Look’s book, John Otto and the Colorado National Monument, Look, who knew Otto well, says that perhaps Otto was “far too advanced for all of us around here and his teachings were too deep for people to grasp.” And that, “In defeat he was more triumphant than in victory.”

This is the third John Otto article by Camille Jestrovich. Check out CNMA's past newsletters for more on our park's founder.

To learn more about John Otto’s captivating story, read “John Otto and the Colorado National Monument,” by Al Look, “John Otto of the Colorado National Monument,” by Alan J. Kania and “John Otto: Trail and Trial,” by Alan J. Kania. Online, you can also read, “A Classic Western Quarrel: A History of the Road Controversy at Colorado National Monument,” by Lisa Schoch-Roberts. Also, a very engaging piece by one of CNMA’s sponsors, Seth Anderson of LOKI, entitled “John Otto-CNM Founder’s Bold Legacy.”

Greg also displays the beautiful flutes and you may be surprised to learn that he constructs these instruments of art and melody. He has been working with wood for approximately 75 years, but it’s only been 7 years since he began making flutes. He makes two chamber, Plain Indian-style flutes that are simply gorgeous. They feature various woods, stones, and fetishes (or charms).

Greg plays the flute at the monument to connect with nature and visitors of the monument. The designs of his flutes can be traced to those of the Native Americans. Native peoples had their own reasons for playing flutes. Some of reasons including frightening their enemy, dancing, and courting.

Works Cited:

People of the Shining Mountains by Charles S. Marsh Pruett Publishing Company, 1982

Ute Indian Arts and Culture Edited by William Wroth, Taylor Museum of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 2000

CNMA bought each new citizen an America the Beautiful Pass which gives them free access to all federal public lands for one year!

Thanks to CNMA member, Terri Ahern, for this photo of the pledge of allegiance after the pronouncenment of citizenship.

Photo of a Fence Lizard in Ute Canyon by Connor McLeish

From moment to moment, the scene becomes more radiant, and soon I notice a flutter in my heart space. I recognize the familiar yet exhilarating physical sensation that is happening in my heart and I name it. It’s a Sense of Awe. I stay with it. I invite it to stay with me. I’m captivated and ever so gently my heart softens, and my shoulders drop a notch. I’m put squarely in the present moment, the here and now. In this quiet stillness, I continue to take in the unfolding of the morning’s rapture, but now with eyes closed. I breathe in Awe. I bathe in Awe. And when I open my eyes, I see that the morning phenomenon is slowly waning, and I take in the remaining sustenance. I gather my senses and head back home, renewed, and restored.

This is a Colorado National Monument Moment. If you’ve spent time on the monument, you realize there are many such moments.

- Hiking uphill, you come around a corner and see silhouettes of big horn sheep perched on a ledge above you. You rest, watch, and marvel.

- On the desert floor, you notice mysterious sand verbena in full flower nodding in the breeze just for you.

- A turquoise lizard darts against the red desert sand and steals your gaze.

- The serene desert stillness migrates down into your heart and opens a door deep inside, to a place of peace and calm.

- Gliding on a bike down from Cold Shivers Point brings a moment of sheer ecstasy.

- Mystical cliffs pop out of cottony fog and surprise you.

- Desert night sky begets a secret wonder within you.

- A quiet snowy day beneath red cliffs generates an unforeseen solace.

These sacred moments bring a deep reconciliation. They guide us into the present and remind, what is important. We become objective, old biases fade. We are made whole. This sense of awe transforms and transcends, providing us with a sense of purpose, and connection. We bring this new sense back into our homes, families, and work lives, where we inevitably offer a sense of our peace-filled hearts.

This article was written by Lisa Lesperance Kautsky. As a licensed professional counselor in Grand Junction, Lisa Lesperance Kautsky, LPC. runs her private practice, Red Bike Counseling, where she promotes a mindful approach to nature and its therapeutic effects, and helps clients learn how Nature Therapy enhances traditional mental health approaches. Additionally, Lisa contributes regularly to her company’s Red Bike Blog, promoting mental health wellness.

Curious to learn more about what you discovered in this article? Book a complimentary 15-minute discovery call to speak with Lisa at: https://redbikecounseling.com/book

Thanks to Rick Ahern for sharing this amazing photo of a fireball during this year's Perseid Meteor Shower.

CNMA Staff and Board

John Lintott, Johanna van Waveren, Linda Saturno, Camille Jestrovich, Nicole Gutentag, and Carol Dominguez- Staff

Ken Kreie, Mark Swain, Lori Franks, Melinda Shishim, Joel Bechtel, Carl Jacobson, Debbie Kovalik, Dave Conner, and Jesse Scott- Board

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