Shutdown, Snow Keep Colorado National Monument Road Closed And Some Visitors Peeved

<p>Stina Sieg/CPR News</p>
<p>Much of Colorado National Monument is effectively closed during the partial government shutdown, as the road through the park has been gated since the day after Christmas. People can still access the Serpent Trail, however, on the eastern side of the park.</p>
Photo: Colorado National Monument Shut Down 1 SS 20181231
Much of Colorado National Monument is effectively closed during the partial government shutdown, as the road through the park has been gated since the day after Christmas. People can still access the Serpent Trail, however, on the eastern side of the park.

The ongoing partial shutdown of the federal government has affected National Parks and federal lands across the country in different ways. Some are wide open to the public. Others are closed completely. And on the Western Slope is a well-known spot that is somewhere in-between.

Heading west from Grand Junction, you can drive into Colorado National Monument without a problem. Past a closed payment station. Past sheer red cliffs and a few overlooks flaunting the snow-dusted valley below.

But after about three miles, there’s a gate – and a sign. “Road Closed,” it says.

Photo: Colorado National Monument Shutdown 3 SS 20181231
Gerri Flaig was planning on driving all the way through Colorado National Monument with her dog, Rosie, but had to settle for a walk at Cold Shivers Point after reaching a closed road.

Jerri Flaig and her excited dog, Rosie, are walking nearby.

“I think it reflects a very dysfunctional government at this point,” she said, getting Rosie to sit.

Flaig is here from California and would love to keep driving. But much of Rim Rock Drive, which winds through the monument for 23 miles, has been closed since the day after Christmas because of snow. And the money needed to get it plowed is locked up in Washington.

Flaig insists she’s trying not to dwell on the shutdown.

“But it’s certainly really impacted a lot of people who were looking forward to seeing some of these sites and national parks on a holiday,” she said. “And it’s a sad business.”

It’s especially sad for out-of-towners, like Virgie Wilks.

“We definitely don’t see this where we’re from,” she said, with a laugh.

Wilks and her husband only wish they could see more of the monument. They’re on their way back to Texas after vacationing in Breckenridge. They had no idea the road was closed until they drove up to the gate.

“We had the chance to come, and now we can’t,” she said. “So it’s not very good feeling.” But she doesn’t blame anyone – or any party – in particular. Neither does Eric Zhang, who’s visiting from Fort Collins with his family.

Photo: Colorado National Monument Shutdown 2 SS 20181231
Emily and Michael Hamilton head down the Serpents Trail at Colorado National Monument, one of the areas still open during the government shutdown. The couple say many of their friends back home in Arlington, Virginia, are government workers, now not receiving pay due to the shutdown.

Instead, he holds both Republicans and Democrats accountable for not finding common ground.

“If you ask me, I would lock them all up in Capitol Hill, until they work something out. Alright?” he said, with a laugh.

The road will stay closed until Congress passes a funding bill – or until the sun melts away all that snow and ice.

Similar road closures are in effect at Rocky Mountain National Park, though the roads remain open to pedestrians and bicycles. Mesa Verde National Park is not reporting any road closures, and the park remains open, with all visitor services shut down. The same is true at Great Sand Dunes. At Dinosaur National Monument the Quarry Exhibit Hall and Visitor Center are closed. Roads and trails are accessible unless they become unsafe, and emergency and rescue services will be limited.