I have a deep fondness for the Unaweep Tabeguache scenic byway. It’s not quite a secret, but it is so out of the way from the typical tourism hotspots in Colorado that it seems like a living echo of a quieter time. Most of the byway follows highway 141, whose northern terminus is only 20 minutes away from my home in Grand Junction. 

Unaweep is the Ute word for “canyon with two mouths.” Its namesake originates from the imperceptible central divide inside the canyon, whose high point guides water to flow out from both ends. It is the only canyon in the world with this feature (at least of those that are on record). Tabeguache means “people of the sun mountain” or “people living on the warm side of the mountain” in Ute. This, too, is an apt description. This area is very hot in the summer.

Beyond the temperature and geological oddities, it is a tremendously beautiful stretch of road. Cottonwoods line the valley floor. Piñon pines and junipers flank them on the steep arid slopes. The deeper in you drive, the redder the rocks become. They tower over you like ruddy sentinels, and because this is Colorado, the roads wind and bank so that every few minutes you’re viewing an entirely new set of stones. Even after my many drives through the area, I can never quite remember the sequence.

I often drive down this road when I’m having a bad day or I have a big decision to make. The scale of this place reminds me of how small most of my problems are.