Junction US 24—Grand Mesa—Skyway—Cedaredge—Delta; 63.6 miles, State 65.

Graded or gravel-surfaced road for entire distance; slippery after heavy rains; usually closed by snows from November to June. Limited accommodations.

This route leads across the top of Grand Mesa, largest tableland in the Rocky Mountain region, and through the heart of a popular vacation area. Grand Mesa, with its superb scenery and facilities for outdoor sports, is a favorite playground.

US 65 branches south from US 24 (see Tour 5c), 0 miles, 14 miles southwest of DeBeque (see Tour 5c); a granite monument, dedicated to pioneers who made the trail now followed by US 24, marks the junction.

The highway crosses PLATEAU CREEK and enters PLATEAU CANYON, a narrow, winding gorge lined with odd rock formations, among them (L) the DEVIL'S WINGS, 3 miles Dislodged from high walls, huge masses of rock are scattered along the edges of the road as it ascends steeply to debouch into a shallow valley.

A great ledge (L), 10.5 miles, bears sprawling INDIAN PICTOGRAPHS, carved more than a century ago by the Ute on their seasonal visits to Mesa Springs. Although the writings refer to a near-by burial ground, according to legend, it is believed that the symbols are merely records of tribal passage.

The highway again crosses Plateau Creek; southwest of the bridge, where the road forks, stands (L) the SURRENDER CEDAR TREE, under which the women and children taken prisoners by the Ute at the Meeker Massacre (see Tour 17) were delivered to General Charles Adams and other officials who met Ouray and other chieftains here late in 1879 to effect return of the captives and negotiate a treaty.

Left from this fork is the small supply town of PLATEAU CITY, 10 miles (6,000 alt., 57 pop.), and COLLBRAN, 11.4 miles (6,000 alt., 341 pop.), a cattle town.

Left from Collbran on an unnumbered side road to partly excavated PUEBLO INDIAN RUINS, 2 miles; this buried city promises to be of archeological significance, as it lies more than 200 miles from any previously discovered Pueblo structures.

From the fork, the right branch of State 65 skirts ranches and small farms to MESA, 10.6 miles (6,500 alt., 92 pop.), a cattle town below the north rim of Grand Mesa. Through a region devoted largely to hay ranches, the highway winds up a mountain boulevard bordered by thick growths of quaking aspen, crossing the boundary of GRAND MESA NATIONAL FOREST (hunting and fishing in season), 18.5 miles, which contains 659,584 acres forested with 15 varieties of conifers and broadleaf trees. The mesa has more than 200 lakes, 63 of them stocked with mountain trout. Wildlife includes bear, deer, elk, rabbits, squirrels, and other smaller animals. Desert plants grow along the base of the mesa, and cedar, pinon, oak, yellow pine, Douglas fir, aspen, Alpine fir, and Engelmann spruce on the higher slopes. Vast sections of the forest are used for grazing.

In the southwestern corner of the forest, GRAND MESA, approximately 53 square miles in area, rises to an altitude of 10,500 feet. It was formed by a lava flow 100 to 400 feet thick, which covered softer sedimentary formations and prevented erosion. Where softer formations are not protected, they have been worn away until the mesa stands high above the surrounding land in splendid isolation, displaying on its serrated slopes various strata of the tableland; darker oil shale and seams of coal form distinct layers, each supporting a slightly different type of vegetation.

The entire region was a hunting ground of the Ute, who called the mesa Thigunawat, or home of departed spirits. The mystic beauty of this curiously detached upland seemed to them a perfect setting for the wandering souls of departed warriors. The mesa, so the Ute believed, was the home of three pairs of great eagles, known as Bahaa-Nieche, or thunder birds, which nested along the north rim of the plateau; the white rock slides on the slope at that point were supposedly formed of bones and debris from their nests. These birds not only carried off deer and antelope, but captured Indian children.

One day a great Bahaa-Nieche siezed the son of Sehiwaq, a chieftain, and carried him off to its aery. The father, bent on revenge, wrapped himself in the bark of the Basthina, or red cedar tree, and thus disguised, started up the side of the mesa. To the Ute the cedar was sacred for its never-dying green, its aromatic fragrance when burned as incense at religious ceremonies, and its durability and fine texture, which made it particularly suitable for lance shafts and tepee poles. The Ute believed that the cedar had originally been a pole, at the top of which their ancestors had fastened the scalps of their enemies, and that the heart of the tree had been stained red by the blood that trickled through its fibers.

It took Sehiwaq all day to scale the mesa. Whenever a thunder bird soared over him, he stood still and pretended to be a tree. Finally, he reached the nests, pulled out the young birds, and sent them tumbling down the slope. A large serpent, Batiqtuba, lived near the foot of the slide, and as the eaglets rolled near him, he captured and devoured them. When the Bahaa-Nieche returned to their nests and saw what had happened, they suspected the serpent, carried him many miles into the air, and tore him to pieces. As the pieces fell to earth, they made deep pits in the ground. So great was the rage of the thunder birds that fire streamed from their eyes and thunder shook the mountain; torrents of rain fell and filled the pits, forming the many lakes on the mesa.

SKYWAY, 23.6 miles (9,800 alt., 150 pop.), named for its altitude, is a resort in the center of the MESA LAKES GROUP, composed of Mesa, Sunset, Lost, and South Lakes. Just under the north rim of Grand Mesa, this group lies in a great basin hollowed from slide rock and rimmed with heavy stands of fir and spruce. The highway winds among them, circling MESA LAKE, 24 miles, the loveliest of the four. Numerous smaller lakes stud the forest country below the rim, glittering among the trees like crystal plaques.

At 25.5 m, is the junction with a side trail.

Left on this trail to the BULL CREEK LAKES GROUP, 4 miles, five large and several smaller lakes, and the COTTONWOOD GROUP, 7 miles, five large lakes and a cluster of ponds. Most of the smaller lakes are blanketed with lilies. Bull Creek and Cottonwood Lakes, stocked with rainbow, brook, greenback, and yellow-fin trout, provide some of the best fishing in Colorado.

The highway follows the north rim, piercing slides of shattered rock lying between towering basalt cliffs, to the TOP OF GRAND MESA, 26 miles Here a vast meadow, gay with wild flowers in summer, stretches for miles. Much of the tableland is so level that it can be crossed by cars in any direction. Among the patches of sage and grease-wood are sage hens and the diminutive gray sparrow. Often a spindle-legged road-runner, extraordinarily fleet of foot, appears on the road to pace a car. The bird lives principally on insects and lizards, but apparently for sheer sport and relaxation this feathered warrior hunts out and kills snakes. In the dense spruce forests surrounding the meadows are deer and small game; wild turkey once were plentiful but are almost extinct.

At 27.5 miles is the junction with a side road.

Right on this road to LANDS END, 11 miles, a stark promontory on the rim of the mesa. Below is a wide panorama, embracing the fantastic Book Cliff mountain country north of Grand Junction, the Grand Valley, and the distant blue mountains of eastern Utah. Here a glass-walled rest house on the edge of the promontory overlooks a large winter sports area with ski courses and toboggan runs. Below Lands End the route descends by many curves and switchbacks to WHITEWATER, 24 miles (see Tour 9c).

The highway winds through a pine and spruce forest, passing (R) the ODD FELLOWS CLUB HOUSE, 30 miles, a large two-story log building and three smaller cabins on 10 acres of land. The club house contains the Lodge Hall and sleeping rooms for members; visiting members are housed in the smaller cabins.

State 65 skirts ISLAND LAKE and WARD LAKE, 32.1 miles, which form the northern end of a chain known as ALEXANDER LAKES (fishing; hotel and cabins). Descending the southern slope of the mesa in a series of hairpin turns, the road crosses the southern boundary of Grand Mesa National Forest, 39 miles, and traverses an area of apple and peach orchards. In the heart of the fruit belt is CEDAR-EDGE, 47.8 miles (6,100 alt., 463 pop.); here is a STATE FISH HATCHERY (open), which supplies spawn for Grand Mesa Lakes.

At 59.5 miles is the junction with State 92 (See Tour 9c).

DELTA, 63.6 miles (4,980 alt., 2,938 pop.) (see Tour 9c), is at the junction with US 50 (see Tour 9c).