John Otto on horseback leading a pack mule in an undated photo from Colorado National Monument.
Just beyond the antique stores and bike shops of downtown Grand Junction is a hidden, red-rock world. Towering mesas, sheer cliffs and panoramic views of the valley below are all just a few turns off Interstate 70.
Colorado National Monument was founded 110 years ago, largely because of one man. To some people, he was a visionary and proud patriot. Others saw him as an oddball and hermit.
Arlene Jackson laughed in a way that suggests that she sees some truth in all of it.
“John Otto is … an interesting character,” she said, smiling from Monument Canyon Trail, one of many routes Otto built.