Part 1 is here:
Part 1 ended at the base of what you might call the pedestal on which Devil’s Kitchen sits. Walk up the stone steps to the pillars, and you can see a hollowed-out area between the pillars:
Inside, there is a rock shelf that you can climb up onto:
Note the rock shelf inside. The next day, I was at the grocery store and told the checker I’d been to Devil’s Kitchen for my first time. She said that a friend of hers had recently hiked there, and put her hands up over the edge to pull herself up onto that ledge — and felt fur.
FUR??
She backed away to get a look, and found a cougar, sleeping on the rock. She left quickly, and very quietly.
The Devil’s Kitchen — where YOU could be dinner!
People like to climb up on that shelf. There’s a nice view from there:
It’s a popular hiking spot for students at the local college. They also like to climb on the rocks:
And now, for an extra special treat: two photospheres! These are on Google Maps, which is a superior renderer of photospheres. Not only can you use your mouse to scroll up, down, left and right, but you can use your mouse wheel to zoom in or out, to get close to a detail or out for a wide view. Here is the first photosphere:
Outside the kitchen, looking in
The second photosphere is just inside the kitchen, looking out at the spot where the first one was taken:
You can jump back and forth between these two photospheres. Look for an arrow down on the ground and click the arrow.
For what it’s worth, here’s a close-up of that cool-looking balanced rock that is outside the entrance:
This place should be on your bucket list if you ever visit Western Colorado. It’s a short, easy hike where you can take your kids and have a picnic. Just watch out for big kitties, or YOU will be the picnic!
Astonishing!