Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Drove down route 50 from Grand Junction and crossed the Colorado river at the southern edge of town where the raging, muddy waters were precipitously close to the top of the old concrete bridge -- as high as I imagined it has been in recent years.  Shortly after crossing the Gunnison River in Delta, I pulled into a little rest stop/visitor center right off Rt. 50 and then called Don's house to see if I could drop in for a quick visit before heading to the RV park farther down the road.  I spoke to Don's wife Janet and she said he was not feeling well (too much wine with his brother-in-law the night before) so, I instead made a quick visit to the Ace Hardware store just across the street -- picked up a hatchet and a little table-top grill and drove on down the road to find the Black Canyon RV park.

After a couple more small towns (Olathe and Montrose), the road came down to two lanes as it winded around the valley and into the hills.  According to the RV park manager, I would be looking for the camp or park on the right hand side about 4 miles past Cimarron, CO -- just past mile marker 117 as it turns out.  A winding stream near the road caught my attention and saw a couple nice little roadside stops but, decided not to try pulling in with the camper/trailer still in tow.  I also passed the entrance to the south rim of the Black Canyon before getting to Cimarron and the RV park -- it was on the left before Cimarron.

I arrived at the RV park, got settled in by about 12:30 and decided to get a nap before heading back to the Black Canyon park.  It was extremely breezy and with the noise of the camper sides flapping, could only get a brief nap so, decided to head for the south rim -- get some time in at the canyon before daylight disappeared in this little valley.  Free to roam now in the Jeep with no trailer attached.

Immediately after making the turn onto the road to the East Portal, I stopped at a little store on the corner -- saw that it was just a little tourist trap and quickly headed up the road to the park.  My senior park pass got me in for free (saved $15) and proceeded to the visitor center before hiking and seeing all I could this afternoon.  First, some sunscreen though because the altitude (above 8,000 ft.) and intense sunshine were a threat to burn for sure.

My first short hike was to the overlook just below the visitor center and there were numerous graphic rails interpreting the scene(s) and offering facts or additional information of the surroundings.  The canyon is over 2700 feet deep in some places and the overlooks (even with the sturdy rails) made me err on the safe side -- no leaning over for me.

 

The roadway seemed to be freshly paved with asphalt or was really well kept in this desert like environment.  There also was a warning posted about a "troublesome bear" in the neighborhood -- didn't say anything about bobcats or mountain lions but, sure looked like the kind of country they would inhabit.  Didn't see any of them on my walk hikes -- just some birds and an awesome looking lizard.

I made most of the stops along the road and snapped many pictures -- thought "Sunset View" had the most impressive views even though I hiked out to "Warner Point" (3/4 mile hike each way).  Along the trail to Warner Point, I thought I heard some rustlings or noises in the brush a few times -- made me think a mountain lion might have been stalking me for dinner.

Needed to make another stop at the visitor center on the way out -- needed more water before heading back to the RV park.  After seeing the Black Canyon in person, I now had the corrected image of this area -- had lived in Colorado and grew up in Denver with this image of the Gunnison River and Black Canyon with a train running alongside the stream and fisherman wading/fishing.  That was a different location -- maybe Craig or Silverthorne.

After getting back to the RV park, I found that the awning on my camper was on the ground -- still in the bag but, the stitching ripped apart by the high winds.  Oh well, if Tim had still been with me we might have set it up but, surely it would have been damaged more.  Time for dinner and a beer.  Cooked burgers and hot dogs with corn on the grill -- no campfires allowed.  Even had some leftovers -- forgot Tim wasn't here.  Tomorrow morning would be heading to Canon City to visit Richard and his wife Doris -- hadn't seen them in over 49 years.