As our fourth and final stop in Colorado, we are on to another park we have not heard of before our trip – Black Canyon of the Gunnison – a deep gorge with dramatic sheer granite walls in western Colorado.
We have a three-hour drive from Mesa Verde National Park to Montrose Black Canyon KOA, which is a half hour outside the park. We were originally planning on staying at the campground in the park but we decide we want electric hook ups so we can easily run our heat – the nights are supposed to get chilly! So we settle in our spacious, full hook-up spot at the KOA. We always feel we are getting spoiled at the KOA – long hot showers, cable and good Verizon signal for getting internet access. The national parks generally have NO signal.
The next day we head to the park. Very fall-looking. Lots of rusty orange brown hills punctuated with patches of yellow. Very dry. Green pines covering the hillside in the distance. We stop at the Tomichi Point Overlook and get our first glimpse into the canyon. It is dark and deep. We stop at the South Rim Visitor Center. Elle asks for her junior ranger book and we stamp our passports. We decide to watch the park documentary later, as there is rain in the forecast!
We start off on the South Rim Scenic drive – seven miles to High Point, with twelve overlooks into the canyon. We keep popping out at each stop and take theshort walks that lead to the canyon edge. Some trails have steep drops and we hold Elle’s hand during these parts. When we stop to listen we can hear the distant water rushing at the bottom, far, far below. The canyon is deep, dark and narrow… and long. Black Canyon seems like an appropriate name. My stomach drops when I look over the edge. It is a far steep drop. Beautiful and dramatic. We make it to overlook six, Devil’s Overlook, before the rain begins in earnest. We return back to the Visitors Center to watch the documentary. Then we return to the Airstream for the remainder of the very cold, rainy afternoon. An unexpected afternoon off, so we make a run for groceries and supplies and then enjoy an afternoon relaxing. We have had very few rainy days on our entire trip so we can’t complain! It’s actually nice.
The next day dawns dry and sunny. We finish the scenic drive visiting the last six stops on the scenic drive. Very pretty, but many overlooks start to look similar. At the last stop, High Point, we hike the Warner Point Trail, 1. 5 miles round trip, but the up and down in the hot sun make it seem longer. The distant views from the hike are of irrigated green fields and then beyond, dry brown rippling hills. Closer up, cliffs all around us. And the Canyon view at the end is quite breathtaking.
We decide not to drive the North Rim Scenic Road – we have had enough canyon overlooks for now. We debate driving the steep 15% grade East Portal Road down to the bottom of the Canyon but we are concerned we might burn out the brakes on the truck (they have started making strange noises and we have scheduled service for them at the next stop). So we get Elle’s junior ranger badge and she has fun playing with the Visitor Center’s rubber animal paw prints. Then it’s back to the Airstream to get ready for our next destination: we are leaving the next morning for Utah and the first of five parks there!