August 17, 2019 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Ouray, Colorado

We went back to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison this morning because we wanted to see the overlooks in morning light. It is amazing how different they look! Our first stop was the Painted Wall.

Along the walk out to see the Painted Wall there were several wind-blown junipers. I love the twisted trunk on this tree!

We continued to Cedar Point and this tiny lizard was the only wildlife we saw today!

At Dragon Point the ravine widens out and we had better views of the water below. We could “see” how the shapes on the painted wall resemble two dragons. Impressive massive cliff that is visible from both the south and the north sides of the canyon.

This is the impressive view of the river winding its way through the canyon.

At the end of the road we turned around at High Point. We didn’t hike out to Warner Point, but I enjoyed the signs at the start of the trail! They were good reminders for everyone!

I made the girls walk out to the Chasm View. The chasm is a little over 1800 feet down to the water level. The Gunnison River has its biggest drops going through this area of the canyon plunging at the rate of 240 feet/mile. This is also the narrowest point of the canyon at rim level. It is only 1100 feet across the canyon to the Chasm View overlook in the South Rim Section of the park.

We were thankful for the guardrails at the overlook!

We also walked out to the Devil’s Lookout.

I think the park service marks all the trails in yards because most people can’t figure out how far the distances really are! (607 yards is about 1/3 mile).The trail descends almost a hundred feet over its total length as it winds through gamble oak, sage and other shrubs.


One aspect of the Devil's Overlook trail is that from the overlook you can look almost straight down to the Gunnison River over 1800 feet below. We wondered how many phones and cameras might be lost over the edge of the overlook!

We stopped back at the Visitor’s Center to find out about the East Portal Road and were glad we did. (I almost vetoed the drive before we did!) The road is extremely steep with 16% grades and hairpin curves as it drops 2000 feet to the bottom of the canyon.

It was an amazing drive down and awesome to be able to stand at the bottom of the canyon!

At the bottom we were able to see the Gunnison Diversion Dam. Beginning in 1894, surveys revealed locations for both ends of a tunnel (in the canyon and the valley), with the intent of meeting in the middle. A road was scraped into the canyon slopes, descending to the river, and the town of East Portal (also known as River Portal) was born.

Although the tunnel was dedicated in 1909, much work remained. A diversion dam, concrete lining of the tunnel, and finishing the ditch system were not completed until 1922. The history around the construction is interesting and would take volumes to do it justice!

We made another short stop at the bottom to walk down and feel the water – it was COLD!

I also got a “puppy fix” while we were there! This family had two golden retrievers and they were so sweet – and wet – from swimming in the river. The one I was petting was not happy I stopped!

It was getting close to 1:30, so with “wet dog” smell on our hands, we headed back to Montrose for lunch. Yep, we washed well before eating.

Ouray, Colorado was our afternoon destination. Carolyn visited a friend who lives there while Kathryn and I went to the Ouray Hot Springs pool. The facility is quite large and it is run by the city.

I walked in the hot pool for exercise!

We enjoyed the warm pools and relaxed for a couple hours before it was time to pick up Carolyn.

We were back to Montrose before 7pm so we are settled for the night. Tomorrow we plan to drive the San Juan Skyway so it will be a long – but beautiful – day!

August 16, 2019 - Morrow Point Boat tour and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO

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To say we packed a lot of activities into today would be an accurate statement!
We scheduled a boat tour into the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. From the Pine Creek Trail parking area, we walked down 232 stairs, then followed the 3/4-mile scenic walk along the old narrow-gauge rail bed before reaching the boat dock.

The trail along the water was an easy walk and we stopped often just to marvel at the scenery.

Kathryn and Carolyn were ready to go!

The park ranger told several informative stories about the geology, wildlife, early inhabitants, the narrow-gauge railroad, and reservoirs during the 1-1/2 hour tour.


This is a view of Curecanti Needle which rises 700 feet from the surface of the Morrow Point Reservoir.

 
When Jackson Palmer built the narrow gauge railroad through the canyon, he chose the Curecanti Needle as the symbol for the scenic railroad.
If you want to learn more about the history of the rail line, you can check out the National Park service website below: https://www.nps.gov/cure/learn/historyculture/railroad.htm
We passed Chipeta Falls and many interesting rock formations along our journey.

We were also lucky enough to spot a Golden Eagle in the tree along the shore. Ranger Morrison told us they have spotted a juvenile eagle also, so they assume they have a nesting pair in the area.
On our return trip to the dock, it started to rain, so we got a little wet. There was quite a bit of thunder as we made our journey back to the parking lot (and traversing the 232 steps again!). Luckily, no more rain. I did notice this rock formation on the way back up. It reminded me of an old man laughing at us as we climbed!

We continued east on Highway 50 through part of the Curecanti National Recreation area. We drove along the Blue Mesa Reservoir for several miles before turning back toward The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

In the park we stopped at Tomichi Point view point before heading to the South Rim Visitor’s center. It has elevation of 8,248 feet and the views into the canyon are amazing!

After watching the film (and shopping) at the visitor’s center, we headed out to the Gunnison Point Overlook.

The main view is northwards, across the canyon, which is much narrower and more dramatic than at Tomichi Point. There is a narrow ravine on the south side where we could see the Gunnison River.
We also stopped at the Pulpit Rock overlook. Even more of the river was in view after our short, 134 yard walk to the viewing area. The canyon is bordered to the south by smooth slopes covered by a mix of scree and vegetation, in contrast to the opposite side of the valley which is much rockier and more rugged.


At the Cross Fissures viewpoint, you can see the overlapping ridges and crevasses at different angles, all plunging steeply downwards.

Because it was getting late, we made one last stop at The Painted Wall viewpoint before heading back to Montrose.

Here the panorama is quite different. Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado, bordering the far side of the river. It is a 2,250 foot wall of rock about half a mile across. This marks the end of the most enclosed part of Black Canyon since downstream the sides, although becoming even higher, are noticeably less steep, and more overgrown.

It was absolutely amazing to see and this ended our tour today.

Tired and hungry, we headed back to Montrose and stopped at Jimmers Steak and BBQ. I tried their pulled pork po'boy sandwich. It was basically a pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw on top. It tasted better than it sounds, although it was nothing like the po'boys we had in Louisiana!

We haven’t fully decided our agenda for tomorrow, but it will involve driving and sightseeing!

August 15, 2019 - Estes Park to Montrose, CO

We were up and on the road by about 8 am today and it was a FULL day! We headed west through Rocky Mountain National Park. . We stopped to get a view of Longs Peak and saw this woman painting. It was pretty good!

Carolyn spotted some wild turkeys and we managed to get pictures of a few.

We also had to wait as a couple deer crossed the road.

We opted to drive past Horseshoe Park and up Old Fall River Road instead of Trail Ridge Road.
A 500-foot thick glacier once covered this valley. As the valley glacier inched along over hundreds of years, it scoured out the distinctive U-shaped valley. Like giant slow-motion conveyor belts, the glacial ice eventually carried it rock debris down the valley. At the farthest point of the glacier's advance it deposited a load of rock fragments, called terminal moraine. About 15,000 years ago, the glacier began to recede. As it dissipated, the glacier dropped rubble along its flanks, forming lateral moraines, and the melt water also left behind sediments that became the meadows of Horseshoe Park. Here, huge ice chunks split from the glacier and were buried in gravel. These massive blocks created depressions which, when the ice melted, became the kettle ponds known as Sheep Lakes. It is such a beautiful part of the park, and often overlooked for the more popular Trail Ridge Road.

We continued to Alluvial Fan. On July 15, 1982 at 5:30 a.m. Lawn Lake broke through the earthen dam that had held since the end of the last ice age, thousands of years ago. The release of 29 million gallons of water swept trees and car-sized boulders four miles down to the valley floor. In addition to tons of lighter rocks, gavel and sand creating a 42-acre alluvial fan. A trash collector heard the waters crashing down the Roaring River and called park rangers, who evacuated campers at Aspen glen campgrounds. Two were lost to the flood at the campground and one along the Roaring River. Much of the flood's force was weakened while submerging the meadows of Horseshoe Park, but still had enough force to flood the town of Estes Park to a depth of six feet. Lake Estes to the east of town contained the floodwaters preventing further damage. Looking at it now, it is hard to believe this river could do so much damage!

Another major flood event in 2013 destroyed the bridge and trail. Construction has started on replacing the bridge.

Back in the car, we continued on our way up Old Fall River Road which is an 11-mile, one-way, gravel road that ends at the Alpine Visitor’s Center. This is one of my favorite places on earth!

Not too far up the road we spotted a marmot. He was busy chomping on the little rocks on the side of the road!

We hiked down the small trail to Chasm Falls. It is another beautiful stop!


Before we knew it, we were approaching the Alpine Visitor’s Center. The snowfields are still plentiful at 11,796 feet!

Of course, we spent some time shopping at the top and enjoying the view.

We continued west to Grand Lake. We had a great view of the Never Summer Mountains.

A little further down the road there were several cars stopped and we figured it must be an animal of some kind. We pulled over and were rewarded with a moose sighting! The day just kept getting better!

A lunch break in the cute little town of Grand Lake was perfect before our trek westward to Rifle Falls State Park. Google took us on an interesting route, including a 24-mile county road that was hard pack dirt and gravel. That sounds terrible, but there wasn’t much traffic and the views were amazing! The route took us from Kremmling to Highway 31 on County Road 1.

Road construction on Interstate 70 east of Glenwood Springs slowed us down more than 30 minutes – we were traveling about 5 mph! It was close to 4:30 when we finally reach Rifle Falls State Park. This was on Kathryn’s list of “must see” places. It is really beautiful! This is a link to the sounds of the falls:
https://youtu.be/jBLm7Baoht4


Still smiling, we knew we needed to move on. After a short stop for dinner in Clifton, Colorado, we still had an other hour drive to Montrose. The map just shows driving time – not stopping times, so we finally got to our Airbnb about 8:30 tonight.

We are settled in for the night. Tomorrow will be another busy day, so stay tuned for more adventures!