September 8, 2009

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Turned north off US 50 and immediately started climbing.  Five miles of steady uphill on narrow, twisty, two lane road.  Through the entrance station (senior passes are GREAT) and then down hill for about a mile to this:

And this:

And this: 

There is no picture or series of pictures that can do justice to this place.  Here is the view looking down to the bottom of the canyon, at this point 1500 feet below.

The blue in the left center of the above picture is the river.  The walls of the canyon extend nearly another picture height above the top of this picture.

There is a view spot at the visitor center that is on top of a point that juts out in to the canyon a little ways.

That’s the point in the center of the picture.  From this point you have about a 330 degree view of the canyon. 

Proof we were there.

On our way to the park we went through Curecanti National Recreation Area.  View of some of that area.

If you have to drive across this country.  Take US 50.  It is not an interstate and has some ups and downs (some of them pretty severe) but it is very driveable and almost every mile (of what we have seen) is scenic.