Black Canyon of the Gunnison – 8/8/24

We left Grand Junction for a couple of days, staying at the KOA in Montrose in order to be close to Black Canyon NP.  We spent an entire day there, not leaving until dusk, though many stargazers entered the park at that time, as it is an International Dark Sky Park (certified in 2015).  One guidebook advised that the best time to view the night sky is during the new moon phase.  I don’t know what phase we were in during our visit, but we did see a lot of people setting up inflatable mattresses when we left High Point (8,289 ft.) late in the day.

The canyon rim averages a height of 8,000 ft., and the drop into the lower canyon to the Gunnison River averages over 2,000 ft.  The views are spectacular and not for the faint of heart.  If you see pictures below that show the river or extremely steep cliffs, Doug took them.  Even though some of the viewpoints had guardrails (some did not), I usually stayed a few feet back from them.  ๐Ÿ™‚ 

The Gunnison River formed this canyon over two million years ago.  The cliffs were shaped in part by the effects of sun exposure.  In the mid 1800’s, the engineer John Gunnison determined that the Black Canyon was impenetrable as he was looking for a passage for the Pacific Railroad across the Rocky Mountains.
Some are braver than others!
This picture was taken by some people we met on the trail at Rock Point. (We’re not the people in the previous photo ๐Ÿ™‚
I love the different colors and textures in this wall along the trail.
That *is* my shadow.  ๐Ÿ™‚
At High Point
Before we left the park, we walked down to this Vista point.
This is the Visitor Center, above.

6 thoughts on “Black Canyon of the Gunnison – 8/8/24

  1. Fantastic, absolutely outstanding. Kathy says you should take credit for being the ones out on that ledge, the color of the clothes almost matches. This post has made Kathy long for the open vistas of the west even more than she already was.

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    1. Thank you! We have you two to thank for your advice and recommendations as we made our way out here. ๐Ÿ™‚ We hope you’re back on the camping trails soon. XO

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    1. Yes, we do. Thank goodness for the presidents who create(d) and those who preserve our beautiful open spaces. ๐Ÿ’–

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