Black Canyon of the Gunnison

It's been several months since I've blogged and a lot has happened.  Some very good things and some not so good, but time marches on and we should make every moment count!!  : )

JC and I headed for Colorado in June and spent a couple of weeks at Garden of the Gods Campground but left early due to the tragic Waldo Canyon Fire.  Then we spent a couple of weeks in Buena Vista at the KOA there.  Great campground with a million dollar view of the valley and several 14ers (14,000+ peaks).

We are now in Montrose, CO and yesterday we explored the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  We were last here in 1976 and I had forgotten how stunningly beautiful this area is.

 Pictures really just don't do it justice!!

We stopped at the visitor's center, gathered some information and took a short hike to the lookout there, then we decided to go to the East Portal of the Gunnison River which entails a steep drive down into the canyon.

Oh my!!

Not as bad a drive as it might seem especially since we have a four wheel drive truck, but we had it in low for most of the way down.

This area of the Gunnison is very tranquil because it is between the Crystal Dam and the Diversion Tunnel that supplies water to the Uncompahgre Valley.  We saw several people fly fishing and we could see large trout swimming against the current near the tunnel area.  Nice place for a quiet picnic!!

What retirees carry when they think there might not be a suitable diner near by:  boiled eggs, sliced beef summer sausage, Jarlsberg cheese, crackers, dried fruit, chocolate covered pomegranate seeds and assorted other "junk food" - quite a feast!!