Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Day 51 Summer 2010 Park to Park Road Trip

Today we will visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. This is the newest of the National Parks, Bill Clinton changed it from a National Monument to a National Park in 1999.

We entered the park and showed our park pass, then went to the Visitor Center.

6057 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park CO6059 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park CO6060 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park  South Rim Rd Visitor Center CO

At the visitor center is the first viewpoint of about 12 viewpoints along the South Rim Road.

6061a Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park  South Rim Rd Gunnison Point Overlook CO6063 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Gunnison Point Overlook CO6064 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Gunnison Point Overlook CO

Next was Pulpit Rock Overlook. It took 2 million years for the Gunnison River to carve these canyon walls. It is about 2000 feet to the bottom.

6079 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Pulpit Rock Overlook CO6086  Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Pulpit Rock Overlook CO6087  Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Pulpit Rock Overlook CO

Devils Overlook.

6103  Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Devil's Overlook CO6106 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Devil's Overlook CO

Chasm View.

6113 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Chasm View CO6122 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Chasm View CO

Painted Wall. This is the highest cliff in Colorado at 2300 ft. The patterns in the rock face were created more than a billion years ago when molten rock filled the fractures and joints in the existing rock, then cooled and hardened.

6126 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Painted Wall CO6134 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Painted Wall CO Stitch

Dragon Point.

6149 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Dragon Point CO6154 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Dragon Point CO

Sunset View.

6169 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Sunset View CO6179 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd Sunset View CO

High Point. This is the end of the road and we turn around and head back towards the visitor center.

6185 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd High Point CO6194 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park South Rim Rd High Point CO

From the visitor center we head out on the East Portal Road. This road will dead end in about 12 miles, but it promises to be a great drive. The sign says extreme grades and sharp curves.. sounds like fun. We have driven on steep grades before, but never as much as 16%

6200  Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO6201 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO

6206 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO6212 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO6216 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO

At the bottom of the road is the Gunnison Diversion Dam which was built to divert water from the river through a 5 mile tunnel through the mountain and out the other side to provide water for the fields and homes in the Uncompahgre Valley.

6232 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd Gunnison Diversion Dam CO6234 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd Gunnison Diversion Dam CO

And a bit further along is the Crystal Dam. You can’t see too much because the area is fenced off.

6251 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd Crystal Dam CO

We turned around and headed back to the top. Climbing the 16% grade was a bit of a chore for our car but we made it.

6256  Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO6262  Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO

When we got back to the top, there were several cows in the road blocking our way.

6300 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO6304 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO6308 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park East Portal Rd CO

We got onto US 50 and headed towards our hotel in Gunnison CO. US 50 passes through the Curecanti Recreational Area.

6325 US-50 Curecanti National Recreation Area CO6330 US-50 West Elk Loop Scenic Byway Curecanti National Recreation Area CO6345 US-50 West Elk Loop Scenic Byway Curecanti National Recreation Area CO

To see all of our photos from today, you can find them on my Flickr site.

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