Day 8 – Royal Gorge and Canon City

Day 8 – 5/20/2021 – Royal Gorge and Canon City

This morning we head to Royal Gorge and finally Canon City where we will stay for the night.  Route 50, the road we will travel, is closed for construction.  When we heard this, we checked the closure information and found that the road opens between 6:00 and 8:00AM and then again, at 1:00pm, so we are on the road by 6:00AM

Near the turnoff to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, we have a great clear view of the mountains we will travel.

At the construction site, we decide that the work is not to repave part of the roadway, but to clear away what might have been an avalanche.  The heavy equipment and empty dump trucks also leads us to believe it is clean-up and not new work.  In any case we are not stopped due to work, so we are happy as we motor on through the area.

Following the Gunnison River, we pass places like Blue Mesa, Pine Creek, McIntyre Gulch, and Lake Fort.  The same river we saw running through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in the National Park at this location is a reservoir.

The Blue Mesa Reservoir, created by a dam on the Gunnison River, becomes the local recreational areas.  People are out in their boats fishing already. 

Nearing the town of Gunnison, we pass this field with longhaired and long-horned cattle.  Not sure, what kind they are, but Carmen was able to get a quick picture.

Having past Gunnison, we see a few more ranches with cattle and surprisingly lama or alpaca like this one. 

During our trips, I like to take pictures of flowers and lizards, while Carmen takes pictures of flowers and barns.  Here is one of the barns that she captured.  Check out the expanse of lands around the ranch. 

Nearing Monarch Crest, we see several deer in the field. 

We know that we are gaining elevation, because it is getting colder and there is snow.  But, as we get a clear view of the scenery it is clear we are getting close to the top of the pass.

Arriving at Monarch Crest, we are at the Continental Divide and at an elevation of 11,312 feet.  The flow of rivers and streams to the Atlantic is in front of us and to the Pacific behind us.  A great view of the mountains and I think the mountain on the left is Mt. Aetna and Taylor Mountain on the right, both which are still covered with a reasonably good amount of snow.  Oh, and one other thing it is 36F degrees.  

After crossing the Continental Divide, we made our way to Royal Gorge, before going to our hotel in Canon City.  On display by the parking area is an old Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad narrow-gauge, coal-burning steam locomotive.  The engine was built in 1902 as a standard gauge 2-8-0.  Later it was rebuilt in 1930 as a narrow-gauge 2-8-2, model K-37 to become Denver & Rio Grande Western # 499.  The engine was acquired in 1981 for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to run in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. 

We pay our entrance fee and await our turn for the gondola ride to the other side of the gorge.  There are two sets, one coming and the other going.  You can see the gondolas now, near the center of the picture, making their way across the gorge. 

While crossing the Gorge in the gondola we happen to see people climbing up the rocks.  This is a guided climbing tour allowing guests to hike and climb the granite rock walls of the gorge with controlled mountaineering equipment. 

On the other side of the gorge, we ascend to the high observation platform and have a great view of the full bridge span along with the Royal Gorge.  We’ll cross to the other side of the gorge using this bridge instead of the Cloudscraper Zipline. 

Looking at the gorge downstream, we can see where the river turns and disappears around the bend. 

Heading down to the bridge, we move to an area where we have another good view of the bridge.  While I am getting a picture of Carmen with the bridge in the background, a park Ranger stops and asked if we needed help and that there was a better picture stop where we just happened to leave.

As we near the bridge, we can see how the suspension cables anchor into the ground.  Each of the eighteen cables made up with at least 18 wires extends outwards. 

Here the cables come together to form a single suspension cable used to extend to the bridge uprights.

As Carmen enters the bridge, we learn about the Royal Gorge War.  During the late 1870’s, because of silver, both the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe and Denver & Rio Grande railroads wanted to run a rail line.  Because the gorge only has room for one line, a fierce war broke out between the corporations.  Both laying track during the day and dynamiting each other’s work at night.  The courts settled the war, awarding the right-of-way to the D&RG, but by then most of the silver boom was over.

Beginning our walk across the bridge, we hear the hollering of people and the whine of cables.  Looking over we can see a couple of people on the zipline.  It is a little hard to see, but there are two people on the zipline, a different way to return to the entrance; we are taking the bridge.

Crossing the bridge, there are State flags flying along the railings.  Also along the railings are other information, such as an indication of a mountain formation.  The mountain is called John F Kennedy Mountain.  Can you see the profile?

On the bridge, we look down and have a great view of the gorge.  You can clearly see the train tracks next to the river 1200 feet below us.

While we were looking out over the river, we watched as 4 white water boats made their way down river through the gorge. 

As I watched the boats navigate the river, the boats would hit a rock under the water in one particular spot and swing around.  In this view, the boat in front, the third boat in line from before, hung up on the rock and the boat in the back ran into it.  Also, notice one of the people from the boat in front is now in the water, the paddle in the water in front of him.

The flags of each state run along the railing.  Here is the Maine flag, where we lived before retiring to Florida.  But, the funny thing on the bridge was a sign on the railing that indicated “No Fishing from Bridge”.  Ha Ha, we are 1200 feet above the water, that would be a lot of fishing line.

Having crossed the bridge, we made our way back to the entrance and stopped at the café for a late lunch. 

While having lunch, the gondola was running again, so I get another picture before heading out

On our way out, we checked out the water clock.

Not far from Canon City, we leave the Royal Gorge for the hotel.  On our way out of the park, we can still see snow in the mountains around us. 

Tomorrow morning we head to the Colorado Sand Dunes and then afterwards go to Colorado Springs and depending on the time, we will do what we can.

 

Day 7 – Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park-South

Day 7 – 5/19/2021 – Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park-South

This morning our drive takes us along route 50 to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park south entrance.  Leaving early, we get a good clear view of the San Juan Mountains that we passed through yesterday, only today it is clear.  Many of these mountains are over 14,000 feet high.  The extra snow from yesterday makes the peaks shine in the sunlight.  Seeing the snow and not for the first time, we see a sign indicating a chain up area for trucks. 

Almost at the South Rim Visitor Center and stopping at Tomichi Point, we look south and begin to see some of the canyon. 

While walking out to the viewpoint, we catch a glimpse of a bird that perched on top of a bush.  I do not know what the bird is and have not seen a bird of this coloring in any of the information on the park.  Our guess is that it is an American Dipper.

What a view!  Part of the formation, which by the way is nearly a half-mile away, the fin-like formations created by molten rock seeping into fissures and the resistance to weathering creates the view we see here. 

Looking up the canyon, you can clearly see how steep the walls are.  Notice the light lines in the far wall.  These are the lines created by the molten rock mentioned earlier.

Again, we can see the lines in the canyon walls.  We were on that side of the canyon yesterday looking towards this side of the canyon. 

There are some flowers near where we parked the car and decided to get pictures.  I’m not sure the flower name, but I think it is a Fivenerve Sunflower, anyway that is my guess.

Moving on to Pulpit Rock Overlook, we can see how the river has shaped the canyon.  Look at how steep the left side of the canyon is.  

After getting back to the car, we are at Cross Fissures Overlook and find this flowering bush.  Carmen and I think it looks like apple blossoms, but we know that this is not an apple tree. 

At the canyon edge, I catch Carmen taking pictures of the spires and river below. 

We are kind of surprised that we see lupines, I think these are called Silvery Lupine or maybe Texas bluebonnet.  Either case they are all of the lupine family and I like lupines, so they are in the blog.

Back to the canyon, we can see where the spire on the wall across the canyon is breaking away from the wall.  Maybe it will fall in about a thousand years.

We have seen many Juniper and pine trees in the area.  I am not certain, but I think these are pinion pine tree pinecones.  The harvested seed is eaten as pine nuts.

Another bird landed on a tree right in front of us and stayed in one place long enough for us to get a picture.  Mind you, we do not know what the bird is, so your guess is as good as ours.  But, our guess is that it is a Swainson's Thrush, a Sage Thrasher, or a Brown Thrasher, or some other bird.

On the opposite wall of the canyon, from where we are standing, is a cleft in the rock.  You can clearly see the break and more of the canyon beyond the break.  To give you a size of scale, the break is at least 800 feet top to bottom.

Continuing to walk along the canyon edge taking pictures of the rock I come across another group of lupine. 

On to the next viewpoint, we come to Devil’s Overlook.  Carmen is walking in front of me and a rabbit runs across the path between us.  I stalk it but lose sight of the rabbit, then when I moved up the path a little I looked back and there it was in the path. 

At the edge, we again see the wonders of the canyon.  What I find fascinating are how the trees grow right out of the rock wall.  How the rock weathers to create spires and columns is also interesting.

Can you believe it; we are hearing a bird singing and finally find it on the top of this tree.  We think it is a robin by the colors, but not sure.

As we are walking back to the car, I see this flower just off the path.  After taking the picture I realized I don’t know what kind of flower it is; so it is either a Gilia, Rockcress, or maybe Buckwheat, take your pick.

Now at Chasm Viewpoint, do you feel uneasy looking down into the canyon?  The river is about 2500 feet below our feet, disappearing around the next turn.  A Geo marker puts our viewpoint at about 7713 feet above sea level, about because the marker is worn and part of the number obscured.

Painted Wall Overlook gives us a fantastic look at the Pegmatite Dikes.  These are where molten rock filled fissures in the canyon’s dark rock.  As the molten rock cooled, it formed the light-colored rock we see now.  This panorama shows how this viewpoint gets its name.

The river, clearly seen at the bottom of the canyon, is 2300 feet deep and The Empire State Building would only stand a slightly over half way to the top of the cliff.  The patterns in the rock wall were created over a billion years ago, so the river has had many years to erode the canyon to its current depth.

At Cedar Point there is another great view of the canyon.  The river winds along the bottom back and forth before disappearing around the last bend.  This view is stunning.

Moving on to the next viewpoint, Dragon Point, we see more of the Juniper Trees that adorn the area.  Many, like this tree are short and twisted, making them interesting to look at. 

On the way to the canyon edge, we met a family and took their picture at this Juniper Tree.  Afterwards, we had them take our picture.  The tree had a twist that made a great seat for Carmen and me to sit for our picture.

At the canyon edge at Dragon Point we continue to see the river as it winds its way out of the canyon.  I take a picture of Carmen taking a picture of this end of the canyon. 

Passing the juniper tree where we took our picture, I take another without anyone sitting on it. 

On the way back to the car, for the drive to the next viewpoint, I get another picture of some of the flowers along the trail. 

We are at the last viewpoint, High Point and Warner Point Trail and stop for a look.  It is a 1.4-mile hike, so Carmen stays in the car while I go check it out.  I do not go all the way, only to where I have a view of the valley below.  You can definitely see how high we are in elevation.

Having stopped at the last viewpoint, we make our way back to the hotel.  As we head out of the park, we can again see the San Juan mountains in the distance. 

Nearing Montrose, we pass by the Museum of the Mountain West.  Not sure if it is opened or not, but we are tired and decide to skip the museum.  It has buildings made to look like those that might have been in the area in the early to mid 1800’s. 

Tomorrow we are on our way to Canon City and the Royal Gorge.  I understand that route 50 is under construction and the road is closed.  After some checking, the road opens from 6:00AM-8:00AM, so we will be up early and on our way by at least 6:30AM.