Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Gunnison rodeo
The drive from Ridgway to our next location,
Black Canyon of the Gunnision National Park took about 1.5 hrs in the RV. A short drive up US 550 to Montrose then a right on US 50 East for about 5-6 miles and a left on CO347 and after a steep climb to 8200 ft and we were showing our America the Beautiful lifetime pass at a US National Park entrance. Black Canyon NP was an add -on to our route after we stayed at Cave Creek Regional Park in Arizona. Rich, one of the camp hosts there, said we ought to add this one and one coming up in a few weeks as well. He had steered us to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada as well and once again, he did us good! BCNP is a relative newcomer to the National Parks family, although it was a National Monument since the 1920's. National Monuments can be created by the President, but National Parks take an act of Congress. Both are administered by the US Park Service. BCOTGNP is on former Ute lands.
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| Painted Wall -Black Canon of the Gunnison NP |
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| East Portal Road - takes you down 2000' to the Gunnison River - very steep |
We settled in to our site - B3 and faced our first challenge. With an active Mule Deer population and fawns still with their mothers, you can only walk your dogs in your immediate camp site (not campground!) The doe are very protective and I experienced first hand a wary doe who countered my every move to get back to the RV with Cooper and CJ. A bit unnerving. We then found several trails where the dogs could get the necessary exercise without the threat of the deer.
We made our way to the Visitors Center, checked out the film and took in our first glimpses of the canyon. 2000 feet deep and very narrow. The National Park has about 15 miles of the canyon proper with other agencies also having portions. To get to a point directly across from the Visitor Center requires a 2 hour drive!! No roads or bridges here! Cindy and I took a brief walk along the Canyon and then made out way back to the RV for dinner. Later that night, I walked the short trip to the amphitheater to listen to the first of 3 Ranger led talks about the Park. They were all good and our favorite was the last evening. the topic was about Turkey Vultures "Peace Eagles", how they function and why they are so special. The Ranger is a former college professor and did an outstanding job of presenting the information. He included the children by using stuffed animals, one a fawn, one a Turkey Vulture and the third a Coyote to act out how the Turkey Vultures take care of carrion. This may sound simplistic, but the Ranger took the topic to many levels. Very interesting birds!
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| Gunnison River visible at bottom, it is a long way down there! |
Our second day there, we opted to take the drive around the National Park, a loop of over 100 miles to see the canyon from both sides. Definitely worth the time and effort. At one point, we were directly across from the Visitor Center. We ate our lunch at the small campground on the North side and continued to loop to various observation points. Amazing what water and gravity can accomplish. Again, so much comes back to the Geology of an area. Our drive took us by necessity to the town of Delta, Colorado and fortunately they have a Tractor Supply store. We have been getting Cooper and CJ's Taste of the Wild dog food at Tractor Supply while on this trip and we were down to only a few days remaining. So, in we went and now we are supplied until we get back to Pennsylvania!. (Cooper and CJ were quite pleased).
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| our site at BCOTGNP - B3 |
The next morning, we decided to drive the road to the bottom of the canyon and boy were we glad we did! We have seen quite a few specie of wildlife on this trip and also through the years, but on this day we had quite a thrill.... while driving along the river, we spotted what at first we thought was an Otter swimming across to the North side. Cindy started taking pictures and as it emerged from on the opposite bank... it revealed its form complete with very long tail... a
Mountain Lion!!!! Totally Awesome!!!! What a treat. When we got back topside, we drove to the Visitor Station and reported the sighting to a Ranger who had me complete a sighting form! Way, Way Cool!
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| Cougar exiting river at far bank to left of center above |
While down at the East Portal, we also checked out where the water tunnel and machinery house for it are providing irrigation water for Montrose, CO since its' completion in 1909!
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| 3 years in the making, the tunnel at East Portal to Montrose |
One of the things we had yet to experience was to go to a Rodeo. Fortunately, the town of Gunnison was holding the 118th occurrence of
Cattlemen's Days - a PCRA event complete with Bull Riding, Bare Back Riding, Barrel Racing, Team Roping and Bull Dogging! We called and got tickets (not really necessary, but the place did fill up) drove the 60 miles from the park to Gunnison and had a wonderful evening. It was Patriot Night and they did a nice salute to our armed forces. Then the action begins. It is pretty non stop and quite interesting. My favorite was the Barrel Racing.
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| marketing via Horseback - Cowgirls rode rapidly around the arena between events with these banners flying!! |
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| Bronc riding - short and rugged sport! |
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| Bull Dogging- not as easy as one might think |
Saturday morning I took Cooper and CJ in the Jeep to one of the trails where we could enjoy a hike, dropped them off and then walked the Rim Trail from our campsite to the Visitor Center and Back. Very nice and a great way to wrap up our stay at BCOTGNP! We would advise anyone visiting western Colorado to take a day or two and visit this fabulous National Park. If camping with dogs, try to avoid mid June to mid August and the Mule Deer situation.
until then,
Take Care
Cooper and CJ
