I love maps. I always look forward to studying an atlas or trail map and plotting out our journey for the next adventure. Hubby and I seem to have a curiosity….. “What’s around the next bend?” It doesn’t seem to matter if we’re driving or hiking, a map piques a curiosity within us. We have to explore, we have to see what’s over the hill or around the corner.
During our first day camped at Blue Mesa, we visited the Elk Creek Visitor Center. We obtained maps on the Curecanti National Recreation Area Colorado and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Al and I peruse the maps and a few brochures we picked up. We set aside a day for explorations.
We start at the east end of Blue Mesa Reservoir and work our way westward. We drive through campgrounds making notes for future visits. We stop at picnic areas and scenic overlooks… photo ops, of course.
By the time we reach the far west end of the reservoir, we’re confronted with a decision; do we turn around and return to camp or turn onto Highway 92. Highway 92 has been a road of particular interest to me for several years. Every now and then, when I stare study a map there’s a road that eventually I just have to drive. It’s that curiosity; what does the scenery look like? Is the grass really greener on the other side? Would this be some place I’d like to live?
It was still morning. We’d packed a cooler with lunch and beverages. With the day young, onward we traveled. We agreed to go as far as Hermits Rest, a scenic overlook with picnic tables and restroom. At that point we’ll reassess the day’s travels.
As we turn off highway 50 onto highway 92 we cross the Blue Mesa Damn. On the one side is the Blue Mesa Reservoir and on the other is the Gunnison River – sitting at the waaaay bottom of a deep canyon. This is the beginning of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Highway 92 is a well maintained paved road and although assessable to trucks, RV’s, and trailers it can be slow going with all the twists and turns. And then there’s the tourists constantly pulling over to take photographs….I can’t imagine.
Ok, I’ll admit, whenever there was a gravel pull-out, yours truly was jumping out of the vehicle to snap a photo; quite often with hubby yelling out of the window, “Would you please stop getting so close to the edge!” 
Our favorite spot the entire day was Pioneer Point. This beautiful scenic overlook was in the process of being improved with a series of trails leading to various canyon ledges. Pretty stone pillars and railings were being installed. Most of the other areas we stopped at offer no safety to the canyon below. This is certainly not a place for kids to get silly….. it’s very much like the Grand Canyon on a much smaller scale.
From Pioneer Point one can hike and camp down near the river’s edge. Although the water traveling through the Black Canyon is the Gunnison River, at this point the water is called Morrow Point Reservoir. The hike down and back to the water is considered strenuous due to the severe elevation change. If I didn’t have a hidden agenda, we may have tackled the hike down to the river, but there’s a place I have been dying to visit for years….there’s that curiosity thing again. However in today’s adventure, hubby does not share the same curiosity. This calls for a little batting of the eyes accompanied by the look and tilting of the head. You know he can’t resist 😉
We continue down the road toward Hermits Rest. There’s another trail head down to the water along with a campsite. This trail is longer and once again deemed strenuous. We’ll pass. Although the views at Hermits Rest are pretty, the views were still nicer at Pioneer Point.
At Hermits Rest, we stand at the rail in silence admiring the view, there’s a light breeze blowing amidst a gorgeous Colorado blue sky. Here’s my opportunity….. In an ever so sweet voice, I say, “You know hon…… we’ve already traveled this far, we might as well go to the north Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison”. In mid sentence, I attempted to remove my sunglasses so the tilted head, batting of lashes, and sweet tone would be difficult for Al to resist, but I was quickly blinded by the blaring sun. The move was more comical than attractive.
As it was, Al wasn’t even looking at me, he was looking at the bottom of the canyon. He was however listening and questioned, “How far is it to the north rim?” “Hum, I’m not sure. Probably less than an hour. Wouldn’t it be silly of us to have already traveled this far and not go just a little further to see the north rim”, I comment.
Al says, “That was your plan all along, wasn’t it? And you thought I didn’t know what you were up to. You’ve talked about going to the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison ever since we visited the south rim seven years ago”. Ah….ain’t that sweet? He actually listens to me and he remembered. So off we go, further into the hinterland toward the town of Crawford.
The north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is very under developed. As a matter of fact, the park entrance is eleven miles off highway 92, the last six miles being gravel. There was no ranger in sight. There’s a station to self pay and pick up a brochure. The campground is big enough for tents and pop up trailers.
Since this is actually a National Park and with Al’s “old fart’s card“, our admittance fee is zero. So we bypass the Iron Ranger and proceed to tour the park. I stop at every designated scenic overlook while Al stays in the car for the most part. We’ve been viewing this canyon from the moment we turned off of highway 50 onto highway 92. So it’s been about three hours of looking into the canyon. Al’s had his fill…. “Yeah, yeah, yeah it’s pretty. Do you have enough photos yet?”
I’m amazed how desolate it is on the north rim. This is a National Park after all. We spent maybe an hour touring the park and saw a total of three other vehicles. Wow, this was like having my own personal National Park. We barely had to share the place. Some of the designated overlooks required a short trail and others were near the gravel road.
Most of the overlooks and trails had no rails. One trail in particular made me rather uncomfortable…. the trails are dirt/gravel, dry and loose. Railings are few and far between. This trail was sloped toward the ledge and with the loose rock underfoot, it presented a heart stopping moment as my right foot started to slide. I caught myself but the heart was pounding ….. an almost p*ss my pants moment. Ah…the call of nature. Hey, no one’s around. I can squat and hover to my hearts content….and the view, oh what a view! In my hover position I admire the view and glance over to the south rim.
The south rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison is the popular side of the canyon with a large visitor center. I quickly stand, rearranging my shorts and wonder if they have any of those binocular viewing things that tourists pump quarters into. Feeling confident by privacy wasn’t breached and quite frankly none too concerned, I walked near the ledge. This is so cool. There’s a beauty I can’t put into words. The beauty is extremely difficult to capture on film. The lighting presents a challenge, as does the depth and width of the canyon.
With my thrill of the day behind me, I returned to the vehicle and a patiently waiting husband. No need to worry him with any of today’s antics…..let’s have lunch. It’s 1:00 and we’re starving. There’s no picnic areas with the exception of the campground at the other end of the park. There’s no shade and the sun is strong and hot. So we decide to eat our sandwiches on the go as we meander our way back to highway 92.
I don’t know why, but I’m fascinated by Black Canyon of the Gunnison. I would love to revisit the south rim, but I think I’d better wait awhile before I bring up the subject to hubby who by this point is saying, “Ya seen one canyon, you’ve seen’m all. Yeah, it’s rock all right….ooh, ah, ooh, ah”.
Would I recommend visiting the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison? No, unless you’re out traveling near Crawford anyway, but it’s not worth going out of the way to visit. I would recommend the south rim. It’s easy to get to off highway 50, but the road does have length restrictions. If you’re only interested in a quick glance, I would highly recommend visiting Pioneer Point. Even Al says he’d go back to Pioneer Point and even consider taking the Curecanti Creek Trail down to the river. I’ll remember that 🙂
All in all, it was a fabulous day. We both had a great time. Yep, I’d say this RVing lifestyle is pretty darn sweet thus far!
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