Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

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The hotel's breakfast was disappointing and virtually non-existent (just some cold danish and waffles and yogurt). You can't start a day on a road trip without breakfast (as I would tell Clare and Conor, "eat up, you don't know when your next meal might be"), so I headed to Starvin' Arvin's for a full breakfast of hot tea, eggs, hash browns, sausage, and sour dough toast (with delicious homemade strawberry jam) to keep me fueled for the day. The breakfast was awesome and kept me going through the morning and early afternoon.

After breakfast, I headed straight to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, which was established as a National Park in 1999. (Prior to that date, it had been a National Monument.) After a short but steep hike on the Oak Flat Trail behind the Visitor Center, I drove the South Rim Road and stopped at all of the points, views, lookouts, and overlooks, each one giving a different view and perspective of the canyon carved by the Gunnison River which could be seen far below. At the Painted Wall View, you could see Painted Wall, the highest cliff in Colorado at 2,300 feet (taller than the Empire State Building). (There was not much more to do at the park; the East Portal Road, which takes you to the bottom of the canyon, was closed for extensive repairs.) During a stop at one of the overlooks, at least five bighorn sheep were spotted and it was a treat to see them up close.

Needless to say, the views of the canyon and the river below were incredible. When I texted some photos to the family, Clare remarked, "It looks like another planet almost!" and Conor asked, "That's in America?" And as the National Park Service says on its website: "Big enough to be overwhelming, still intimate enough to feel the pulse of time, Black Canyon of the Gunnison exposes you to some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America."

Here are some photos of the Black Canyon and the bighorn sheep so you can judge for yourself. Enjoy.



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