Rt. 50 To The Black Canyon, Inside The Canyon, Montrose & Utes

Out of Cripple Creek, to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on Rt. 50, is nothing short of spectacular, offering pure natural scenic beauty. Enjoy some photos. TC…

There is a five mile climb to get to the campground at Black Canyon which is twisty and curvy right up to the park entrance. The campground offers what most do; fishing if you have a license, bike riding, an amphitheatre, pit rest rooms, nature walks, etc., but that is not why I came to Black Canyon. I came to witness the Canyon. I will not try to tell you how spectacular it is as I am not sure I can accurately describe all its wonder. I am not even sure if the pictures you are about to see do it either. The canyon in many ways is more enjoyable than the Grand Canyon in the sense that you actually become part of it by walking its trails and many look outs. I found it to be more peaceful for some reason, but that won’t stop me from seeing the Grand One again.
Ok, a little about the campground that I did fine interesting. Firstly when I was setting up I was greeted by deer. No more than 20 feet from me with not a care in the world. Grazing on the grass and looking at me as if I was intruding on their meal. I found out from a park ranger that “they own the campground”.

Three are many different kinds of birds here, Mountain Bluebird, Peregrine Falcon, Canyon Wren that are all over, American Dipper that are a full time resident of the canyon, and Hawks. I tried to capture a few in flight that were enjoying the thermals. They are awesome to watch as they soar and dive and very peaceful. The park is a National Park Service park under the supervision of the Department of the Interior, and it is very well maintained. It became a National Park when President Bill Clinton signed legislation making it our 55th national park. I always liked that guy. I did not have se…oh, never mind.
I am in Black Bear and Mountain Lion country, but have been told there have been no problems in many years. I took a few precautions, like putting my plastic food container in the Jeep and removing any garbage to the dumpster outside the campground as soon as possible, making myself known by making a whole lot of noise when entering the camp, etc.

The weather this high up is anything but predictable. Last night it snowed. Pictures.

                                                         

                                    

                                              Bird In Flight.

                                                  See my shadow?

                                       I call this the Apartment Building.

 The town of Montrose is about 12 miles west of the park and I headed in this morning to visit the Ute Museum. Not the same two utes from My Cousin Vinny. These Utes are the real thing Utes, Indian Utes. Pictures.

                                 What a handsome couple. 

                                        The origin of tent camping.

                On the way back to the campground I also saw another real thing, two cowboys rounding up the herd. From City Slickers, “ Curly said, there is nothing like bringing in the herd”. If you recall my profile, I said I like movies. Pictures.

                                   The movie True Grit with John Wayne was filmed in the town of Ridgway. In the movie, the first time you see the Duke, he is in the same Café I had peach pie and coffee in today. Ridgway was founded by a railroad magnet named Otto Mears in 1880. Pictures.

The town of Ouray is a little further south of Ridgway on Rt. 550. Ouray was named after Chief Ouray of the Uncompaghre Ute Indians. It is a true western town but for some reason it is know for being a Swiss town, probably the mountains that surround it. I found the mountains to be spectacular. It also is know for its hot springs. I didn’t participate. Pictures.

Preview:  Mesa Verde National Park and the amazing train ride from Durango to Silverton Colorado.  Not to be missed.  No charge for tickets.  Blog tickets that is.  See you soon. 
                                               Thanks.  TC...