Day 8 - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

  Another North American Road Trip

Day 8:

Friday, June 26th 

We were not in a hurry to get up this morning. By about 7:30  (compared to 5:15 most previous mornings on this trip) we started getting ready for the day. We enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, then packed up and checked out. 

We walked across the street for a donut at Doughbird, a shop we remembered fondly from our last trip to Moab. The shop had not been open Wednesday or yesterday, so we were thrilled to get a donut before leaving town. Bryan got a donut make from croissant dough, Desmond picked out a huge strawberry chocolate donut, and I chose a vegan churro donut with chocolate striping.

We happily ate our treat as we drove out of town.  Bryan took a little scenic detour through Colorado River area. It was beautiful. The high sides of the deeply colored canyon walls. The lush green around the river where a few rafts floated lazily. As we drove along we dreamed about how cool it would be to be a park ranger. What it might be like. And what some pathways to get there are.  We will see what God has in store for us in the future.  

We continued on until lunch time. We checked to see if there was a Chic-fil-a nearby. There was not. But there was a Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburger (which is a favorite of the Blairs) so we decided to stop there and text them some photos. 

We enjoyed our food and texting banter with family. Then got back on the road for a short drive (less than half an hour) to our next destination: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. 

We really know nothing about this park except for its position on the map. We arrived and went to the visitor center to find out what to do and see while we are here. 

We looked through the giftshop, both some stamps and a token, and stamped our books. Then we talked to a ranger (who pointed out some good hikes to choose from) and Desmond started in on the junior ranger program. We looked around the exhibits in the visitor center, and learned a little about the canyon, when it was discovered, and how it compares to other, better known canyons in terms of size and depth. Basically, it is very narrow and really deep. 

We sat outside the visitor center, overlooking the canyon. A pleasant breeze was blowing and occasionally a few raindrops would fall. The temperature was extremely comfortable.  With Desmond working steadily on his booklet, it was nice just to be out of the car and still for a few moments. 

Desmond’s booklet mentioned a few specific viewpoints to visit, so off we went to see the views. The canyon is unique and the striping of rock was interesting.  Desmond felt that one part looked like the world snake from Norse mythology. He was a little disappointed that I couldn’t look up the name of that snake right then (no cell service). I told him “Welcome to my childhood. We just had to wonder about things. Maybe plan to ask at the library later.” He finished his drawing and we went on to the next viewpoint. Each of them had a short walk from the parkinglot on a gravel or dirt path to the viewing area. 

The last two things he needed for his Junior Ranger Bingo game was to go on a hike and touch a juniper tree. We went to the trailhead and started our hike. It was well after 3PM and the sun was shining down on us. We hiked the trail, looking out at views as they presented themselves. I became overly warm. The view at the end was nice, but not considerably better than the other views we had walked a very short distance to see. However, Desmond got a BINGO, so it was worth it. 😄

We drove back to the visitor center and Desmond got sworn in as a Junior Ranger. Then we headed back down the road. The next place we set our GPS for was the Curecanti National Recreational Area. It was on the way to our campsite, and a location that we could get another stamp for our brand new Passport book. It has a spot for all National Park Service locations. As we watched the arrival time of 5:07, I was pretty sure the visitor center would closed. But we went that way anyway. As we drove through the recreational area, we had a fun time reading the icons on the signs that say what activities are available at various turn offs. Some are very clear, and others are unexpected or less so. 

When we got to the visitor center it was, indeed, recently closed. We decided to walk to the door anyway and see if there was an outdoor stamp station (something we have seen at a few other locations).  When we got to the door, there was a little box next to it, containing Junior Ranger packets, maps, and best of all for us… a stamp!  This stop felt more like geocaching than what we normally do at the parks - but it made us smile and made us more in tune to our surroundings on our way to our next stop. So I’d count that as a win. Unfortunately, the date wouldn’t change on the stamp and wasn’t set for the right day. So I had to correct it. Oh well. We had fun. 

From here the drive began to feel a bit long. 

We were driving steadily toward dark clouds and evident rain. Since we are camping tonight, that wasn’t an encouraging sight. 

We didn’t see a place we wanted to eat dinner, and we weren’t hungry when all the picnic sites by the lake were being pointed out by helpful brown signs. So we got hungry before we got to camp. We ate a few peanut butter pretzels and dried mango strips during the last 15 minutes of the drive. 

When we got to Great Dunes National Park, we could see the great mounds of sand laying behind the prairie and in front of the mountains. So strange!  The check in booth and visitor center were both closed. We drove straight to our campsite. Getting out of the cruck we put on an extra layer right away, since it was a bit chilly and then we made ramen. The hot noodles tasted good. 

Somewhere in the last 20 years the ingredient list for Top Ramen has changed and it contains milk products.  I had been fortunate to find some cup of noodle style ramen at Trader Joe’s that doesn’t have any milk in it. So I tried the chicken flavor, and it was good. 

After dinner, Desmond cleaned up the dinner dishes, and we got the campsite ready for bed. In the campsite next to us a small child who needed sleep was screaming. This stopped by 9PM and we were able to head to bed. 

Tomorrow we get to explore the dunes!