Crossing Over- Colorado to Utah

Wood Art of Gunnison Park

Down at Great Sand Dune National Monument RV'ers Keith and Shirley stopped me to chat and implored me not to miss The Black Canyons of Gunnison (www.nps.gov/blca). Who am I to ignore a fellow traveler's advice,  so I took it. Along the way I stopped to photograph "Dillon's Pillars" which were created by the fallout of volcanic activities. Yes there were volcanoes in Colorado at one time! I also wanted to check out the antique narrow gauge locomotive at the Elk Visitor Center, but the train had left the station. It had unfortunately departed off to a more private location to enjoy some much deserved restoration. 

I suffered through a little more of a delay when I got to the town of Gunnison and heard the sound of music. I followed the reverberations to a concert in the park and found, not only a decent band, but  a quaint little public park with lots of interesting wood sculptures dispersed throughout.

Arriving at the Black Canyons on a hot and steamy day, I peered down the sheer and vertical 2000+ foot walls to the river below. Toughing out the vertigo, I stared and contemplated the amount of time it took for that river to cut through so much earth. I took some nice sunset pics at "Sunset View" and decided to spend the rest of the evening resting there in the quietude and darkness which matched the blackness of the canyons. 

Part of the "Painted Wall"-Black Canyons of Gunnison

The next morning was diametrically chilly, affording me some more quiet time in virtual solitude to do some panoramas of the geological wonder known as the "Painted Wall" before moseying northwest through the state to the Colorado National Monument (www.nps.gov/colm). Or as it is known by some, "the slightly less Grand Canyon".  

Driving the 19 miles through this park on another balmy day I stopped at each of the impressive scenic overlooks and then procured a 2 day back-country permit at the visitors center. Of course, I wasted no time using those two days to photograph all the park's main attractions. From the 600 ton "Balancing Boulder" to the "Grand View Overlook" providing great views of  "Independence"," Pipe Organs", "Steeple", "Kissing Cousins", "The Island" and "Window" Monuments. All of which were once contiguous mountain ranges which have been isolated in time by erosion turning them into individual entities of immense gravity and visual appeal. 

Colorado National Monument

My last stop in Coloradan territory was to be Dinosaur National Monument (www.nps.gov/dino). I entered on the Colorado side through the town of "Dinosaur" which apparently has a bit of "dinosaur envy" since there weren't actually any dinosaur bones found in its vicinity. I'll go out on a limb and state that you still won't find any dinosaurs there unless you count the statues throughout the tiny town. To be fair, Colorado's side of the park does have some picturesque canyons to explore even if the road  does  eventually wind across the Utah border. Late in the afternoon, I couldn't resist a 13 mile off road driving experience leading to the Echo Park campgrounds along the "White River". It really didn't make any difference to me whether I was kicking up a dust trail in Colorado or Utah, it was fun all the same!

In the morning I exited through Dinosaur, Colorado driving carefully just in case there were any stray jaywalking  dinosaurs I might crash into and crossed once again into Utah to visit the visitor's center of Dinosaur Monument where they actually did find old bones and lots of them.

Once there it's obligatory to take the tram up to the Quarry Bone Exhibit Hall where you can, not surprisingly, see a bunch of actual dinosaur bones. Somewhat more surprising is that you can even touch them too! After foregoing the tram ride back and instead checking out some fossils up close and personal on the hike back to the visitor center, I started the auto tour of the park.

 Along the way are fine examples of petroglyphs which are artistic chippings into the rock walls. Someone tried to tell me they were created by some super creative and talented dinosaurs. I didn't buy it. Someone else told me they were done by Indians about 1500 years ago. I thought that was a little bit more believable, but come on! You really expect me to believe Bollywood had the funds back then to cover the production cost of doing a film in North America?! I guess we will never know the true story! (Or maybe Native Americans had something to do with it?)

Petroglyphs by Indians??

Resigned to the fact that I may never know the true origins of the park's petroglyphs, I eventually had a refreshing dip in the Green River which winds its way through the park and found it surprisingly warm. Then it was time to kick up some more dust by subjecting my 2-wheel drive van to some more 4-wheel type off roading which eventually took me to the lesser frequented Rainbow Park Campground. There were only four sites there and all were empty leaving me completely to myself, at least until the morning when the river rafters appeared in droves. The area was so calm and serene  that I was tempted to break out the fishing pole and have a go. But then I remembered that after a couple of seasons of commercial fishing I had already accrued enough negative karma with regard to slaying fish and it's probably best if I only use the rod and reel if I'm starving to death and really in need. No worries though, I'm well fed. Although, my planned outdoor cooking was put off by ominous dark clouds and rain which had me double thinking my choice of venues for the evening. Would I put to test the theory that the road was "impassable when wet" as the park's map suggested? Too late to second guess! I'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings. 

 

In the morning I'll ignore all the rafters and get some more photos of those mysterious "Indian" petroglyphs. Then, assuming the road is passable,  I'll make a beeline for Park City, Utah to meet up with one of my oldest buddies.....and his soon to be "Mother" of a wife!

For Photos and Videos please check out the following links:

Facebook      (Just a sampling to wet the appetite before eventually posting to Photography site.)

Flickr  

Photography Website  

YouTube