@qbnguyen + @brandolini44 planned the trip we took in 2018!
When your friends love visiting National Parks - and plan a trip to Moab, Utah - you know they are going to add another National Park on the way back to Denver! In June 2018 I got to experience Black Canyon of the Gunnison for the first time - and I would go back! I sent the below picture to my nephews because I felt like I was in a scene of Jurassic Park and was in a time where dinosaurs roamed. A bird flew over pretty close to our heads with a whipping sound I swore it was a Tetradactyl! Turns out it was probably a Peregrine Falcon - the fastest bird in the world - that calls Black Canyon it's home. Scientists estimate that when these birds do an aerial dive - they can reach speeds of over 200 miles per hour. Yup - probably that bird that almost took me out!
In 1933 the canyons were designated as a national monument - and then in 1999 it became a national park. There are currently 62 national parks in the US.... and 4 in Colorado! Although the canyons appear black in color, due to some parts of the gorge getting only 33 total minutes of sunlight per day! This makes parts of the canyons always appear dark - or "black". As part of my blog series - I always try to find a "nickname" or "slogan" for each destination. Closest I could find was "Colorado's own Grand Canyon" here is why: "Black Canyon of the Gunnison boasts many of the same jaw-dropping features of the Grand Canyon, just on a smaller scale. Importantly though, there is one area in which Black Canyon mightily surpasses the Grand Canyon, and that’s in just how steeply its infamous river drops.
While the Colorado River drops an average of 7.5 feet per mile in the Grand Canyon, the Gunnison River drops an average of 43 feet per mile through Black Canyon and hits its most dramatic descent in the park at Chasm View, where it descends 240 feet per mile." - at least that is what I learned in an article named "10 Surprising Facts About Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park".
More fun facts that the photos in this piece - or any picture really can't compare to seeing it in real life - "Several canyons of the American West are longer and some are deeper, but none combines the depth, sheerness, narrowness, darkness, and dread of the Black Canyon." This is a quote from the author of Images of America: The Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Duane Vandenbusche. It is said that "Painted Walls" a cliff in Black Canyon is the tallest cliff in Colorado and 3rd tallest in the lower 48. The cliff Stands 2,250 feet tall from river to rim. For comparison, the Washington Monument stands at a measly 555 feet and the Empire State Building stands at just 1,250 feet. The impressive wall consists of very old Precambrian gneiss and schist rock that is cut by lighter colored pegmatite veins, which are also Precambrian in age - I think I need another geology + class!
WINTER - South Rim Rd is closed to vehicles - but open to cross country skiing +snowshoeing.
SPRING - Hike, fish, birdwatch.
SUMMER - Camp! - and don't forget to look at the stars!
FALL - Perfect weekend trip!
