So our final day at the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park allowed us to go to the North Rim.
As you can see from the below, this was the white road on the top of the area. This is a more remote area but has great views.
The day started with the Bucks on the side of the road. We do need to mention that if you are looking for wildlife you will be lucky if you get to see any – except for the Bison of course. So seeing wildlife is a lucky thing and it is now wonder everyone on the road stops to take pictures. As least we were able to see these Bucks.
Of course we had to do the North Vista Trail as it was only 1.5 miles. We did not attempt to climb the mountain on the Green Mountain Trail.
We made it to Exclamation Point and the view was incredible.
From there we went to The Narrows. “The Narrows are the shallowest and narrowest point of the Black Canyon at 1750 feet deep. It is in this two-mile stretch of the canyon that elevation drops approximately 480 feet. Before the damming of the river upstream, the river would sometimes roar through the canyon at up to 12000 cubic feet per second and almost 2.75 million horsepower. It is the force of this water that has cut down into the ancient rock so much more quickly than other forces of erosion can widen the canyon. This accounts for the dramatic steepness of the canyon walls in Black Canyon.”
Then Big Island was our next stop. Now we thought we would see an island of rock in the middle of the river but we didn’t so we were confused as to why they call this the Big Island.
So we thought it would be clearer if we went to the Island Peaks but we were still confused but took some more great pictures.
The Kneeling Camel was next stop. You do need to look really hard to see it – or imagine it.
On your way out of the North Rim, you can see the Needle Rock in the distance. We decided to drive the dirt road to it so we could see it. The interesting thing about these areas are the Needles sitting in the middle of nowhere and you wonder how all the other rocks disappeared around it. In most cases it is a push from under the earth that causes this to come up.
So that sums up our week-long visit to the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. Incredible views which cause you to stop and wonder how it all came together or stayed for millions of years. Hope our pictures gave you a little taste of what this area is but seeing it in person is well worth the trip.
