Colorado – RV Travels in Europe and North America

August 20, 2016 Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

We started out by returning to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison to take the road down into the canyon. We had skipped this road the previous day because it was late, and it looked like it was going to rain. The road into the canyon is paved the whole way but quite steep at 16 degrees. (A steep grade on an interstate is considered to be 6 degrees.) It turned out not to be too bad and Scout had no problems. The bottom was quite beautiful. The road comes out at the entrance to the 5 mile diversion tunnel that was built to move water from the Gunnison to the valley for farming. From the base of the canyon it is fun to look up to the top and imagine the early explorers who came down to see what was at the bottom. Those were men. After another trip along the rim road we headed out towards Monument Valley.

This time we took the San Juan Scenic byway thru Ouray and Silverton. Our original plan was to stop and walk around Silverton, but when we got to the visitors center the hostesses were the most unfriendly we had ever run into in a visitors center, apparently they were having some sort of dispute with the manager and had no time to help us. We decided to skip Silverton. The scenic byway ends in Durango, and the change in scenery is incredible. Up to Durango you are driving in the Rockies with trees and a very green environment, and within ten miles you are in high Desert brown and red without trees and large vistas with Rocky outcroppings.

We arrived at Monument Valley late, but headed over to the visitors center for sunset. We were a little disappointed because there were thunder storms in the area so Ton did not get the pictures she was hoping for, but some of them are still nice.

August 19, 2016 Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP

Today we drove the West Elk Scenic Highways to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We had to hustle out of Aspen in the morning to beat the bicycle race. We drove along the Elk Scenic Highway passing a bunch of State Troopers and support vehicles for the race.

Fans and support for the Tour of Colorado Bike Race.

After a couple of hours of driving we arrived at the sign for the North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. The drive in was on some county roads with the last 6 miles on dirt roads. As we got near the park entrance there was still nothing that would hint at how spectacular the views were. The Canyon is only about a half mile wide but varies between 1500 and 2000 feet deep. At the bottom is the Gunnison River which rips along at a pretty good rate. The North Rim is pretty lightly visited so the overlooks were pretty basic, and you could approach the rim of the Canyon with almost no protection. Ton got over her fear of heights and got some good pictures. After spending a couple of hours at the North Rim we went back to the Elk Scenic Highway and headed to the more developed South Rim. The last 30 miles of the Elk follows the Black Canyon and reminded Ton of the Pacific Coast Highway near Big Sur if you change the Pacific Ocean to the River and Mountains of Colorado.

When we got near the South Rim we decided we needed to stock up with some food, and Diesel Exhaust Fluid in Montrose. We also needed good internet so we decided to stay in a campground in town. When we checked in the guy told us this valley only averaged 7” of rain per year. When we were done checking in we headed out to the visitors center at the South Rim, and of course it rained. So we drove the rim road and headed back to town. By the time we got to town it was raining buckets! They probably got 1” of their 7” of rain for the year.

The Gunnison River from the ridge of the canyon.

August 18, 2016 Aspen CO

We got up early and headed to the Trail Ridge. The bulk of this road is above the tree line and the top of the pass is over 11,000 feet. The visitors center at the top is very nice and completely off the grid. They get their electricity from a generator, and water from a dam near by. Most winters it is buried to its’ roof in snow. Ton went to the store where interestingly most of the staff was college students from China, (and one from Macedonia) who were there working on their English.

After completing the Trail we decided to push on southwest towards Gunnison. Ton suggested we take the Rocky Mountain Scenic Byway. The last 40 miles may have been more spectacular than the National Park with multiple 14,000 foot mountains and signs every couple of miles forbidding vehicles over 35 feet. The peak of the drive was Independence Pass here slightly over 12,000 feet and was our third time passing the Continental Divide today. Our original plan was to push on past Aspen after doing a drive thru to see how the other half lives. But when we got to Aspen we discovered that the only road out of town going west was closed for a couple of hours, after wandering around Aspen a couple of times looking for an escape to the west we decided to double back to Difficult Campground a Forest Service Campground we had passed coming into Aspen where we got the final spot for the night.

August 17, 2016 Rocky Mountain NP

Today we started heading west again and stopped at Rocky Mountain National Park. The drive from Ft. Collins to the park was bumper to bumper the entire 30 miles so Ron was pessimistic by the time we arrived at the park about getting a campsite. Rocky Mountain NP is only about an hour from the Denver Metro area so it is well loved, but there were plenty of campsites. We arrived in the early afternoon and decided to save the highlight of the park the Trail Ridge for tomorrow. We headed over to Bear Lake and despite signs every couple miles saying that the parking lot was full we pressed on. When we got there a Ranger stopped us and asked several questions about Scout and how it handled on the highway, it was the first Tiger she had seen, she then asked the important question which was how long we were and when I told her just over 20 feet she waved us on and told us to enjoy our day as we would fit in the parking lot.

Later we attended a Ranger talk and turned in early with plans to get up and head over the hill to the Alpine road.