Workin' the Boat and Who Knows?

Early Thursday morning, the 4th of June, we left the rv park for a different look at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The National Park Service runs a tour boat on the Morrow Point Reservoir that goes some six miles into the canyon before returning to the point of origin. We joined a group of some 30 other tourists and enjoyed the ride.

Getting to the boat dock was a bit of a chore, but we made it. First we drove east on Hwy 50 about 35 miles, turned onto a gravel road, drove about a 1/2 mile, and then looked at the steps down to the water.

The trail has 232 steps down (and back up) that take the visitor down to waters edge, where the remains of the rail bed of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company provide about a 1/4 mile path to the dock.

The D&RGW (remember that name, there will be questions later), ran a spur into the canyon to service mining interests in the early days. This line terminated at the town of Cimarron, Colorado, because the canyon literally became to narrow to continue even with the narrow-gauge 36" wide track being used.

The open top, aluminum pontoon boat was very comfortable, and very quiet. Ranger Mike provided a short history lesson and, of course, a short but informative narrative about the impact of humans on the environment. He did it well, and we all enjoyed the commentary. Some perhaps more than others.

I cannot possibly do justice to the awesome majesty of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison with my tiny camera, but bear with me as I try. Seen from below, the canyon walls seem to reach for the sky.

This spire was a monument to an engineer killed during the construction of the railroad. For years, a flag stood proud at the very top of the almost 2,000 foot high peak.

Vertical cliff faces gave way to alpine meadows as we approached the turn about point.

And the mid-cruise point:

On the return leg, a closer look at the north rim showed a distinctly stark and foreboding surface. During the year, as the sun moves with the seasons, the north rim receives more sunlight, and therefore heats up even in the winter, which doesn't allow freeze/thaw cycles to manufacture dirt for plants to grow in as happens on the south wall of the canyon, which remains under snow all winter long.

But then, as we turned a corner, a beautiful waterfall made the whole trip a success.

Donna stopped for a rest about half way back to the car. She did wonderfully on the ascent, better than most of the others!

Rememter that waterfall? Here's the creek that feeds it from high about the canyon.

And the memorial spire that seems so tall from the river level? Here it is from above:

When we left the boat dock, we traveled east on Hwy 50 for about a mile, then turned north on Hwy 92 so we could visit a few places on the north rim of the canyon. Hwy 92 then heads toward a small town named Crawford. This is a complete sidebar, but bear with me. My mother's maiden name was Crawford, and she was born in a small town only 173 miles away from the town of Crawford, which was named for George Addison Crawford. Ole' George was a promoter and got himself elected Governor in 1861, but never took office due to the election being declared illegal. That sounds like my family! Well, anyway, he also founded the town of Grand Junction, Colorado, where he is buried. The timing is right, and who knows about the family he may have had or where they ended up? Maybe only a few hundred miles south? Oh, the D&RGW railroad? Went from Grand Junction right through the town my Mom was born in….would've been easy to hop a freight car….

Just outside the northern edge of Crawford, there is this impressive remnant of an ancient volcano.

So then through Hotchkiss, Delta, and back to the camp. What an amazing day!