Black Canyon of The Gunnison was the next major stop in Colorado. From Ouray, through the functional Montrose, getting to the canyon was a sight to behold. It’s a very different canyon, primarily due to the age of the rock it’s formed of, much older than Canyonlands etc. Laid down between 1.4 and 1.8 billion years ago (hard to get your head around!) the Gneiss and Schist create a very different look as they are much harder. As a result when the gooey magma pushed up it forced itself between the cracks and crevices creating veins of granite. So many amazing views of the effect, Painted Rock being the ‘go to’ spot.
It’s called Black Canyon of the because at its narrowest point a maximum half an hour of sunlight hits the valley floor. Narrowest being 40ft wide and the deepest part2750ft. Following the south rim trail from relatively wide sections to the very narrow, the artistry nature has created is superb. Some rocks are covered in ‘mica’ a flaky shiny mineral, it glistens in the sunlight. It’s used a lot in eyeshadows!!
The sheer sides to the canyon, the granite stripes and markings bring the rock to life in a picturesque way. The Gunnison River viciously erodes the rock as the water level drops rapidly over a short distance combined with the narrows creates an intensity of flow to continually sandpaper style, graze the rock.
Moving north westerly, we passed through a couple of very different towns, Delta, a small and sleepy place with a great main street of old architecture and signage and mural art and one coffee shop which was actually a great locals hang out. Grand Junction of the other hand was clearly prosperous, gentrified and smart. Full of brew pubs, pavement cafes and hairdressers… Lots of street sculpture made for a fun stroll, over 100 exhibits in all styles, the majority are permanent. Its ‘Art on the Corner’, a local initiative, really great, adding colour and vibrancy to the town! The Lego shop was a dream!
Like Black Canyon, Colorado National Monument isn’t on the tourist route the way other parks in Utah and Colorado are which is great, if you enjoy spectacular scenery without many people! It provided a spectacular and dramatic landscape. Preserved since 1911, the infamous and frankly amazing, CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) built in 1931, a great scenic rim drive, by hand. The CCC was formed to create work for unemployed men, by FD Roosevelt, during the great depression era and much of the US’s park infrastructure was thanks to them. 2000ft up, the views are immense and long, sheer walled cliffs, deep canyons, towering rock monoliths, big horn sheep, whats not to enjoy. Famous views are ‘Coke Ovens’ and ‘Independence Monument’. I thought in the sunset light that ‘balanced rock’ looked like a faceless Trump 😉
Continuing on, more serious gentrification in one of the many swanky ski area’s of Colorado, Breckenridge. Even millionaires can’t afford places there. Like Vale, Aspen, Copper Mountain et al, west of Denver, the area bulges with folk in padded winter gear carrying sticks and planks up ski lift and down dale. So many ski runs, carving the mountainsides, its no wonder its popular…. and soulless. It was worth the wander for a fabulous french pastry and coffee tucked away of the main street before heading to a new record of 11,158ft through the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial tunnels, the highest in the US. Fred was working hard I can tell you, on those mountains, I’m not sure if altitude affects engines in the same way it has us?! Georgetown, a Historic Landmark District was a fabulous affair, 1860 era buildings from its mining boom times, there were lots of quirky places, a hardware store dating to 1883, still going, without much change. It was glorious!
We timed our departure well, as arriving in Golden, the sleet and snow started which wasn’t much fun for driving. We ended up encamped in Golden for a few days as a result of the weather and snow at the higher altitudes but it was a short walk in so coats on, all good! Being the rock nerds we seem to have become, Golden is home to ‘The School of Mines’ so we explored. Can’t imagine Disney making that ‘school’ film though. The Uni, as we’d call it, has the most fantastic museum and display of rocks and minerals we’ve ever seen. We appreciate we are doing it a massive disservice but we had to give up on reading the names of them all and how they are formed as it wasn’t sinking in. We just enjoyed the forms and spectacular colours that nature, again, produces for our wonderment. In equal wonderment was the thunder and lightening that evening.
Golden was a great place to get snowed in though. The town is lively, that’s students for you. We felt out of place in coffee shops as weren’t on laptops but hey, we’ve earned the right to not be these days. They’ve a great Clear Creek river walk with The Golden Museum and lots of interesting art to take in. Jigsaw was less impressed, not her kind of weather. Eventually moving on though Boulder, we arrived at Nederland, a sweet town oscillating between being a ghost town and a tourist/second home zone, we weren’t sure where it’ll land. It did elect a cat as Mayor though and I had a first, “did I know The Beatles?!”. I was offended, I know my hair needs painting but how old did he think I was?!
We headed on the ‘Peak to Peak’ road among the snow, for me to recover, via Lily Lake and the fab Saint Catherine’s Chapel on the Rock. Also passed a very recent landslide. It was well worth it’s scenic highway tag. Next stop, the magnificent Rocky Mountains National Park.
The Curious Adventures of the Cat in the Camper Van 