Larry and Charlcie in Tourista Mode: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument

June 29 – July 1, 2010 Departed Gunnison this morning to head back to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument. Based on a tip from Todd Moncrief, at the McLellan’s Flyshop in Fayetteville, our destination was the East Portal campground, where we could also have access to fish the Gunnison River at the bottom of the canyon. To get there, you travel 6.5 miles down a 16% grade in low gear. The total descent is 2,000 ft. in elevation from top of the canyon to the campground. A little intimidating, but well worth the effort. I don’t know if we have ever camped or fished in a more imposing place. I’m sure the pictures won’t adequately represent just how impressive it is, but it is a truly amazing place. There is a trail that runs along the river for a half-mile, which is an easy hike. Beyond that requires some treacherous climbing that is not for the weak-hearted, or the golden-aged. The ranger recounted that a man had slipped on the trail the day before and grabbed a tree to stop his fall, and came out with a totally separated arm. Bear and mountain lions frequent the area also, so it’s not a trail I like to be on alone at dawn or dusk – it’s pucker time for those of us not used to such precautions. However, I was able to hook, fight and lose several brown trout that dislodged the hook when they went airborne. Missed several others, and was satisfied to land the one 17” rainbow that is probably the most brilliantly colored one I’ve ever caught – as you can tell from the photo, I’ve yet to properly display the catch for the camera – I’m so concerned about getting them back in the water, that I tend to rush things. Charlcie accompanied me on this fishing day and was able to take a folding chair and relax in the shade and read her book and observe the natural wonders (also to be the official photographer). A little historical note about the East Portal: From 1905-1909, a visionary settler and some very hearty and brave souls surveyed, engineered, and labored to build a tunnel 11 ft. x 12ft. x 6 miles through the canyon wall. They then built a diversion dam to channel a portion of the Gunnison River to the Uncompaghre Valley. At the same time they fashioned a series of irrigation channels from the West Portal that facilitated the establishment of an agricultural industry that enabled a thriving economic base that is still viable today. I will break the pictures into two sets: tourista and camping at the East Portal. Hope you can make out the road in the East Portal pictures that show the view from the top and then from the bottom.

Spending some time in and around Gunnison

June 28, 2010 Darn, it’s Monday and time to go back to work. NOT! But we did have to work a little to break camp and head north. Our ultimate destination is Gunnison, CO today, with stops in Silverton and Ouray. The highway from Durango to Ouray is called the Million Dollar Highway. Not much money in today’s terms, but when it was built in the early 1950’s, it was a huge sum. There’s something about driving a winding, narrow, two-lane road with very few guard rails up and down mountains in the 10-11,000 ft. elevation that makes me a little queasy. I couldn’t take my eyes off the road very often, and I hugged the yellow centerline when I could see no traffic in the other lane. Another day of amazing natural beauty. Another attraction is viewing the remnants of the mining heydays. Mining was/is such a major economic engine in Colorado – but before there was attention paid to the environmental impact of this industry, much damage was done. However, it is encouraging now to see the extent of the reclamation efforts that are underway. It just so happens that lunch time found us in Ouray, and it just so happens we came across O’Brien’s, another Irish Pub and Restaurant that lured us in with good food and World Cup Soccer on the screens – Brazil pummeled Chile as we enjoyed the fare. When you consider the back-breaking work that was necessary to build the roads, highways, railways, and mines, and the state of available technology and equipment back in the day, the results are almost unbelievable. Those were some tough hombres that labored to make this all happen – we are truly wimps in comparison. We had hoped to find some nice campsites in the area of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but little did we realize that we would once again be in dessert-like conditions with a scarcity of trees. The day was getting late, so we drove on in to Gunnison and found a neat 50s era motel called the Island Acres Resort – a holdover from the days when Highway 50 was as active as Route 66. Doesn’t have all the amenities but it feels just right – a log cabin type Mom and Pop place with a nice screen porch on front. And made even more hospitable by Tyler, the man-in-charge. Tyler is a transplant from New Hampshire and a recent graduate (Business and Accounting) of Western State College here in Gunnison. Like many other new graduates in today’s economy, he is job searching, but in the meantime is staying in the area and running the motel (and is doing a fine job).

Last Day in Durango

June 27, 2010 One of the treats of staying at this campground was meeting our “neighbors” of a couple of days. Sonette Steyn and Lisa Herzog are enjoying their first camping experience and it involves 10 days in this location, to enjoy all the activities available in the Durango area. Sonnette is an author, poet, artist, photographer, and Lisa is an executive in the health care field. They are both from Santa Fe, but Sonette is originally from South Africa and Lisa from San Francisco. They were such a delight to visit with in the couple of days we lived next door to them! Our day was pretty much spent in town dealing with logistics and just scoping out the town. We went to the campus of Ft. Lewis College to view an exhibit on Mountain Lions, but it was closed on Sunday. We wanted to do some more looking in Earthen Vessels, a top-notch pottery gallery, but it was closed on Sunday. We visited Gardenswartz Outdoor store again just because they have so many neat camping gizmos. We were going to rent bikes to ride along the 5-mile trail along the Animas River as it winds through town, but a thunderstorm dashed those plans. So we went to Durango Joes and had a ‘brainfreeze’, a suitable name for the frozen caffeine concoction. Charlcie spent some time there while I walked down to try a little fly-fishing in the Animas – I didn’t do so hot and I’m blaming it on too much runoff and too many rafters passing by. Had to try Serious Texas BBQ for lunch. The cherry-chipotle sauce was quite good on the pulled pork sandwiches, but overall the BBQ did not measure up to KTs in Gassville, Penguin Ed’s in Fayetteville, or McClard’s in Hot Springs – all in Arkansas, of course. The temperature dropped down to 40-degrees at night in the campground. The temps, the sound of the stream, the smell of the fresh mountain air – cuddling up in those sleeping bags in the back of the truck was never so cozy!

Staying on in Durango

June 26, 2010 The Durango area is so nice, with much to do and see. We decided we would spend more time here if we could find a suitable camping area not too far from town. Charlcie did some on-line research and was able to locate a private campground in a canyon just a few miles up the road. Lightner Creek Campground is a very well managed facility with spotless restrooms/bathhouses/camping sites. We were able to secure a site on the bank of Lightner Creek, a stream fed primarily by snow runoff. The sound of the water riffling down the mountainside just outside our tent made for ideal sleeping conditions for the two nights we stayed here. We met a fellow named Bill Davis from Van Buren, AR, and a couple from Greers Ferry, AR on our evening walk. Always good to see fellow Arkies on our travels (well, almost always!). We went in to Durango to the Irish Embassy Pub/Restaurant to watch the USA play Ghana in the World Cup. The food was good, the standing-room-only crowd was boisterous, and we had a great time in spite of the loss. We were able to take an evening drive several miles up a canyon road in the Perino Peak State Wildlife Management area – saw only one deer, but the scenery was truly amazing. In fact, around every corner, we seem to come across yet another fabulously beautiful landscape out here. I am going to try uploading a couple of videos to see how they perform on the blog. One of them is when the USA scored a goal to tie the game – they turned the lights out when the game started, so you won’t see too much, but you can hear the excitement of the fans! The other is of the water in Lightner Creek tumbling over the rocks and down the mountain to its confluence with the Animas River in Durango.

Larry Fishes, Charlcie Shops

June 25, 2010 I could not travel this far without spending more time on the San Juan, but there was nothing for Charlcie to do while I was fishing. Durango has a very fine trolley system that runs by our motel about every 20 minutes, so that allowed me to take the truck and travel the 50 miles back down to the San Juan. Charlcie was then able to spend the day doing the shopping and tourist thing. She visited most of the unique shops, bookstores, and galleries in town. At the river, it was very surprising that there were so few fishermen on the San Juan on a Friday. I was able to pretty much fish the Upper Flats anywhere I chose. Again, it was a very rewarding day for fishing – maybe I do know a little something about fly-fishing. Was able to land several rainbows in the 15”-17” range, although I didn’t manage to catch any of the 20”+ rainbows that this tailwater is known for. The fish are so colorful and healthy here. The walk from the river back to the truck was made a little more exciting as a small snake swam ahead of me on the watery trail, and then as I was climbing up the switchback trail, a three-foot long snake darted between my legs. I was able to tell it was not a rattler, but haven’t had the opportunity to check a reference to see which variety it was. I was able to return late afternoon so we had time to ride the trolley to the Historic District to have dinner on the patio at the Old Timers Café, a longtime local favorite. Dining on an outside patio under the trees in 60-degree, no humidity weather is such a treat this time of year. We are having such a fun time!

Leaving the desert for the mountains

June 24, 2010 According to folks around here, this has been a very dry, dusty spring. No campfires are allowed in the forests now as there have been several forest fires. We decided after two nights camping at the Cottonwood Campgrounds we would seek respite from the heat. In most places out here you can seek shade and it will provide a cool spot to escape the heat, but in the high dessert in the middle of the day, that doesn’t work. So we moved on to Durango. It’s incredible what 50 miles of highway brings in the way of changed topography and climate. On the way out of the state park we took some pictures that display the beauty of the river – our campground is on the far bank in the picture here. Also included here is a picture Charlcie took of the cottonwood up close – when the wind blows, the little cotton thingies fill the air and give the appearance of snow. Looks inviting doesn’t it? That’s because you can’t feel the heat, taste the dust, feel the grit in between your toes, or hear the buzz of the mosquitoes. Durango is a very nice town with many nice galleries, shops, and places to eat. After settling in the Spanish Trails motel, we got cleaned up (boy that feels good!) and enjoyed dinner at the Steamworks Brewery and Restaurant as recommended by one of the publications here. This town seemingly has a microbrewery every few blocks and all include restaurants, which produce some very tasty food.