We left Moab, UT this morning via scenic highway 128. Scenic. Definitely scenic.
Highway 128 is apparently popular with bikers. We passed a lot of them.
Every curve (the road was 45 mph and all curves) had a beautiful view of red rocks.
The highway follows the Colorado River, so we had pretty river views along the way as well.
The fall colors we’ve been seeing over the past week have been gorgeous. The trend continued along highway 128.
Our first destination in Colorful Colorado was the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, near Montrose, CO. We visited this national park many years ago with our kids on a Colorado vacation, but decided it was time to see it again. This canyon was named “Black” because it is so deep, so sheer, and so narrow that little sunlight can penetrate it. It has been described as “impenetrable” for humans and shows no evidence of human occupation except at its rims. The Black Canyon is so steep that the Gunnison River drops an average of 96 feet per mile over its 48 miles in the canyon. One two-mile stretch drops 480 feet.
The overlooks were perched on the tops of the steep, sheer canyon walls. It was so far to the bottom (at least 1,500 feet in most places) that I was too scared to go all the way to the edge of the overlooks. The heights didn’t bother Ted, so he took all the canyon pictures for us. You can tell how far back I had to stand to feel comfortable. I’m a coward, I know.
We could hear the river at all the overlooks, but it was sometimes difficult to see. At one spot, Ted had to look straight down to see the river. I didn’t get close enough to see that view, but this one was visible from farther back.
This is one of the trails we took to the overlooks. I always walked as far from the outside edge as I could, and I never, never looked down.
Here are some views of the rock walls of the canyon. I took the first and fourth pictures because I could see the canyon from my safety zone. Ted took the second and third photos from the overlooks.
This part of the canyon is called the Painted Wall, for obvious reasons. It is the highest cliff in Colorado at 2,300 feet–almost twice the height of the Empire State Building. That’s why I was always afraid to look down. What if I’d fall? I know it was emotion over logic, but if I tried to look straight down to the bottom, my knees felt weak and I got a nervous feeling. At this point, the Gunnison River is at 5,000 feet elevation. Add the 2,300 feet of canyon wall, and Ted and I were standing at 7,300 feet above sea level.
Even though I kept my distance from the edges of the overlooks and the trails, I still enjoyed re-visiting the Black Canyon. I’m glad Ted was able to take some very nice pictures of it for us to enjoy after our visit.