Day 13 - Black Canyon - Gunnison
The long line and "yuppie" atmosphere of the Roast & Toast Cafe made our decision to spend our breakfast voucher at the Timberline Cafe. While we were eating, Skye related seeing an elk, three bear, and an unknown critter walk across Main Street last night while she was sitting out on the deck.
After packing the bikes, we made a couple of quick stops at Cascade Falls, and backtracked to get a photo of the tunnel at Bear Creek. As suspected, the morning light failed to give it the FaerieLand look we had seen the evening before. Skye's very first camping trip, when she was only three months old, was near here, just outside of Ouray.
Our next stop was the Black Canyon of the Gunnision. It was six miles up to the High Point, and another six down to the East Portal. With tight twisties to navigate the 16% grade, it took a significant bit of time to get to the portal! Campers Beware: a sign at the top limits vehicles to under 20 feet, even that would be scary! We joked that after the Million Dollar Highway, the Dragon's Tail was something for flat-landers to get excited about, and the East Portal Road made Mt. Washington (NH) look like a practice run!
The Cimmaron Train Exhibit is only open on Sundays and Mondays, so we didn't stay long and reached Elk Creek for the Curecanti National Park stamps just before they closed. We had considered camping at Steven's Creek, but decided to book a room at Island Acres while we were in Gunnison eating at Old Miner's.
It is no surprize the town has changed considerably since we lived here. I knew our old house was gone, but also gone are some of the buildings I remember in town. We also had lived for a time in Island Acres Trailer Park. Our room at the motel included a kitchen. If we had known we would have bought groceries instead of eating in town! The layout of the room was very much like the one room cabin we first rented in Almont back in 1977. It would make a wonderful home base for a longer stay!
This trip was overly ambitious to begin with, leaving little time to really explore the places we visit. The main objective is to "Ride Colorado", and we have managed to traverse much of the state. Time constraints demand that we forego riding up to Crested Butte, Taylor Resevoir, and the North Rim of the Black Canyon.