Black Canyon of the Gunnison North Rim

This morning we headed off to see the north rim.  We knew going into it that going to be a longer journey than to the south rim but we figured it would allow us to see some different territory.

The road took us up, up, up winding this way and that.  We came upon an overlook that provided us with this view of Morrow Point Reservoir.

As we made the turn towards the north rim road, we noticed this interesting monolith near the town of Crawford.

You leave pavement after about eight miles and travel on good gravel road to and throughout the park.  They say that the south rim gets several hundred thousand visitors a year; the north rim must get decidedly fewer as we only saw maybe a dozen vehicles while we were there.

 Kneeling camel watching over the canyon.

Chasm and painted wall.

So was the north rim worth the drive?  Probably not.  The south rim has a lot of viewing opportunities which lends itself to more photography opportunities.  The north rim was of a more direct down view rather than across the canyon as from the south rim.  Still, the views of the narrows, chasm and painted wall were fantastic.  We did get to see a golden eagle from afar soaring down into the canyon along the painted wall looking for a meal we presume.

We decided that we really didn't want to go back the way we came so we decided to  make a loop out of our trip.  After a quick stop in Crawford for something cold to drink, we were back on the road.  Our journey lead us through Crawford, Hotchkiss, Paonia, Bowie, Somerset, Crested Butte and finally home.  Whew, it was a long day of sightseeing for us - 8 hours from the time we left to the time we got home.  

We were surprised to see that the towns of Bowie and Somerset (next door neighbors) both have coal mining operations.  We didn't realize that the state of Colorado was a coal supplier.

We took the drive over Keebler Pass on Co Road 12 that was mostly gravel once you left the highway.  Thankfully, the gravel road was a good one for all the miles (24) we drove on it.  We did get to go through large stands of Aspen with wildflowers still in full bloom that made it a very pretty drive.  We didn't see any wildlife or elves LOL.

As we drove away from Crested Butte, I noticed this interesting shadow that the clouds cast on the mountainside.  

We were tuckered out and after dinner (thankfully I had the crockpot going before we left), we just pretty much settled in reading or watching TV.  Life is good.