Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse in Valley of the Gods
October 15
We continued our streak of free camping at a pull-through site in the Medicine Bow National Forest just south of Laramie, Wyoming.
Historic sites like the prison were closed due to reduced shoulder season hours or just the end of summer. It was a lovely, peaceful stop before we began the busyness of Denver, visiting our daughter and taking the Ute for a check-up at Hallmark. Our first stop was at our older daughter’s new place, where Larry helped her assemble an IKEA dresser before we shopped together at Costco. That night, we spent at Cabela’s, where I was unsuccessful in finding a pair of pants like the ones I purchased in Anchorage. On Tuesday, October 3, Larry washed the Ute and RAM before we drove to the Hallmark factory in Fort Lupton. We walked around the showroom for ideas on upgrades and spent the night in their parking lot before our appointment the following day. This plan worked out well, except…there were tremendous numbers of flies from the fields nearby, an occasional plague that periodically happens, and they disappear after a few days. It was days before we got them all out, and even the cat was unimpressed and refused to swat at them. On Wednesday, we spent several hours reviewing questions about our Ute and purchasing some items for upgrades.
We left full of ideas and checked in at Cherry Creek State Park before meeting our daughter and her boyfriend for dinner. What a full day! They suggested an alternative route to our next destination, so we followed their advice and drove the Guanella Pass, where the aspens were lovely, and the leaf peepers were out in force! The drive up the pass to over 10,000 feet was steep and full of switchbacks, but the truck and Larry handled it with no issues.
There was no parking near our suggested Abyss Lake hike, so we drove to camp at Antero Reservoir South Shore Campground near Hartsel, Colorado. It was perfect and peaceful after Denver!
After a stop in Salida, we spent the next night at Elk Creek Campground on the Blue Mesa Reservoir in the Curecanti National Recreation area near Gunnison.
The Neversink trail along the Gunnison River was a pleasant hike in the trees with a few bridge crossings over feeder creeks and sloughs with the cottonwoods changing a lovely yellow-orange.
In the afternoon, we hiked the Pine Creek trail along the Gunnison River, which took over 200 steps down the steep canyon walls to where there used to be a narrow gauge railroad. It reminded us of the narrow canyon and Rio Grande river in the Big Bend National Park.
On Sunday, we drove to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, taking the 18% grade road to the much less visited East Portal and Dam park area.
After a quick lunch, we drove to High Point at the end of the South Rim Road and hiked the High Point Trail for 360-degree canyon views.
We stayed at the Sunset View lookout until well after sunset, so we got to our reserved campsite at the South Rim Campground in the dark.
Our search for the Dragon’s Tongue, which we later learned happens in April and August, had us at Dragon Point well before sunrise the next day.
We enjoyed a serene private sunrise over the canyon and then visited all the rest of the overlooks at the South Rim – Cedar Point, Painted Wall View, Chasm View, Rock Point, Cross Fissures View, and Pulpit Rock Overlook.
The campground was now first come, first served, so we found a site before hiking to Tomichi Point on the Rim Rock Trail, then the Oak Flat Loop Trail below the rim, then back to the campground on the Uplands trail.
The part below the rim was a much cooler oak forest with beautifully changing leaves.
We drove to Ridgway State Park, near Ouray, Colorado, on Tuesday. We last stayed here in mid-October 2020! We stayed down the hill in Dakota Terraces this time, which we liked better.
We saw three magnificent bull moose on the Million Dollar Highway drive from Silverton to the Old Hundred Gold Mine.
Our tour guide at the mine was outstanding and primarily focused on how they got the ore out.
Afterward, Larry panned for gold for several hours despite bouts of sleet and snow. Unlike Alaska, Colorado is hard rock mining, not placer gold, so it took patience and persistence to find flakes—which he did!!
Our route next took us through the Lizardhead Pass to Cortez, which sits at the edge of high desert western Colorado and the beautiful Rocky Mountains.
We liked the feel of this town very much and were able to find some glasses for the eclipse! We filled with water in Bluff, Utah, before driving to the Valley of the Gods BLM land to boondock for the eclipse. The rangers at the entrance warned us that the area was almost at camper capacity—and it was!
We drove more than halfway around the loop before Larry spied a likely spot near a group of friendly campers who invited us to join them for the eclipse. They were dedicated astrophotographers who routinely traveled internationally to eclipse sites and had some legitimately expensive equipment.
On Saturday, October 14, we saw the eclipse, which was phenomenal. The eclipse glasses worked well, and I had the NASA site up online to follow it live. Larry put his iPhone on a tripod with a lens from one of the eclipse glasses taped over the camera lens. He used a free SolarSnap app to adjust phone settings and get outstanding photos.
It was an incredible event in an extraordinary setting with some beautiful people.
We all said goodbye on Sunday and drove the rest of the Valley of the Gods loop, which was much longer than I expected.
Although we headed towards Goosenecks State Park, there was a boondocking site I wanted Larry to try and get to that wasn’t in the park but sat on the canyon rim overlooking the canyon, the San Juan River, and the west side of Gooseneck State Park. It wasn’t the most accessible drive, but we are in a capable truck camper with an experienced off-road driver…the view is probably the best we’ve had! We spent two days and nights here, all by ourselves.
Nature’s Eye Candy, indeed.