Our final day in Cañon City was hot and sunny, and Elena was wishing she was on the water again. Fortunately, the following day was a flex day on our plan, so I booked a rafting trip down Browns Canyon on the upper Arkansas River. We did this trip about 16 years ago, and it is one of our favorites. That earlier trip also led to one of our favorite family stories. We had just launched, and were in a calm section of the river as the guide was giving instructions and safety tips. No one had their feet locked in as we were floating very slowly sideways. Suddenly, we hit a submerged rock just below Elena’s bottom, and all I remember was her feet flying up as she rotated over backwards into the river. After we all stopped laughing, I got to demonstrate the "pull back in the boat" technique.
On this trip, the river was flowing very well after some rain the previous day. Our 10-mile trip featured 12 class III rapids with names like toilet bowl, widow maker, and raft eater. We ended up on a lightly loaded small raft with just the guide and two other people. Our guide helped us navigate the obstacles perfectly, and we had a great time. It was a pristine morning - mostly sunny and in the upper 60’s. No photos, just great memories.
After the raft trip we headed to our campground at Elk Creek in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The lake, which is fed by the Gunnison River, was very low. Over our decades of travel, we continue to see the increasing impacts of climate change - from glaciers receding rapidly, very low lakes, increased forest fires, prolonged droughts, flash flooding, and many other changes. We did see an evening rainbow in front of our camper.
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Campground Rainbow |
The next day we arrived at the South Campground at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The black canyon is over 2,200 feet deep and is very vertical. Our camp site was occupied well after checkout with a trailer and no vehicle or people. The camp host moved us a couple of spots down. He said a couple had hiked into the canyon that morning and was reportedly having some trouble. Rangers were going down to assist them. Sure enough, about 4 hours later the couple finally appeared, hooked up their trailer, and drove away.
This canyon is over 2,200 feet deep and very vertical. We enjoyed several stops and hikes along the canyon rim. On our evening walk, Bebop lunged at dozens of chipmunks, rabbits, and even a deer. This is where we spent July 4th. The National Parks really are one of America’s best ideas. There were no artificial celebrations or fireworks - just the beauty and quiet of nature.
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Bebop's favorite photos from Black Canyon of the Gunnison |
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Black Canyon of the Gunnison |
The next morning while walking Bebop I saw four little owls in the trees next to the trail.
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Owls at Black Canyon |
Today we arrived at Telluride, and we have three nights at the downtown city owned campground. It’s currently 55ºF and raining.
- Paul
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