Mimi and Maumau, Martine and DD Return! Or the Denver-Denver Loop of the 4 Friends (page 13 of 17)

J18: September 19. Fruita-Montrose Black Canyon Motel- Fruita, 2 people with breakfast: 86 €. Microwave, refrigerator. Comfortable motel not far from Black Canyon of Gunnison and restaurants. Good breakfast. Lots of bikers but the motel is very quiet. The day before, we had chosen the West entrance, closer to Fruita, which allowed us to shorten the visit when the sky clouded over and also to avoid the setting sun in our faces. Rim Rock Drive Colorado National Monument This morning, we’re heading to Grand Junction and will take the East entrance for the same reason. We leave Fruita at 8 a.m. to drive Rim Rock Drive again and do two short hikes near the visitor center. Less than 30 minutes later, we tackle the switchbacks and tunnels that take us to the plateau. With the sun and blue sky, the colors are even more beautiful than the day before, and it’s 21°C despite the 2,300 m altitude. Like the day before, we stop at every viewpoint. There are very few people, and we really enjoy this tranquility. Cold Shiver Point Red Canyon OVL Since it’s still early, some sections are still in the shade. Ute Canyon OVL Fallen Rock OVL Upper Ute Canyon We feel like we’ve been transported to Egypt. With a sarcophagus. And two standing mummies. Highland View Artists Point In some spots, we’re right on the edge of the cliff but always safe. Our imagination runs wild! Again, Egypt and its characters.

Coke Ovens OVL

Named that way because of their resemblance to coal ovens, these formations are all rounded, unlike most of the park’s much more tapered ones!! They also look like beehives.

Monument Canyon View Aren’t these rocks beautiful? Grand View

Independence Monument

What luck with this beautiful weather!!! We can enjoy all these wonders in the best possible conditions!! Off to the Visitor Center for the two short hikes!! We’ll get a little closer to the hoodoos and other monoliths while stretching our legs!!!

Hello

You missed the caves and the red and white cliffs (whipped cream / strawberry milkshake) on the east entrance side of the park

Martine, you're amazing! Photos, inspiring captions... 👍 Yves

Hi there! 🙂 Jean Luc: Oh no!! I hadn’t heard about that!! Could you tell us near which viewpoint they are, please? That could help others. Yves: If you keep up the compliments, my head’s gonna get as big as a melon and my ankles will swell. Have a great day! Martine 🙂

Hello, congratulations on this lovely travel journal—you had a wonderful trip!

I really enjoyed reading it. Keep up the great work

Hi Martine! I’m wondering about the car—is a 4x4 necessary? Thanks for your reply!

Hello

It all depends on what you want to do and where you want to go.

Good evening! 🙂

David: thanks, that’s really kind of you. MM: As our friend Gilles rightly says, you’ll need a 4x4 depending on where you’re going. This time, we wouldn’t have needed one—neither at Fantasy Canyon, nor on Phantom Road, or near Pilot Butte. Besides, the car was never put into 4x4 mode. That said, depending on where you drive, it’s better to have a high-clearance vehicle to avoid scraping the front on the ground. For us, since there were four of us, we chose a comfortable ride (lots of driving) with a big trunk to fit all our suitcases.

Rim Rock Drive next. Short hikes around the Visitor Center. We leave the car at the Visitor Center and off we go for two short and easy hikes that start there: the Canyon Rim Trail (1.6 km) that leads to Book Cliffs View, following the canyon, then we’ll continue with the 800 m loop of the Window Rock Trail. These short and easy walks let us enjoy exceptional views of the park’s rock formations. The path starts with a gentle descent, then follows the edge of the cliff. A few little encounters (though not enough, truth be told).



We continue through the junipers. And the pines.

We even met Santa, who was taking a little vacation before the December rush. Even though the cliffs are high

and the drop below us is very deep, since every viewpoint is protected by barriers, we feel completely safe. From the Book Cliffs Area, all the rock formations are visible!!! Benches are installed, and there’s shade for those who want to take a break. We move on!! It’s our lucky day!! A little old man is there with his flutes!!! We chat a bit, and suddenly, he picks one up and starts playing. It’s magical!!! This place, these colors, these Native American melodies!!! The hairs on our arms stand up, we get goosebumps—it’s so beautiful!!! We’re completely enchanted. Once again, we’re in the right place at the right time!!

Encounters like these are priceless!!! That’s why you have to travel!!! Still feeling the emotion, we continue our path to Window Rock.

From there, we have a stunning view of Monument Canyon, Pipe Organ, Praying Hands, Independence Monument, and my favorite, Kissing Couple, which you can easily recognize in this photo. We’ve reached the end. We finish the loop and end up back on the road. Here again, some red and ochre rocks stand out beautifully against the blue sky.

We leave the road, make our way back to the Visitor Center through the vegetation, and pick up the car to head back to Fruita, where we’ll buy some delicious pastries made by young girls dressed like in *Little House on the Prairie*. We spent 3 hours doing the Rim Rock Drive and the hikes. After lunch, we’re off to Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

Hi Martine,

We even met Santa Claus, who was taking a little vacation before the December rush

I guess you have to see it drawn in the rock? I don’t see it, sniff... I didn’t see the Lion King at Antelope Canyon either, sniffle... I think I’ve lost my inner child... Boo-hoo... (<-- sobbing uncontrollably). And it’s even worse because at AC I saw Trump’s face! Help, I’m possessed!!! 😏

I guess you have to see it carved into the rock?

Indeed, Pascal...😉

Great job!!! Even if Pascal was being difficult, he’s gotta see it now

Hey Yves, I just realized I have no imagination Well, given the place, we could also see a biker with a big beard and a headband. Anyway, thanks for this little image transformation! ... But tell me, aren’t you secretly working, with all those touch-ups, for that scammer Patrice (Jdakota) who floods his travel journal with photos that are all more beautiful than the last? I thought so too—this kind of lighting wasn’t exactly believable. 😉

Good evening! 🙂

Pascal: I prefer the idea of Santa Claus to the biker, but good point—he does look like some American bikers too!! Guillaume: You’ve seen a bit of Yves’ work!!! Hats off!!! Yves: Thanks for those details!! Some people are really good with computers, unlike others 😕

Have a great evening! Martine 🙂

That kind of encounter—with this gentleman and his flutes—is truly one of the magical sides of traveling. You just have to seize the moment; so many people would walk right past without even noticing...😮

Thanks to Gilles and you, Martine! Ever since I started following your journey, well, I really want to do and see the same wonders! 😊 I remembered you had taken a 4x4! For us, we’ll need comfort because of my spinal fractures (a fall in Chile, and luckily we had a comfortable car), so a raised vehicle! A 4x4 isn’t always comfortable, or it’s much more expensive for two! I’m keeping an eye on the budget, of course, and taking notes as I go! 😉 See you soon

Black Canyon of the Gunnison. It’s about 93 miles from Fruita. We’ll only visit the South Rim, taking the 7.5-mile South Rim Drive. When we arrive, a few clouds are around, and we’ll play with the sunlight again for photos. This time, I’ve given up trying to name the overlooks (OVL) because most cliffs are visible from different viewpoints, and I couldn’t figure out the exact spots. I’d rather skip it than write nonsense. Unlike many Rim Roads, the overlooks here are accessible via trails (some are wheelchair-friendly), but you’ll need to walk varying distances—from a few hundred feet to over half a mile—to reach the canyon’s edge. Some suspended balconies are built on narrow rock spurs with sheer drops on either side. Even though there’s no real danger, it might bother those who are afraid of heights. This canyon is different from all the others we’ve seen so far because of the dark color of its cliffs—that’s why it’s named the Black Canyon. The narrowness blocks even more light, making it seem even darker. It can reach depths of 2,600 feet, and in some places, only 1,000 feet separate the two rims. In some spots, it feels wild, imposing, even oppressive, with jagged landscapes of sharp peaks and bottomless chasms carved by the roaring river below. In others, the vertical walls are smooth and flat, with beautiful lighter veins running through them. The canyon is quite wide at the start of the hike.



The viewpoints

The views of the canyon keep coming, and the canyon narrows.





The North Rim isn’t far away. Still these viewpoints in the middle of the rocks. The striations start to appear, and the cliffs soften. We’re almost at the end, and Painted Wall is here!!! We’re at 8,200 feet, admiring this incredible viewpoint with the river far below. There it is, stunning, with its 2,260-foot cliffs of gneiss and schist veined with pegmatite. The rock’s cracks were filled with magma mixed with water and minerals (quartz, mica, garnet), giving us those white and pinkish streaks against the dark gray. Our imaginations run wild!! A snake, a cheetah, a dragon, a tree!! Everyone’s having fun naming the lighter shapes. We keep going to the end of the road!! The canyon widens, and the rims pull apart!!! The verticality disappears, and the cliffs gently slope down.

We even spot a cute little bird.

No one wants to follow me to the last viewpoint, so I go alone. The landscapes soften.

It’s 5:20 PM!! The sky is completely gray. After the others’ flat-out refusal, I reluctantly cancel (a bit begrudgingly) the Warner Nature Trail that was on the agenda. We head back the same way. I don’t even suggest the 7-mile East Portal Road that would’ve taken us right down to the Gunnison River—they’re really ready to relax at the hotel!!! Fair enough, we’ve been keeping a pretty steady pace for 18 days, and the fatigue is starting to show. Alright, let’s go!! Hit the road, chickadee!!! Off to Montrose.

Continuing on. A quick stop in Montrose at the Muséum of the Mountain West, where a few authentic Wild Wild West buildings from the 1880s to 1940s are grouped together like a small town. Since it’s closed, we settle for photographing them from the road. Too bad—I would’ve loved to explore them up close.







When we arrive at the motel, we’re surprised to find a crowd of super-friendly bikers chatting over beers or polishing their motorcycles in the parking lot—no doubt after a long ride! What a job after all those kilometers! A good meal at Jimmer’s steak BBQ with an excellent little margarita (140 dollars). Lying in bed, I replay our day in my head, as I do every night. Only 120 km separate Colorado National Monument from Black Canyon, and what a breathtaking difference! After the warmth of the red rocks we loved at the first, the second seemed so dark! Maybe it’s the fatigue—all those little hikes to the viewpoints! Or our friends’ nerves on the overlooks! Either way, this was the spot that got the fewest “wow”s from us. Haha! The little devil in me has cooked up a surprise for tomorrow’s driver! The guys know that in this road trip, I’ve planned for us to take Skyline Drive—a road perched on a ridge 300 meters above the ground—but they haven’t tried to find out where or when! Fate will decide who drives. And the winner is: our friend Maumau! More laughs ahead!!!

Hello Martine, Wow, those are gorgeous photos of Colorado NM! We missed so many spots there (though to be fair, we didn’t have that great weather). What beautiful light! Great catch with Santa Claus and the mummies—it’s a place I’d love to go back to. I can confirm Black Canyon of Gunnison: be careful if you’re afraid of heights (like me). Even with the safety barriers, it’s scary, and the vertigo kept me from going too close to the edge most of the time. And if I remember correctly, not all viewpoints have barriers. It’s true that this place is very different from others, but I think it’s worth a detour if you’re in the area. Thanks, Martine. I’m waiting for the next day’s surprise and your friends’ reactions ;)

Black Canyon of Gunnison. It’s about 150 km from Fruita. We’ll only visit the South Rim by taking the 12 km of the South Rim Drive. When we arrive, a few clouds are there, and we’ll play with the sun again for the photos. I’ve given up trying to name the overlooks (OVL) this time because most of the cliffs are visible from different viewpoints, and I couldn’t figure out the sites, so I’d rather not say anything than write nonsense. Unlike many Rim Roads, the overlooks here are accessible via trails (some are wheelchair-accessible), but you have to walk more or less far (from a hundred meters to over 1 km) to reach the canyon’s edge. Some suspended balconies are set up on narrow rocky spurs with sheer drops on either side. Even though there’s no danger, it might bother people who are afraid of heights. This canyon is different from all the ones we’ve seen so far because of the dark color of its cliffs, and that’s actually why it has this name. Especially since its narrowness blocks even more light, making it seem even darker. Its depth can reach 800 m, and in some places, only 300 m separate the two rims. In some spots, it can feel wild, impressive, even oppressive, with its jagged landscapes of sharp peaks and bottomless chasms carved by the roaring river at the bottom, while elsewhere, its vertical walls are smooth and flat, with beautiful lighter veins. The canyon is quite wide at the start of the hike.



The viewpoints

The views of the canyon follow one after another, and the canyon narrows.





The North Rim isn’t far away. Still these viewpoints in the middle of the rocks. The striations start to appear, and the cliffs soften. We’re almost at the end, and Painted Wall is there!!! We’re at 2,500 m altitude, admiring this exceptional viewpoint with the river way down below. There it is, stunning, with its 690 m of gneiss and schist cliffs veined with pegmatite. The rock’s cracks were filled with magma mixed with water and minerals (quartz, mica, garnet), giving us these white and pinkish streaks on the dark gray. The imagination runs wild!! A snake, a cheetah, a dragon, a tree!! Everyone has fun naming the light-colored shapes. We continue to the end of the road!! The canyon widens, and the rims pull apart!!! The verticality disappears, and the cliffs gently slope down.

We even spot a cute little bird.

No one wants to follow me to the last viewpoint, so I go alone. The landscapes soften.

It’s 5:20 PM!! The sky is completely gray. Given the others’ flat-out refusal, I reluctantly cancel (a bit grudgingly) the Warner Nature Trail that was on the agenda. We head back the same way. I don’t even suggest the 11 km East Portal Road trail that would’ve taken us right by the Gunnison River—they really just want to relax at the hotel!!! It’s been 18 days of a pretty intense pace, and the fatigue is starting to show. Alright, that’s fine!! Hit the road, chickadee!!! Off to Montrose.

No, it’s called Black Canyon because in many places, sunlight doesn’t reach the bottom of the canyon—some vertical drop-offs are over 1,000 meters.