Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park...

Is gorge-ious. 

Geologists claim the steady assault of river water vs. rock created this wonder. 

Personally, I believe it's the handy work of ancient aliens engaged in an early Civilian Conservation Corp water project. 

Whatever the reality is, this preserved area is a sleeping beauty where wildlife seems to outnumber Homo Sapiens. 

The BC of the G is a park for everyone. 

It features hard yakka hikes that cleave the gorge's gut down to the source of all that erosion. I still have throbbing knees from one of those so-called trails.

For the less masochistic there's gentle strolls along the scrubby oaks and the rim. You can even drive the scenic road and occasionally peer over the sides. 

Fun Factoid: In 1901 Abraham Lincoln Fellows (great name) and William Torrence floated 33 miles of the river in 9 days-on a rubber mattress! 

Enjoy the photos. Please visit this way cool place before it gets on humanity's radar. It's worth the detour.

PS. I didn't fall (literally) for the old "take one step back to make the photo better" line from another wilderness photographer. 

Cheers from rainy Colorado,

Jeff

I'm still hoping for a weather break in order to backpack the Maroon Bells Wilderness. 

Meet Barley...

 My traveling companion and shelter when I'm not hiking a trail, on a bicycle or in a bar. 

The photos are old. Isn't  this "Throw Back Monday"? Barley has a new look too. He had his popped topped in 2013. Now, even a six-footer can stand tall in Barley. 

Check out all those amenities! 

Plenty of space in the Great Room to frolic with Fido, my trusty, loyal and obedient pug.

Full court basketball court.

Master bedroom equipped with state of the art lighting.

Kitchen area capable of anything from scrabbled eggs to roasts. Drop in for a fresh cuppa coffee or a cold IPA when you are in the neighborhood. I never run dry, even in Utah. 

Barley is truly a Van about Town!

Jonathan and I are now waiting out a Noah's Ark forecast before we venture into the Maroon Bells Wilderness for a multi day hike. 

Later on, we'll risk it all in Montrose, Colorado en route to the Horsefly Brewery for Happy Hour.

No one said retirement was easy.

Cheers! 

Jeff

The Weminuche Wilderness

Is three-quarters the size of Rhode Island. (There are Walmarts bigger than Rhode Island too).

 Nevertheless, this massive piece of WOW is Colorado's largest protected area. There's 500 miles of trails, numerous Continental Divide crossings and an average altitude of 10,000 lung gasping feet. It's home to elk, weasels, neighborly mountain goats, wild flowers and way too many deer flies. (I killed thousands but still they kept coming). 

Jonathan and I covered over 50 miles of it, and never made a dent in seeing the big picture. We went over the Great Divide so many times we weren't sure if we were drinking water splashing toward the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. (They both tasted the same too BTW.) 

I left there feeling mentally and physically refreshed despite the thumping on my knees from hauling sustenance, shelter and one book for six days.

Thank You President Lyndon Baines Johnson for signing the Wilderness Act of 1964 into law. (Another invention besides jazz, baseball and National Parks we Americans can be proud of).

 

To sum up its gist, here it is: 

“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

Ain't that great?

So...go out there and explore LBJ's legacy. 

Jeff