CO: Black Canyon of Gunnison Nat'l Park

Today we headed out to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It's only about an hour from our campground, so the boys were surprised when it was such a short trip.

The canyon is stunning and the dropoffs made my stomach flip more than a few times. Everett was able to use his Every Kid in a Park Pass which allows any kid in 4th grade to enter a National Park for free. E felt pretty primo handing his pass to the ranger and saving us the $30 entry fee.

We had a great chat with Ranger Randy who'd worked for the NPS for 25 years. He gave us tips for our day at Black Canyon & a few ideas for Mesa Verde & Arches. I asked him about a road I saw on the map that takes you to the bottom of the canyon. He explained a few things then mentioned that it's a 16% grade in parts and I literally laughed out loud at the absurdity of anyone making that drive.

We hiked the Oak Leaf Loop. A steep descent but less-so on the return. Holden commented on how surprised he was at how green and full everything was. The south edge of the canyon was like a different ecosystem than the top of the canyon. So lush and shady, it was such a surprise.

The views down to the bottom of the canyon are so impressive, especially as we made our way along the main road and pulled off to catch the view from a variety of overlooks. Nate was most impressed by the 3rd tallest sheer cliff in the lower 48 states, at 2,250ft, and he and E talked about climbing it one day.

Really glad to have made this stop at Black Canyon. We had a great experience with our afternoon visit. Looking forward to the other big sites we'll be visiting in the coming weeks.Read more