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Day 38: Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Tuesday, Oct 11, 2022 

Drove today from Great Sand Dunes to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. It has been fun to drive to a new park each day, spending time exploring and to do some hiking.  Woke up early after sleeping in the car overnight. It was very cold outside, but inside the car it stayed warm, thanks to the "camp mode". The car was also fully charged from the 240V outlet in my RV spot. 

The drive was very scenic, going alongside a river deep in a rocky canyon for some time. The fall colors in Colorado were also in full display. I was enjoying the scenery so much, I didn't even think about turning the music on.

I stopped at the Sherpa Cafe in Gunnison for lunch and enjoyed the Veggie Thupka there.  It was hot, spicy, lots of vegetables and noodles - just the right meal to get ready for an afternoon of hiking.

I reached the visitor center at Black Canyon around 2pm and got some recommendations for hikes in the afternoon. I also got a wilderness permit for the hike down the canyon till the river, next morning.

 
The Black Canyon is very narrow, with steep cliffs that soar about 2000 ft above the river. The rock formations and the different colors of the rocks and the fall colors of the vegetation made it a beautiful sight.

I am surprised it is not as well known and gets as many visitors as the Grand Canyon. I drove along the South Rim road, stopping at almost all the vista points and doing the short hikes needed to get to the lookouts at most of them.

I stayed there till sunset. The short hikes put together added up to over 6 miles and I was exhausted with all this hiking in the bright sun. 


Ended the day with a short drive to my AirBnb in Montrose, stopping on the way at the Tesla supercharger and for some grocery shopping. The AirBnb was an older cottage, close to downtown. I made some dal in my Instant Pot after reaching there. The host was a professional chef, who has been running a business in the Telluride area for 30 + years. Had a great conversation with her over dinner and a glass of wine. 

The raw numbers for the day:

  • 220 miles driving, 17000 steps walking
  • 1 Tesla supercharger stop, 240V charging previous night at RV park
  • 1 state - Colorado

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