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| Five frame pano from one of the viewpoints in the Colorado National Monument. (click to enlarge) |
We spent the night in Grand Junction. My friend got up early and took his Subaru Outback to the Subaru dealership. He was at the service department door at 7:30 a.m. so as to ascertain what may have gone wrong with the car. It turned out that the problem was, evidently, common with Subaru vehicles. The service writer told him that evidently there was probably a bit of vapor lock in the fuel/emissions system and when that happens, the computer throws a code. When a code is thrown, the anti-lock braking system as well as the cruise control and potentially other features are automatically disabled. A technician reset the vehicle’s computer and that was that. No charge. Thanks to a friendly dealership in Grand Junction Colorado, we weren’t delayed.
From Grand Junction we drove to the Colorado National Monument, another spectacular drive with beautiful scenery and interesting geology and history. (Did I ever mention I have a B.S. degree in geology? One of the reasons these landscapes are of interest to me). The drive through the monument is about 26 miles with many pull offs for viewing and photography. Of course, as we know, it is very difficult to adequately represent gorgeous scenery through a photograph or two. I can highly recommend visiting the, seeming, little known Colorado National Monument.
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| A scene in the Colorado National Monument from the Visitor's Center. (click to enlarge) |
Later in the day we visited another spectacular National Park—The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Personally, I think this canyon is more impressive than the Grand Canyon. Why? The Grand Canyon looks like any other red rock canyon only much, much larger and deeper. The Black Canyon is completely different from anything you’ve seen in this country. This was my third visit and it doesn’t get old. The walls of the Black Canyon, on the north side, are virtually vertical. In some places 2100 feet from top to bottom. Additionally, it is not crowded like the Grand Canyon and you can leisurely drive from viewpoint to viewpoint.
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| The Black Canyon of the Gunnison looking east. (click to enlarge) |
The Gunnison River flows through the canyon's base.
When visiting the Black Canyon, there is a road over which you can drive to the bottom. However, be aware the grade is 16%! Also, there is a way to hike down to the Gunnison River which flows along the canyon's base. I'm happy with seeing it from above.
We stayed for a night in Gunnison, Colorado. In the morning we drove to Buena Vista, Colorado to stop and visit a long time friend of one of my traveling companions. before meeting him we had a light breakfast at a small local restaurant by the name of "Bread and Salt." I think I had the best French toast I've ever had and our server, a wonderful young lady by the name of Meagan, said it was because Challah bread (?) was used. No syrup necessary. Meagan was a delight, funny, friendly and a pleasure to meet. Just another example of how wonderful the people of America are.
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| Meagan from Bread and Salt Restaurant. A delightful young lady. We wish her well. |
We spent a total of five nights in Colorado--Grand Junction, Gunnison and three nights in Fraser where there was a vacation house for us to use free of charge before resuming our eastward journey. We took the opportunity to wash our clothes, repack the car, visit the area and some local friends as well.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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