After several great days of fishing in a row, I had to drop Scott off at the Montrose airport for his flight back to Texas. On my way back to Lake City, I stopped by Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
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| All visitor centers should have marmots on display |
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| Black Canyon of the Gunnison |
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| The Gunnison River descends 34 feet per mile through the Black Canyon. The Colorado River, by comparison, only drops 7.5 feet per mile through the Grand Canyon. |
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| The Gunnison River churning through the bottom of the canyon, approximately 2,000 feet below. |
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| The Black Canyon is only 40 feet wide in places, meaning little sunlight reaches the base of the canyon walls. In that darkness, the canyon walls can appear black--thus the name "Black Canyon." |
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| Another speck of the river showing at the base of the canyon |
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| Straight down to the river bed |
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| The "Painted Wall" (right side of the river). Towering 2,300 feet above the river below, the Painted Wall is the tallest cliff in Colorado. |
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| A lone juniper tree atop the canyon wall |
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| You can see Uncompahgre in the distance on the left and the Sneffels Range (by Telluride and Ouray) on the right. |
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| The Gunnison River is dammed into a series of lakes, including Blue Mesa Reservoir (pictured) |
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| Headed home |
