Lots+Lots=Tons

Lots of rolling, snaky rim-hugging roads plus lots of beautiful scenery ranging from oooh to WOW equaled a ton of satisfaction for us as we rode a 164 mile circle along both sides of the Gunnison River.  Starting at our rv park by Old Stevens we rode US50 west then north and west on SH 92.  We picked up  US50 for a hot, uninteresting ride south on between Delta and Montrose.  In  Montrose 50 turned east.  As it headed back toward the Gunnison, the air became cooler and the scenery became interesting again.

The best part of the trip was the rim ride along the Black Canyon Of The Gunnison.  The old rock faces of the Canyon and the surrounding mesas tell of the volcanic eruptions that formed the West Elk Mountains to the north and the San Juan Mountains to the south.  The Gunnison River cut through this soft volcanic matter, to the tough ancient rock that is exposed in Black Canyon.

The dam that forms Blue Mesa.

Across the River is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.  In the middle of the pic is part of the steep winding road to the river’s edge.  We’ll be riding down there soon.

Lots of twisty roads hugging the canyon rim made riding lots of fun.

View Morrow Point Reservoir

Northern San Juan Mountains.  We explored part of the southern end of this range when we were in New Mexico.

Lots of views like this prompted us to stop at most of the numerous viewpoints.  Our ride lasted about 6 hours (including an hour for lunch in Hotchkiss).  1/2 that time we spent dawdling along the Black Canyon Rim.

After we turned north and left the river, we went down 3000 feet and through several settled and cultivated valleys.  The interesting scenery returned when we left Montrose and turned back toward the river.

Exiting the rocky canyon, we retraced our route of this morning along Blue Mesa Reservoir.

We arrived home only a few minutes ahead of the rain.

After riding the Gunnison on both sides we decided we decided that if we were to take this trip again, we would ride the rim road to where 92 turns north then turn around retrace the ride east.

More fun coming up.

Louise and Duane