Black Canyon of the GunnisonThe Grand Appetizer Colorado became the 38th state to join the United States on August 1, 1876. The capital city is Denver. The highest point is Mt. Elbert at 14,433 feet.

Road Trip 2013 - Day 7 - June 17 - Colorado (Previous road trip 2013 posts: Indiana Dunes, De Immigrant, Amana Colonies, Des Moines, Madison County Roads, Bridges of Madison County, White Pole Road, Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Golden Spike Tower & Union Pacific's Bailey Rail Yard, Loveland Pass, The Resting Day at Powderhorn)

After all of the cross country miles driving to western Colorado, and a one day rest, this was one of several local trips from our base in Mesa, Colorado. And we started with a location we definitely did not want to miss, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. You might wonder why? This might even be the first time you are hearing about the place, let alone it being a national park. It is one of the newer additions to the national park system, having been added only in 1999. That was not the first time it was recognized as a place worth preserving though. All the way back in 1933 it was designated as a National Monument.

The Black Canyon of the GunnisonThe River and Spires So why this place to begin our exploration of the region? Several reasons. Our past experience had been that many of the less famous places offer the better experience for visitors. Beautiful places with no crowds. Beautiful places with a more intimate feel that one can better see, experience, feel. Before the trip, we saw some photographs from the canyon and the views were impressive. And finally, if you have kids and they happened to see the movie Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron, you will have one more reason to visit this place. Cimarron is just south of the Black Canyon and the story takes place in and around the canyon. Of course, the filmmakers took generous liberties and if you've been around the American West a bit you will recognize all but the Black Canyon.

Back in the car and on the road we were for a relatively short drive (once you go for a cross country road trip, anything short of that becomes a relatively short drive). After a short stop for a bite at TacoTime in Delta, Colorado, and a walk around a car dealership specializing in vintage cars, we made it to the canyon. We did not make it there early in the morning for the golden hour but the views were spectacular and we lucked out and had some wonderful clouds rolling over the canyon adding drama up above. From the first viewpoint, there was no shortage of amazement and I assure you, I could spend weeks around that place!

Black Canyon of the GunnisonThe Light and Shadows

Once we satisfied our initial curiosity and I had a few frames on the SD cards we made our way to the visitor center. Their movie about the canyon, the Gunnison River, the history of people living around the canyon, the efforts to break the water out of the canyon to irrigate areas around, and the building of a narrow gauge railroad right along the river was very interesting and I definitely recommend it if you find yourself at this park.

Having been educated we headed back out to see the rest of the canyon. Not only does the canyon provide a beautiful variety of views in its different locations, the clouds we had on this day kept giving each place different and ever changing looks. You could actually spend all day without moving, watching, and clicking the shutter and not end up with two identical photographs.

As I was enjoying the view depicted in the black and white photograph on the right the cloud layer got heavier and most of the canyon disappeared in a deep shadow with a completely flat light making me wonder whether nature was against me capturing any more moments. As I was staring into the canyon I noticed a patch of light far in the distance and to the right and it was traveling fast right towards me. It got exciting! I had the camera ready on the tripod, framed my photo, took a test shot, and waited. And wow, did that spotlight move fast. The light moved into my frame in seconds and then lit up the rocks right in front of me. Click, click, click, three shutter clicks later, the light was gone to the left of my frame and the whole canyon was back in darkness. While photographed in color, I converted this particular image to black and white since it simplified it to what it felt like, what it was all about - the spotlight on the rocks.

The Gunnison RiverDeep in the Black Canyon We have enjoyed many other excellent views of the canyon, and also some distant peaks across the canyon. We've enjoyed grand wide and distant views, more intimate views of rocks and their textures right around us and under our feet, and impressive views deep into the canyon. In several places we caught sight of the river snaking through the canyon clearly providing enough water for life deep in the canyon. The photo here on the left offers one such view. Beautiful textures of the rugged rocks of the gorge with a surprising greenery along the river banks.

Slowly, viewpoint by viewpoint, we made our way through the canyon enjoying several short hikes but taking it easy. Unlike what you might expect we did not stay for a sunset. We still had to make it back to our base and be ready for a week of other expeditions, and there was still another mandatory stop - Cimarron, the home of Spirit.

Instead of the parting sunset shot, I set up for an intensely backlit westward photograph of the river disappearing in the distance of the canyon. I tried my best to take advantage of the strong but diffused backlight the cloud cover provided, trying different combinations of filters to get the most out of the scene. Looking directly against the light the polarizer was no good and I did not feel like messing around with HDR much later on on the computer. The split ND filters came handy and I was able to capture a somewhat moody goodbye photo from a location I enjoyed a lot and would like to return to at some point in the future.

Black Canyon of the GunnisonThe Brewing Sunset

Brewing Sunset over the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Have fun finding your new viewpoints and cheers to road tripping!

Sources:

• Colorado on 50states.com
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on nps.gov
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park on Wikipedia
• Historic Cimarron on nps.gov

Equipment Used:

Nikon D600, Nikon 24-85mm Nikkor Lens, Graduated Cokin ND Filter (ND4), Cokin P Holder with a 72 mm Adapter, Induro Carbon 8x Travel Tripod (CT-014) and Manfrotto Ball Head (496RC2), Think Tank Speed Demon Waist Pack,  Petzl Zipka Plus 2 Headlamp (always in the bag just in case), Jackery Bar 5600mAh (usually o hand to keep the smart phone going), SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards, Nikon Capture NX2.

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