Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO

​July 28, 2022

It was starting to rain this morning and I headed out of this beautiful camp spot I was the only one camping here at Gateview. How could that be possible that I was the only one here, but I’m not complaining, it was serene. There was some noise overnight, some animal that was underneath the back end of my RV. I certainly was not going to get up to check it out. But it seemed like a little more noise than a mouse would make. So perhaps it was a raccoon, something nocturnal. This campsite was a mini Black Canyon of the Gunnison canyon with clean moving waters. I found a few pretty rocks here as well which of course I have to add to my collection. I would definitely come back here again. 


As I headed out of this very narrow, one lane, dirt road, the rain started coming in.  Fortunately I got out to the main road, also a dirt road, but it was in good shape so I wasn’t worried about getting stuck in the mud. This road takes me out of the canyon up to a flat prairie like environment. However there are pockets of aspen and pine trees and the elevation is approximately 8300 feet. There’s a small residential neighborhood called Blue Mesa, with several lovely mountain homes, and several for sale. My, that is very tempting. One also passes through the Ute mountain Indian reservation. With plenty of signs telling you not to trespass. The road to get to Gateview from route 50 takes an hour and a half.

I am on my way now to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. But I was stuck in a traffic hold up for more than 30 minutes. All of us just stopped our engines and some got out to stretch their legs and others to actually walk their dog, while we sat there wondering… what the heck. There were signs earlier yesterday, warning about traffic delays but this was above and beyond what I expected. However, when the traffic started moving, I could see why there was such a hold up. We drove for miles and miles through a narrow canyon with so many excavation vehicles taking down some of the rock cliffs and redoing the roads. I wonder if They have landslide issues here and needed to address the problems. I saw several crane like machines as well as a monster jackhammer in a size I’ve never seen before. They were massive, and impressive.

There were plenty of declines, and inclines as I got used to downshifting my RV. Finally I got to the gate and inquired about the East Portal campsite. I knew I would fit, as there is a 22 foot restriction. It was still raining on and off and the Ranger said, be careful of falling rock. Yikes!

This drive down to the campsite is approximately 6 miles straight down from the top of this canyon towards the river. It is an under estimate to call them hair pin turns and down shifting was key. They were hairpin and some of them at a 16° angle. But by the time I got there, along with the drive before I got here, I could smell burning tires or burning breaks? Yikes, again! I’m glad I’m here for the duration. As always, my biggest concern is finding a campsite and this is a first come first serve only. There were only 13 sites, five of them potential RV sites, the rest are tent sites, down a small ravine. The rules in a national park are rather stringent. No sleeping in your vehicle, if you are in a designated tent site. So the five sites on the main level would have been the only option for me and thankfully I got one. There were actually three choices, the other two were already taken by tents, and in the end I was the only RV in this entire campsite. The key was to get here early enough, which I did around 1 PM. I got lucky again this time. The only way around these tent sites is to set up a tent, which I do have with me, and then just casually sleep in the RV hoping no one catches me. I’m a little confused, or should I say annoyed, about these rules, as every tent site does have a parking area for a vehicle. 

I enjoyed our walk down to the river which is a beautiful shade of sage green. There is a damn up the road as well as information regarding a tunnel that was built by engineers at the last turn of the century. It is still active  and used to manage water flow. Apparently an engineering accomplishment that rivals the Hoover dam, The Golden Gate Bridge, and the statue of liberty. The rains were still coming down on and off and the weather was very comfortable. 

I was already asleep, and at about 11 PM, I heard some clattering. I knew that sound, and yes, I caught a mouse. I threw him out the window. I got up at about dawn, and as always, for all of us, I’m half asleep trying to focus on my routine to get Jo Jo up on his walk. And yes, there it was, a second mouse, in the trap, on my counter. Oh my freaking ?&@¥! I have no idea how they’re getting in, and I’m so ticked that I didn’t catch one but two mice overnight. I will have to continue this routine and I do have a second trap which now I’m considering putting in two. I have all my food items packed away. I clean everything religiously down to every groove leaving nothing behind. I just am so grossed out that these creeps are getting in. This makes mouse number five since I’ve left on my road trip. Ugh!





























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