"North Rim" Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Yesterday Chuck and I decided to go to the North Rim of the Gunnison Canyon. The drive to the Canyon was just breathtaking. Forest, trees, flowers and towering ridges of petrified ash such as in this picture below. Yeah, it is petrified Ash from Volcanios a million years ago. Personnally, that just boggles my mind. To see history and know there was an earth so different from now is something that my little Pea Brain can not seem to grasp.
















On the North side of the Canyon you can see deeper into the Canyon than the South Side. At least that is what it seemed to me. Can you see that little river down in the center of the picture?? Well, that river is no small potatoes. This is the narrowest part of the Canyon. It is called "The Narrows". It is where lots of Rock Climbers like to go, and lots of hikers. They have to walk down 2 miles of straight down. I am not sure if this is the place, (we did NOT hike down) but one of the rangers who does do a lot of rock climbing was telling us about a chain that has been placed so people can come up. Hand over Hand. You also need a permit before you go hiking down there, and you need a trail map to let the rangers know where your going. I guess this is in case you do not come back, they have to know where to go get your body.

















This is from a lookout on that Rim. This lookout is called "Knealing Camel". If you look at the rocks to the left in the photo, you will see a humped shape. The head and the back of a camel kneeling. It was a pretty place and Chucks camera does such a better job than mine as he has a lens on his. My dital cannot support a lens. So he gets to take these pictures.















Now this picture of the snag is MINE. Can you all see the beauty in this dead tree?? I thought some of these snags would make a beautiful watercolor. Now, I just have to be able to bring it to life. In this area we stopped to look over the rim, but I got so hung up on the snags, I took about 25 pictures of different ones. I took close up, back up, real close up. Just in case my little Pea Brain forgets detail. It does that sometimes.
















This last picture is really interesting in the fact that it shows how the rocks lie. It looks like God is a good packer doesnt it?? He can fit all kinds of rock into all kinds of places. The pink is granite and Quartz's. All along the rocks and paths are mirror shiney pieces of stone that flake off if you peel them in layers. It is very interesting. I thought it would be wonderful to collect a whole basket full and use them for a varity of art projects. Chuck did not like the idea of taking them all over the country with us, or for the fact that it was on National Forest and it might not be a good idea to take rocks from there, but the thought was there. All them art projects just begging to be used. Heck, they would be pretty arranged in concrete and slapped on the side of a house in the shape of a sun so it could catch the light and reflect in the evening dusk. See what a waste it was to leave it all there. And there was TRILLIONS of it. Yeah Yeah, I know, theres trillions of it cause some other husband made there wife leave it there. Ok, enough for now. Tomarrow we are going on a hike to Dillions Peaks. In honor of our friends Dwight and Val Dillion. We need to get close up pictures so they know what there are missing. So in your honor dear friends, we will beat feet for you!! Talk to you all later.