A Little to the South

Today started with a 6:30am wakeup at Monarch Spur Campground in Poncha Springs CO. We ate breakfast and made a new friend while updating the blog at the campground picnic area.

We drove on route 50 for a few hours until reaching Black Canyon of the Gunnison

. The elevation dropped slightly and the temperature rose a bit during the trip. It was a beautiful day all around.

After visiting the visitor's center we made a quick lunch (daily PB&J of course) and decided to hike a 2 mile loop to some overlooks of the Black Canyon.

Byron thought I should add in the visual of what it looks like when I view a scenic overlook: linebacker stance with one foot posted against a ledge and a death grip on the fence while viewing some of the really steep ones.

I was hanging on to a post, stone wall or Byron for many of the views until I just couldn't look at any more. Something creepy about leaning over a 2000 foot drop with nothing but a 3-post fence to support you.

At least, I think so. Byron doesn't.

We then drove a 7-mile scenic route around the park and ended the visit with a trip down a steep, 5-mile switchback road to access the Gunnison River. The drive was mostly a 16% grade so it had to be driven in low gear to save the brakes. We got to feel the ice cold water of the river, snap a few pictures and head back up.

We ran into a slight delay on the way back out of the park.

Then we headed west for 5 more hours to Moab, Utah, mostly along route 50 and I-70W. This drive felt realllly long because I was going on 8 hours of driving for the day. Also, there are many exits into the desert which makes me wonder who really lives at these ghosttown places? But most exits said "no services" so we had to make sure we had enough fuel and snacks to last another 80-some odd miles.

Oh, and by the way I got sunburned on the left side of my body only from driving westward all day. But Byron didn't get any sun in the passenger seat. =]

We had an excellent dinner in celebration of Byron's birthday at the Moab Brewery within walking distance of our campsite. It was wonderful food and great atmosphere. (I got the blackened tilapia sandwich with onion rings and Byron picked the Southwest Chipotle Chicken Wrap with fries. We also had couple of Moab Brewery's finest microbrews- for me the Rocket Bike Wit and for Byron the Derailleur Ale). This was some of the best eating we've done in a while, but sorry I forgot to bring the camera.

We will be up early in the morning to visit Arches National Park and tour the nearby Canyonlands. Afterward it's the beginning of the looooong drive to Salt Lake City.

Time for bed, talk to you all tomorrow when we find some more WiFi.

Ciao, Sarah