Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a National Park in western Colorado. Several canyons of the American West are longer and some are deeper, but none combines the depth, sheerness, narrowness, and darkness of the Black Canyon.  It was a pretty long day for us.  We left the campground in Utah at 10:00 am, but didn't get back to the campground till 9:45 pm.  Even though it was a long day it was well worth it.  The drive to the canyon involved going over a mountain pass that was dusted in snow. The trees were very colorful as fall is here and the mountains in the background were all snow covered.  We also saw several mountain lakes along the drive.  The canyon itself was amazing.  The Gunnison River runs through the canyon.  The Black Canyon is so named because its steepness makes it difficult for sunlight to penetrate into its depths. As a result, the canyon is often shrouded in shadow, causing the rocky walls to appear black.  We took a lot of pictures during the trip.  Below is a sample.