きょかしょうがあれば、かわまで のハイキングがかのうです。- You can hike down to the river

with a permit.

Continuation of my camping trip journal:

Day two and a return to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

We drove all the way to the end of the road and hiked to a pretty viewpoint overlooking the river and both sides of the canyon. Of course we arrived at 9:30, so no early morning photography, but it was still a great sight.

The green water of the river and the narrow strip of vegetation on the canyon bottom contrasts with the rather dark canyon walls. From a series of viewpoints along the park road you get different views into the canyon.

Remarkably, the canyon had not been mapped until 1853 as I have learned. Of course, prior to that it was known to the Ute tribe inhabiting the area.

On this day, the crowds were much larger and it was a little tricky to find parking. It was also getting pretty hot as the day wore on. We slowly made our way back out.

In the next chapter, we will finish our park visit and move on into the mountains and get started with the camping part of the trip.