Hytreks

Oh, For Fun

Month: April 2021

  • Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park – Colorado

    Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park – Colorado

    Dates we visited: October 21st-27th
    Where we stayed: Black Canyon / Montrose KOA

    Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a lesser known park on the western side of Colorado. It was our next stop after completing the Utah Mighty 5 with a visit to Canyonlands. We didn’t really know what to expect going into this park, and it ended up ranking near the top of our favorites list! There were very few other visitors in the park, so we were able to take our time and explore the many overlooks available along Rim Drive. Two million years in the making, the Gunnison river carved out this canyon to be exceptionally deep, narrow and ominously scenic.

    Snow

    While staying in Montrose, Colorado we were hit by a massive snowstorm that tested our RV cold weather preparedness. Our pipes briefly froze up and I had to clear the snow off the slide roof with a broom. But, we survived and learned a lot about cold weather camping in the process. Additionally, the storm gave us the opportunity to see the Black Canyon through the lens of multiple seasons. It was quite striking with the fresh Colorado snow.

    Highlights

    The Rim Drive road is the main thoroughfare through the park. Starting at the South entrance station and ending at “High Point” it stops at the visitor center and offers many scenic overlooks. The various stops highlight different vantage points of the precipitous canyon. Some of our favorites were Tomichi Point, Chasm View and Painted Wall View.

    There is also a road on the north rim, but there is no bridge to it inside the park and it’s a 3-4 hour drive out and around to reach it…maybe next time.

    We spent several days at this park, but if you are just passing through, it’s possible to drive the south rim road and see the main attractions in an afternoon. Just make sure the road is open!

    Pine Creek Trail

    While we were in the area, we also took a drive east to hike a portion of the Pine Creek trail in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. This was a fun trail that runs right along the Gunnison river. There used to be a passenger rail line that ran alongside the river and there are a number of informational placards and remnants of the rail system along the trail.

    Even though I grew up in Colorado, and Kristy lived there for years, neither of us had spent much time west of the mountains. The blizzard was definitely a challenge, but it was fun to frolic around in the snow, and we really enjoyed our time in the area. Since the Rim Drive is closed in the winter months, we consider ourselves lucky to have been able to see Black Canyon covered in snow.

    Gallery

    One of the lesser known, and least visited National Parks, Black Canyon of the Gunnison turned out to be one of our favorites. A massive winter storm dumped over a foot of Colorado snow on us, testing our RV cold weather preparedness. We survived, and were rewarded with the experience of seeing the park blanketed in snow.

  • Canyonlands National Park – Utah

    Canyonlands National Park – Utah

    Dates we visited: October 12th – October 18th 2020
    Where we stayed: Green River KOA

    Our fifth and final stop in the Utah Mighty 5 was Canyonlands National Park. Like Arches, this park is near Moab, however it is far less well-known, and much less visited. As it turned out, this was also our favorite of the five Utah National Parks. As its name implies, there are many canyons to be explored here. While it may not be as grand in depth and length as the Grand Canyon, we found this area to be very interesting. As you can see in some of Kristy’s photos, there are canyons within canyon’s which are joined by other canyons. It’s basically canyons all the way down.

    Mesa Arch

    Surprisingly, one of our favorite features of Canyonlands was the Mesa Arch. This arch was a striking example of this unique rock formation, and it was a bit more accessible than some of it’s brethren over in Arches National Park. We took a short hike to this Arch at sunrise, and even though there were a few other folks in the area, everyone was friendly and took turns capturing photos from the prime locations.

    Grand View

    The main road at Canyonlands enters the park on the north side, and offers a scenic drive up Grand View Point Road to it’s ending at Grand View Point.

    The 1.8 mile out and back trail at Grand View Point is spectacular. The trail winds along the rim of the canyon, offering different vantage points of the multiple canyons. It was a little nerve-racking with Owen since there are no guardrails on the trail, but he did a great job sticking close to us and holding hands at the narrow sections.

    If you haven’t heard of Canyonlands National Park, consider yourself informed. There are a number of hiking trails around the park, along with what appeared to be a pretty intense 4-wheel trail down into the canyons. Next time you are in the Moab area of Utah, make sure to take a day or two to explore this park.

    Gallery

    Canyonlands National Park is like the movie Inception, but with canyons. There are canyons inside of canyons and the deeper you go, the more canyons there are. The hikes were breathtaking due to both their beauty and the terror of having a three year old with us that loves to make sudden moves. Nonetheless, we loved this lesser known park that is just southwest of Moab.

  • Arches National Park – Utah

    Arches National Park – Utah

    Dates we visited: October 12th – October 18th 2020
    Where we stayed: Green River KOA

    The fourth of Utah’s “Mighty 5” , we visited Arches National Park after Capitol Reef. Arches is a popular destination and one of the more well-known National Parks. It’s also the closest park to Moab, which is famed for its mountain biking and outdoors activities. We stayed in the city of Green River, which is a few miles to the northeast, but is much less busy, and offers more affordable accommodations if you are willing to drive a bit further to get to the attractions in the area.

    Highlights

    We made a few trips into Arches so that we could check out the various features along the main road that runs the length of the park.

    As you might expect, we stopped to check out several of the arches around the park. Two of our favorite locations were Delicate Arch and Double Arches. Delicate Arch is one of the most photographed arches in the world, and when you think of an arch rock formation, most likely this is the one that your brain conjures up.

    Double Arches is also a popular location, this one is a bit more kid friendly to approach. The two massive arches are situated in a way that allows you to hike up underneath them, and Owen really enjoyed checking them out from below.

    Obviously Arches is known for its, well, arches, but there is more to it than that. We also enjoyed the short hike around Balanced Rock. The massive and precariously sitting boulder will eventually topple off of it’s perch due to erosion. Most likely, that won’t happen for hundreds of years, but we’re still glad we got to see it before then!

    Potash Dinosaur Tracks

    The Potash dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs are not inside Arches national park, but proved to be an exciting destination for us nonetheless. A few miles south of Moab, there is a short but challenging trail that leads to fossilized dinosaur tracks. It’s possible to hike right up to the rock face and actually touch the tracks if you choose. This little trek was especially enjoyable for us because the destination is a little off the beaten path, and we were the only ones on the trail. If you are in the area, and into fossils and petroglyphs, it’s worth taking a few hours to pop over to this location.

    Arches is a popular destination for a reason, the arch rock formations found here defy logic when you see them up close. Due to its proximity to Moab, the park is often busy, and we experienced more lines and crowds than we are used to. Our take is that you should definitely check out Arches at least once in your life, but if you are looking for a more peaceful experience, perhaps check out some of the other less visited Utah parks.

    Gallery

    Arches National Park contains an unbelievable assortment of natural stone arches, but that’s not all we found there. We visited this park a few times over several days and found several hikes and features that the whole family enjoyed.