Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

South Rim

Located west of Gunnison, CO, and the Blue Mesa Reservoir, the Black Canyon got its name from the fact that it is so deep and narrow that very little sunlight reaches the bottom in some parts of the canyon.  Geologist Wallace Hanson stated “…no other canyon in North America combines the depth, narrowness, sheerness and somber countenance of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.”  In one two-mile stretch, the river drops 480 feet, and it drops an average of 96 feet per mile within the park.  It’s impossible to capture the real feeling of the canyon in photos, but we tried.

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Durango-Silverton Railroad

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) runs on 45 miles of narrow gauge track that was originally constructed in 1881 and 1882.  It was built by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad to carry silver and gold ore mined in the San Juan Mountains, and has been in continuous use since 1882.  Some of the rolling stock dates back to the 1880s.  The coal-fired locomotives in operation on the day of our trip were built in 1925 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia.  The track starts at an elevation of 6,512 feet at the station in Durango, follows the Animas River on its path through the San Juan National Forest and ends at an elevation of 9,398 feet in Silverton.

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Mesa Verde National Park

A World Heritage Cultural Site

A brief history of Mesa Verde:  Spanish explorers named the mesas southeast of Cortez, CO, Mesa Verde, meaning “green table”.  Archeological evidence shows that hunter/gatherers visited the area as early as AD 1.  The people known as Basketmakers began settling in Mesa Verde between 550 and 600 when they built pithouses clustered in small villages and raised crops as their primary source of food.

In about 750, as their population increased, the Anasazi (“Ancient Ones”) began to build houses above ground using poles and mud.  Pithouses evolved into kivas (underground ceremonial chambers) and were incorporated in new construction. By the year 1000, building techniques advanced to utilize sturdy stone construction.  The population continued to grow and may have reached several thousand between 1100 and 1300.

For reasons that are not understood, construction began in nearby cliff alcoves around 1200 and the population began to relocate.  The size of these dwellings ranged from one-room houses to villages of more than 150 rooms.  The cliff dwellings were occupied for less than 100 years and deserted by about 1300.  There are several theories to explain the exodus but the actual cause is not known.  The Anasazi moved south into what is now New Mexico and Arizona to join distant relatives already living there.

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