#50 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, CO

I was so honored to be joined by Mary & George Lineham and two of their sons at Black Canyon of the Gunnison! George works with Fred and they have been so supportive of the campaign. Thanks so much guys for joining us!

The weather was hot and smoky, not two of the best conditions for hiking in. My apologies for the smoky photos, but it couldn't be helped.

To give you an idea of how steep and narrow this canyon is, I'll give you some dimensions that may take the top off your heads. Sometimes you can't even see the bottom unless you can get in the right place on the cliff tops. It's so steep!

At Gunnison Point it is 2,722 feet down to the Gunnison River.

At the Narrows on the river it is only 40 feet wide.

It's almost unbelievable. Shall we take a look?

The Gunnison River has been working on making this exquisite canyon for around 2 million years...give or take a few thousand years. I always get the feeling I'm looking at a movie set when I come here. There's something very surreal about it.

See the small ribbon of the river down there?

One misstep and it's a very quick and

deadly route to the bottom.

Painted Wall

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is a geologic wonder! If you visit with small children, PLEASE keep a very close eye on them. There are many places with no guard rails and it would be deadly if they were to get too close to the edge and slip on the loose granite. I remember having to keep my little daredevil very close when we visited and feeling utter relief when we left and she was alive in the back seat of the car. Needless to say, I didn't enjoy that visit as much as other times.

Time to say goodbye to the Lineham family and get to Grand Junction and Colorado National Monument.