The North Rim of Black Canyon offers better views of the narrowest part of the canyon, and the access is down a gravel road. Because of this, it is relatively less visited and so, quieter.
Here we took a trail that brought us to breathtaking views of the steep canyon walls. We saw one area of the rim that had rounded rocks, like you would see at a beach. We learned that the rocks are rounded as tetament to the fact that the river was once at the top of the canyon. These rocks were washed smooth by the Gunnison River itself about 2 million years ago. We were standing 1100 feet above the river. Very cool.
All along the edge of the canyon were Utah juniper trees. These trees can tolerate drought, intense heat or cold, and strong winds. If conditions become poor enough, the tree will isolate a limb, cutting off nutrients to it. That kills part of the tree allowing the rest of it to survive. By doing this, the tree is able to
redistribute nutrients to more critical parts of the tree, and lessen the overall demand to sustain life. That's amazing! We saw some really big and gnarled junipers here.
After the trail, we sat in the quiet shade of a pinyon pine and ate lunch. We then drove the north rim road and took the rim trails.
Dinner was at a local golf club in Cedaredge. We sat outside and ate in the company of about 24 raucous golfers ending their tournament day. It was fun listening to their banter as we watched the deer munch of the landscaping around the building. Wonderful end to the day!
Pictures here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ginkgLi19BPX3NV86
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