Although the Gateway Auto Museum is an indoor attraction, I thought it would be fitting to add to my site. The trip to Gateway is a beautiful drive, there are plenty of places and things to see on the way there. The Museum is a little over an hours drive South from Grand Junction, CO. To get there you take highway 50 out of Grand Junction then turn south onto highway 141 which is the Unaweep-Tabaguache Scenic and Historic Byway.
As you pass through the winding
canyons be sure to keep an eye out on the side of the road for bighorn sheep. We were fortunate enough to spot a herd of them just off of the road. Throughout the drive there are numerous pull offs that describe various rock formations and events that took place in these spectacular canyons. A little over halfway to Gateway on the left you will see the remains of Driggs Mansion which was built somewhere between 1914 and 1918. The walls of the building are sandstone cut from Mayflower Canyon and rising high in the sky behind the mansion is Thimble Rock.
The resort has a couple nice restaurants you can eat at as well as a grocery store and of course lodging. There are a multitude of things you can enjoy if you plan on visiting Gateway such as horseback riding, offroad tours, hiking and rock climbing to name a few.
Click on this link to see a list of their activities.
If you like cars or just want to get away and have some fun this would be a great place to go.
Morrow Point Dam / Silver Jack Reservoir - Cimmaron
The Cimmaron area has some of the most beautiful scenery in Colorado. There is really not a certain time of the warmer months I would suggest taking this drive because it is very scenic all year around. I would not recommend taking the drive in the early spring or winter because the snow can get extremely deep over Owl Creek Pass and they might even close the road during the winter months.
We opted to take the drive in the fall in order to enjoy the fall colors of the trees.
If you decide to take the drive over Cimmaron and Owl Creek Pass, you need to stop and check out Morrow Point Dam. Morrow Point Dam is located about 20 miles east of Montrose. The dam is a 468 foot double curvature concrete dam and was built in the late 1960's and it part of the Colorado River Storage Project located towards the beginning of the
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.Once we finished exploring the area of the dam, we headed out towards Silver Jack Reservoir and Owl Creek Pass. The drive is about a 60 mile loop from Montrose with an elevation of about 10,000 feet. Plan on spending a full day exploring the dam area and driving over Owl Creek Pass, there is a lot of things to see and places to explore.
About 20 miles after exiting highway 50 from montrose you'll come to Silver Jack Reservoir. Silver Jack offers some nice fishing opportunities as well as camping. There is a fee for camping that is $14 and higher for large groups. As of 6/5/08 the campground is still closed. You can check the status and get more information on the campground by clicking the following link -
Silver Jack Camping. Silver Jack Reservoir has one of the coolest over flow devices I have seen on a dam. Rather than the water running over a spillway it dumps into a giant "Teacup" looking tube and comes out at the bottom of the dam. As you can see in the picture below the water level was extremely low. It is almost eerie when the water is high enough to drain in the tube.
Once we finished exploring Silver Jack Reservoir we headed over Owl Creek Pass. There are a couple prominent land marks such as Courthouse Mountain and Chimney Rock which are both pretty amazing. Be sure to keep an eye out for wild life on your way over, there are a lot of deer in this area and some bear as well.
The road eventually drops down and connects to highway 550 at Ridgeway State park. From here you can turn right and head back to Montrose.
Crystal Dam (East Portal) / Black Canyon
Crystal Dam is located about 13 miles east of Montrose Colorado. To get there travel east out of Montrose on US-50 for approximately 7.6 miles until you come to the turn off for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Turn left onto CO-347 and travel about 12 miles to the top of the mountain. Once you get to the top there is a pay booth where you have to pay to go any farther unfortunately. The current fee is a steep $15 per vehicle but the pass is good for seven days. Take a right immediately after the booth and follow the road the rest of the way to the dam. The road down to the dam is very, very steep and twisty, motor homes, busses and camp trailers are not recommended and might not even be allowed. Be sure your brakes are in good working order and use the lowest gear.
Crystal Dam is the third and final dam in the Colorado River Storage project. The dam is 323 feet high, slightly smaller than Morrow Point dam. The dam is a double curvature thin arch that utilizes a spillway that actually flows over the top of the dam. Unfortunately the dam does not spill over all the time, as of the end of May of 2008 it was spilling over, prior to that the last time it did was in 2001. You can call the
Bureau of Reclamation to find out if it is spilling over or not prior to your visit.
Once you climb your way out of the canyon, you can continue up the road and visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The Black Canyon was formed by Gunnison River slowly wearing down the rock. The canyon is known best for its narrow opening, steep
walls and a depth that might make you dizzy. Be sure to stop at the South Rim Visitor Center for more information along with some exhibits and a small movie, and of course a little gift shop.
There are quite a few things to do in and around the Black Canyon which include camping, hiking, rock climbing and fishing the "Gold Medal" waters of the Gunnison. Click the following link to access the Black Canyon website to get all the information.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
This page was last modified on Thursday, June 26, 2008 03:58 PM