Six nights at Curecanti National Recreation Area…
The truck and trailer were filthy after driving on many miles of dirt roads. We found a large, easy to maneuver through car wash in Gunnison and spent about $20 and an hour hosing them down. Let’s see how long they stay clean!
Finally, serenity! It had been three weeks since we were in a peaceful campground. Elk Creek Campground, centered on the 20 mile long Blue Mesa Reservoir, had big sites with a decent view of the pretty lake. Our loop had electric, otherwise, there were no other hook-ups. There was a water filling station and dump station near the campground entrance. The busy marina even had a restaurant that delivered to campsites. Our experience with National Recreation Areas, Lake Powell, Lake Meade, and Curecanti, have all been great.
A beautiful place!
- Hike 1: Dillon Pinnacles
The Dillon Pinnacles are a prominent geologic landmark near Blue Mesa Reservoir. They began to form 30-35 million years ago during intense volcanic activity between the West Elk and San Juan Mountains. Lava, mud flows, and rocks from exploding volcanic cones formed the breccia that resulted in the buried pinnacles. Then, roughly two million years ago, the Gunnison River started carving its deep trough through the relatively soft volcanic material exposing the impressive rock spires. The hike was a very pleasant four miles. The view up towards the pinnacles and down towards the lakes was incredible. Arleen posed next to the skeleton of a big ponderosa that had been struck by lightning. Ironically, there was a thunderstorm brewing to the south so we quickly headed back!
Looking up towards the Dillon Pinnacles Looking down towards Blue Mesa Reservoir
- Hike 2: Curecanti Creek trail down to Morrow Point Reservoir
This great hike starts just above 8,000 feet at Pioneer Point and drops nearly a thousand feet in two miles to Morrow Point Reservoir. It took us one hour to get down and one hour to get up. We also spent an hour at the bottom trying to catch a fish to no avail. We got an early start and didn’t see anyone else the first two hours…it was glorious!
Arleen on a bridge over Curecanti Creek near the bottom Fishing Curecanti Creek where it enters Morrow Point Reservoir
The view both down lake and up lake from Pioneer Point
- Kayak and fish Blue Mesa Reservoir round 1
The plan had been to kayak roughly three miles (six miles round trip) into West Elk Arm and to fish a little each time we rested. Just minutes into our first rest stop, I caught an 18 inch lake trout! So now instead of kayaking to site see, I was kayaking to fish. We still ended up paddling four miles, had no other bites, but really enjoyed the view. The temperature got into the upper 80s and there wasn’t much wind, so Arleen jumped into the cold water. We got off the lake as the winds picked up, but the sun and paddling wiped us out.
- Kayak and fish Blue Mesa Reservoir round 2
Every morning we saw a fleet of boats packed into a small area on the large lake. Later we learned that they were fishing a huge school of kokanee salmon. We were told that if we could get ourselves over the school, we’d catch ‘em! We were also told that the bite slows significantly after 8:00am. Arleen is a slow riser and it’s difficult to get her motivated first thing each morning. However, she loves fresh salmon, especially when it’s significantly less than $14.99 a pound! So with thoughts of getting a few of these tasty fish for our freezer, we rolled out of bed at 4:45am our last morning and hit the lake at sunrise. I’d like to report that we had many salmon dinners to look forward to, but we got skunked. That’s alright, it was slow for everyone. There were about 30 boats in the fleet with 2-4 fishing poles on each one. We saw about five salmon caught in nearly two hours. The fish were there…they just weren’t feeding. As is often the case with our transient lifestyle, now that we know where, when, and how to fish, we will move on.
Rock spires similar to the Dillon Pinnacles Where do you think salmon are? We were part of that fleet!
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison
The national park was about 35 miles from our campground so we made a day trip out of it. First we took the winding, 16% gradient, East Portal Road down to the pretty Gunnison River. Trout fishing can be outstanding in the canyon, but it was already in the mid-80s and sunny by the time we got down there. I had one fish on briefly, but got skunked. I’d love to spend a whole bunch more time exploring and fishing this beautiful stretch of river. Next we drove up to the visitor center where Arleen got her national park passport book stamped and we watched the introductory movie about the area. Then we checked out a few of the incredible overlooks and caught an informative Ranger Program. The Black Canyon is so abrupt, steep, and narrow…it’s amazing! Someday we will have to spend more time there and get to know it better.
The view from Sunset Point The Gunnison River at the bottom of East Portal Road
- Morrow Point Reservoir boat tour
There are no roads into Morrow Point Reservoir, but there are three maintained hiking trails and the National Park Service hosts an informative boat ride. The vertical rock walls are dramatic. The geology, history of the dam, railroad, and early exploration were very interesting. The 232 stairs and 3/4 mile walk to the boat were also good exercise! It left me with thoughts of dragging the kayaks into the spectacular gorge and having that amazing lake nearly all to ourselves! And oh by the way, the Colorado state record rainbow trout, 19 pounds 10 ounces, was caught here in 2003.
Next we head 50 miles south into the San Juan Mountains. Two weeks playing in the scenic Lake City area will be great! More hiking, more kayaking, and more fishing. Shrooming season in the southern Colorado Rockies should also kick into gear…one of our favorite times of year. Life is great!
Evening thunderstorm near Blue Mesa Reservoir
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