Be aware, there are two different visitor centers at Black Canyon National Park. The ranger station at the North Rim, and the main gift shop/info center at the South Rim.

I took the North Vista trail (from the North Rim), about 7 miles round trip. On my way through a thicket full of wildflowers, I remembered that there were probably bears out there (an eventuality I was dreading a bit), but the only thing I heard was a dog suddenly barking (which of course scared the shit out of my twitchy imagination).

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Black Canyon was unbelievable. The sheer steepness of its painted walls, the finger of the Gunnison River down there at the bottom. From the overlook, all you can hear is the faint roar, and the rush of the wind pushing you back from the edge. Exclamation Point (the actual name of the overlook. Ha.) was my favorite place to sit and simply stare out at the canyon, although a bit precarious if you are at all afraid of heights.

The trek up to the trail’s summit was beautiful too for more and differentiated views of the canyon, but I wasn’t sure if it was worth it. Even the South Rim visitor center (which I drove out to to get a silly keychain) had a spectacular and easy to get to view of Gunnison Point.

On my way out, a slight sprinkle of rain gave way to a couple incredibly lucky rainbows, one in the center of the canyon, and a double out across these green and rolling hills I found on the way back to my campsite.

I was in a terribly good mood at getting to see these until I had to screech to a halt on the road to avoid hitting a mama and baby deer that ducked out of the bushes on the side of the road. I cussed at them as they ran back into the brush, and had to rearrange all of my shit in the back of my car thrust forward by the sudden stop from 70 mph.

It got dark quickly after leaving the park a little too late. I had a distinctly not fun drive to my lake campsite. A bug-smeared windshield, full moon glaring cold over cascading black mountains, deer looming on the sides of the winding road unseen. An ordeal trying to find my campsite in the pitch black on the sketchy road. But I suppose the hot food under the bright moon and drifting clouds made up for all the hassle.