{"id":3809,"date":"2022-04-05T23:07:28","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T03:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/?p=3809"},"modified":"2022-04-05T23:07:28","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T03:07:28","slug":"an-unexpected-silver-lining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/?p=3809","title":{"rendered":"An Unexpected Silver Lining"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3>Tuesday April 5, 2022<\/h3>\n<div id=\"flxmap-6a295cf68b03a\" class='flxmap-container' data-flxmap='flxmap_6a295cf68b03a' style=\"width:100%;height:400px;\"><\/div>\n<script data-noptimize=\"1\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n(function(w, fn) {\n if (w.addEventListener) w.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", fn, false);\n else if (w.attachEvent) w.attachEvent(\"onload\", fn);\n})(window, function() {\n var f = new FlexibleMap();\n f.setlocale(\"en-US\");\n f.showKML(\"flxmap-6a295cf68b03a\", \"http:\\\/\\\/relativerest.com\\\/TripMapper\\\/WestCoastSpring\\\/04_05_Salida\\\/Route_6.kml\");\n window.flxmap_6a295cf68b03a = f;\n});\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I was beginning to think that my hastily planned trip east was jinxed when I learned that road work, which started only <strong>yesterday<\/strong>, had closed Route 50 and I had to take a 73 mile (117 km) detour today. However, that detour proved to be spectacular and I found myself saying &#8220;OMG&#8221; as I walked up to some overlooks.<\/p>\n<p>Route 50 separates from Interstate 70, becoming its own road again, near Grand Junction and I knew I would be driving across the Rocky Mountains as I journeyed to Salida, CO today. I had driven much of this route and visited its main attraction, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, as part of my Alaska trip in 2017 (blogged <a href=\"\/?p=2070\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>) but today&#8217;s experience was better. Let me tell the story with photos.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3820\" src=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Leaving-I70.jpg\" alt=\"Leaving I70\" width=\"760\" height=\"472\" srcset=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Leaving-I70.jpg 760w, http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Leaving-I70-300x186.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/>This is the point where Route 50 diverges from I70 just outside Grand Junction. A pretty scenic start to the day.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3821\" src=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Route-92.jpg\" alt=\"Route 92\" width=\"760\" height=\"411\" srcset=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Route-92.jpg 760w, http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Route-92-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/>Here I had just started along the detour on route 92 and things are looking promising.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Rockies-Panorama-Full.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3819 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Rockies-Panorama-Small.jpg\" alt=\"Rockies Panorama Small\" width=\"760\" height=\"174\" srcset=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Rockies-Panorama-Small.jpg 760w, http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Rockies-Panorama-Small-300x69.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a>The first overlook I stopped had a great view of the Gunnison River valley. Click for a larger version.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/River-panorama-full.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3817 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/River-panorama-small.jpg\" alt=\"River panorama small\" width=\"760\" height=\"193\" srcset=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/River-panorama-small.jpg 760w, http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/River-panorama-small-300x76.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a>The next overlook offered a panoramic view that included the partially frozen river. Click for a larger version.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3815\" src=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pioneer-Point-1.jpg\" alt=\"Pioneer Point 1\" width=\"760\" height=\"1013\" srcset=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pioneer-Point-1.jpg 760w, http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pioneer-Point-1-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/>This was an OMG moment. The Gunnison river created Black Canyon as described in the <a href=\"\/?p=2070\" target=\"_blank\">linked blog post<\/a> but, in the National Park, the canyon is so deep and narrow that the canyon appears, well, black in photos. This was, in my opinion, more impressive as sunlight reflected from the water.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3814\" src=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pioneer-Point-2.jpg\" alt=\"Pioneer Point 2\" width=\"760\" height=\"566\" srcset=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pioneer-Point-2.jpg 760w, http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Pioneer-Point-2-300x223.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/>A different view of the canyon and river from further along the trail.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3813\" src=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Blue-Mesa-Dam.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Mesa Dam\" width=\"760\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Blue-Mesa-Dam.jpg 760w, http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Blue-Mesa-Dam-300x145.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/>After completing the detour and returning to Route 50 I had planned a walk at Dillon Pinnacles near Blue Mesa Dam but the wind was so strong I literally could not stand still enough to take a photo and was being bombarded by blown dirt and sand so I abandoned that idea. Here is what the scenery was like as seen from the comfort of the car.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3812\" src=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Monarch-Pass.jpg\" alt=\"Monarch Pass\" width=\"760\" height=\"330\" srcset=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Monarch-Pass.jpg 760w, http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Monarch-Pass-300x130.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/>Route 50 passes over Monarch Pass at an elevation of 11,312 feet (3,448 m). The temperature, according to the car, was 34\u00ba F (1\u00ba C) but I did not venture out to confirm.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3811\" src=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Monarch-Pass-2.jpg\" alt=\"Monarch Pass 2\" width=\"760\" height=\"391\" srcset=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Monarch-Pass-2.jpg 760w, http:\/\/relativerest.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Monarch-Pass-2-300x154.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/>The view descending from Monarch Pass.<\/p>\n<p>My journey today shows that the unexpected can lead to the best experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tuesday April 5, 2022 &nbsp; I was beginning to think that my hastily planned trip east was jinxed when I learned that road work, which started only yesterday, had closed Route 50 and I had to take a 73 mile (117 km) detour today. However, that detour proved to be spectacular and I found myself &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/?p=3809\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">An Unexpected Silver Lining<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,91],"tags":[47],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3809"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3809"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3831,"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3809\/revisions\/3831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/relativerest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}