Words and Light

The trip really wound down after we visited Black Canyon of the Gunnison. By that, I don’t mean it became any less exciting or beautiful — but rather, I at least began to realize that the spring break and our adventures in the American West were coming to an end.

Sad times.

• DAY 6 (Saturday, March 28)

During our 217-mile drive from Montrose, Colo., to Alamosa, I definitely reviewed all the photos on my memory card and thought a lot about the fun we’d been having. I also took a lot of photos out of the car window as we whizzed past.

One of our first glimpses of the Blue Mesa Reservoir. Obviously, this portion was frozen over, as was the case with much of the western portion of the lake.

The Blue Mesa Reservoir is Colorado’s largest body of water. It’s located within the Curecanti National Recreation Area, and apparently is home to the nation’s largest Kokanee salmon fishery.

It’s pretty massive. We drove past it and over it for quite a long ways.

Grr powerlines.

We soon entered Gunnison, Colo., which is a tiny town. Esten was working on a mystery art photography project that neither Jeff nor I understood — but when he saw what appeared to be an abandoned, broken-down house, Esten turned the car around and stopped.

So we all tumbled out of the car to photograph a crumbling residence on the highway.

The house's mailbox, located on a frontage road alongside the highway.

Then the dog started barking, and we jumped back into the car and continued driving east.

I'm not sure what river or stream this is. But it sure is purdy.

• COMING NEXT: It’s the frickin’ Continental Divide, y’all!