Unaweep Canyon &
Uncompahgre Plateau
Scenic Drive
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In June we wanted to take a Jeep drive over the Alpine Loop in the San Juan mountains, however, due to the wildfires burning in Durango, Arizona and Utah it was too smokey to the south.
So, we decided to head north and take the scenic drive along Hwy 141 through the Unaweep Canyon, then back over the Uncompahgre Plateau through the National Forest.
The green line on the map shows our route. It took us through spectacular canyon lands!
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We turned SW off Hwy 50 at White Water.
Our first stop in Unaweep Canyon was at Thimble Rock, which is 2 billion year old granite.
In front of Thimble Rock are the remains of the Drigg's Mansion built in the early 1900's.
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Here is a shot of the "Unaweep Seep" just before the tiny town of Gateway. Natural springs cause water to seep through the rock and cause a marshy riparian ecosystem. It was amazing to see such lush vegetation and hear all the birds after driving through dry canyonlands!
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This little town hasn't changed much over the decades.
Here is the filling station / motel / cafe / grocery store!
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As we headed south out of Gateway and drove along the Dolores River, we came to John Brown Canyon Road.
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Here is what you can see of the Hanging Flume remains today, as you look down over the edge of the canyon.
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We left the canyons and Dolores River as we drove up to Nucla, north of Naturita. From there we took the Delta-Nucla road (Forest Service Road 503) through the Uncompahgre National Forest.
Halfway to Columbine Pass (8,500 ft) we drove through the aftermath of the Bucktail wildfire. It was quite ominous to see the charred remains of this 3500 acre forest fire from May 2002!
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We stopped for a break at Columbine Pass on the top of the plateau.
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