August 6, 2022
Gunnison
Pitkin to Elk Creek Campground
After microwaving a small pizza at the general store in Piktin, it's a quick mostly descending ride to Gunnison. Especially the second half where I'm using a decent wide highway shoulder.
Two railroads went through Gunnison, so the informative Pioneer Museum, has a lot of information on the railways. Surprisingly the main railroad closed in the 1950s, I was expecting it lasted much longer. Unfortunately west of town, much of this former rail line is now under water due to a couple of dams flooding the Gunnison River.
Having made Gunnison by lunchtime, I have a decision to make, either wait in town all day and stay with a warmshower host or continue on in the afternoon to a campground 17 miles away, where I could hear a ranger talk at night.
Knowing if I get further today, will make it hopefully a shorter day tomorrow, I will leave town after 4pm. Hopefully it will cooler then.
Initially it's a relaxing descending ride on a highway with a decent road shoulder. However as soon as I enter a scenic gorge, a strong headwind picks ups. Which takes away from the experience and makes me just want to get to camp.
Despite the wind I'm still making reasonable time and so I'm soon in a popular basic campground, which has many sites to choose from. A site away from a carpark will do as it looks quieter.
One of the reasons why I don't mind staying at national park camp sites, is that they often at night offer ranger talks on a specific topic. So by 8pm I make my way to the small amphitheatre which has a few rows of semi-circular seating and a large projection screen.
The topic tonight is endangered species. The main focus is on how by putting animals on endangered lists, they have decades later been able to save some species but sadly not all.
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