When it was part of Mexico, it was called el Río Grande del Norte - the Great River of the North - and a great river it was. So much water is being removed now for irrigation that it’s hardly a muddy creek now.
Yes, it rises in Colorado, on the other side of Slumgullion Pass from Gunnison. You DO remember Slumgullion Pass, right? Here’s an excerpt of that post:
The Cannibal of Colorado
I had reached the pinnacle of my Big Birthday Road Trip: I had seen the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Now, my sweetheart had traveled to Gunnison to join me. From here on the trip was about what she wanted to see and do, not so much about me. Lake City, Colorado is the site of Colorado’s infamous excursion into the dark side of the culinary arts - whe…
On this day, I drove up Cebolla Creek, where we had come down the year before, connected with SR 149 just before the pass, and then descended down toward Creede.
Cebolla Creek is plenty pleasant:
There are ranches there:
Near the top, not far from the pond where we’d seen the moose the year before, I espied some evening-primroses. I’m a sucker for those flowers. I have lots of them in my portfolio, and I still have to photograph them every time I see them.
I hit State Route 149 and went over the top of Slumgullion, after which I was on road that I hadn’t been on before. Down the other side, the highway meets the Rio Grande as it flows out of the San Juan mountains. I continued on down to Creede, which is situated up Willow Creek about a mile or two from the Rio Grande:
I SO wanted to explore that awesome canyon. I endeavored to come back to Creede someday and spend some serious time there. I never made it back; this shot is all I have.
Not far below Creede, the river passes through Wagon Wheel Gap, a picturesque place with a bit of history:
It is so picturesque that even the old Denver & Rio Grande railroad bridge is pretty:
It is my understanding that the old railroad depot there has also been restored.
I followed the river down to Del Norte, where I had to turn north onto US Hwy 285 to return to Gunnison. The sun was getting low, and it was getting late. Just north of Del Norte, I saw this:
It looked so weird, so strange, so… alien. It fascinated me. I wanted to explore…
I would learn, years later, that these badlands are the east edge of the San Juan volcanic field. Colorado’s San Juan Mountains were formed 35 to 30 million years ago, long after the Rockies had stopped rising. The San Juans are mostly volcanic ash and tuff, and tuff erodes into strange, grotesque shapes.
But I didn’t know that at the time. All I knew was that I wanted to go back someday.
East edge of the San Juan Volcanic Field looks pretty amazing. I don't recall the name of the place, but somewhere in Eastern Oregon, there is these crazy old volcanic formations that, during twilight, becomes the eerie landscape of some alien world. Figures seem to loom large overhead, whilst in the distance other formations appear as monsters frozen in time. What a place to see. I want to go back when I can stay a while. What a nice story you tell.