The Mountain stages

We got booted from the church in Montrose early on Sunday morning due to their services beginning at 830 am. The day was to be challenging with two tough climbs was we traveled through part of Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park. Both climbs took us over 9000 feet, and all of us were definitely pretty short of breath at the summits. As we descended, the support team picked a great spot for lunch overlooking a lake. I tried to keep warm by sticking my finger in the car's power outlet, and you can see the results below.

We cruised the rest of the day after lunch and ended up in Gunnison. We stayed at Western State College which I had never heard of but was pretty cool. They have a skatepark in the quad, and allowed us to eat at their all you can eat cafeteria. After my third plate of pizza and tacos, we gave a presentation of poverty and healthcare. Below is the school mascot, I think and a picture of the skatepark.


The trip from Gunnison to Salida included the climb that we had all been anticipating. We would be climbing several thousand feet over 9 miles to 11312 feet and passing over Monarch pass which is the continental divide. This was not only the highest elevation that we would reach but also represented our movement toward the Atlantic Ocean. The climb was continuous with no breaks, but in the end was very rewarding.



We descended quickly into Salida and made an immediate stop for Sonic. I chose to get an Oreo Sonic Blast which was delicious.

I was a little disappointed that I did not get the tater tots.