Day 13: Colorado National Monument

Today we sleep a little longer and first visit the visitor center. There we take the small path along the rims. Here again is the red sandstone, in its place with a height of 2 meters. After half an hour we are back and the children swear once again to protect the national parks. We use the 36 kilometers long Rim Trail and drive through the park. As the name suggests, it goes along the edge. Unfortunately, we see hardly any animals except for many lizards. We hope that changes soon. In Grand Junction we stock up on some groceries and visit a fire station. It's always exciting to exchange experiences. The firefighters work 48 hours here and then have 4 days off. Whether that's better, I can't judge. Unfortunately, we can't buy any T-shirts. We move on and want to swim in a small lake, but swimming is prohibited there. We'll try our luck tomorrow. The landscape is starting to change. It becomes greener and more wooded. About 1.5 hours later we reach the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The 2500 meters high national park is a 600 meters deep canyon, where the Gunnison River has eaten into the granite. Just before the end, we explore the visitor center and look into the impressive gorge. At the narrowest point, it is only 335 meters wide, making it look more powerful.
Now we head to the campground in the park. We notice the altitude, it is quickly getting cooler. According to the weather forecast, it will only be 8°C at night. It's a clear night sky with no clouds. There is a ranger program offered at 9:45 pm, explaining the star constellations. We go there on time and are amazed at how many people are joining us. Several rangers are on site and 5 telescopes are set up. We stand in line and wait. In the meantime, a ranger shows us different stars and tells stories about them. With the help of a laser pointer, we can follow along very well. So we see the Big Dipper, which I also know, the North Star, Scorpio, the Milky Way, and many other constellations. We learn that red light has hardly any light pollution and that white light affects the view. While waiting, we see several shooting stars. The children are very tired, but endure the wait well. It is cool, but with long clothes and a jacket, it's fine.
Then after almost an hour, we are allowed to look through the telescopes and see unique images of individual stars or many stars that are not recognizable like this. Just before 11 pm, we are back at the camper.