It was a breathtaking drive a few weeks back from Whitewater to Gateway along the Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway en route to the FOND Fall Fest. Vibrant clusters of red, orange, and yellow scrub oak intermingled with lichens of the same shades – a natural graffiti tagged the granite walls of Unaweep Canyon proclaiming the arrival of fall!

I’ve traveled this route quite a few times in the last 3 years and without fail each time I weave through the contours of this mysterious canyon a multitude of questions bubble up and into my consciousness. How this canyon formed? Is that granite!? Who lives out here? Can I turn down that road? Is that a wild herd of Elk!? Can I hunt in these parts? Whoa cool waterfall! Is there public access?

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