MichelleOriginally, I had planned on stopping at the Vermilion Cliffs in northwest Arizona and then visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Like many places this year, the North Rim was still closed due to the record amount of snowfall received. I was so disappointed, but the Vermilion Cliffs did NOT disappoint. There are still a few first come first serve campgrounds around and Lees Ferry Campground was one of them. I was able to get a 50% discount with my Senior America the Beautiful pass. This was a nice campground with a beautiful view of the Colorado River rushing through the canyon. At the bottom of the hill was Paria Beach where sand has been deposited making for a shallow wading area to cool off. The color of the water in the shallow area was a light turquoise color while the deep rushing part of the river was a deep indigo blue with whitecaps. What a beautiful combination! This area has an endless variety of things to see and do.
First was a scenic car trip down the highway to the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. The cliffs here are darker red than other areas with all shapes and forms of craggy or smooth rock. In many places there were wildflowers blooming in fields at the base of the cliffs. The most common in bloom was the Globe Mallow which has long foot tall stems with orange flowers all along the stem. Just field after field of orange flowers in bloom. It was a spectacular sight but didn’t make for good pictures since the cliffs are orange, the dirt is orange and the flowers are orange. They just didn’t stand out enough.
There were many areas to pull out and take pictures which I did frequently. So frequently that I was super sore the next day from getting in and out of the car! A number of miles down the road, I came upon an area with a stone house built around a huge boulder including a tall chimney. In addition, there were giant boulders balanced on top of smaller stems making them look like giant mushrooms. There were trails to explore the area, and some Navajo people were selling jewelry and hand crafts. I asked someone if they knew the history of the house, and they indicated it was built by the Mormons. Later I read that was not the case, but it was built by a couple from New York whose car had broken down in that place in 1927. They built the house around the boulder. It was well preserved and open to look inside. You can see it in the pictures that I’ll post. The large balanced boulders were apparently created when the boulders fell from above. The force and weight of the falling boulder compressed the soil underneath. Over time, erosion moved non compacted soil away, leaving the small stems of hard soil holding up the huge boulders on top. Quite fascinating!
The Vermilion Cliffs reach up to 2000 ft high and run 30+ miles long. It was stunning at every turn in the road.
At the junction where you turn off the highway for Lee’s Ferry resides the Historic Navajo Bridge. It is a metal trestle type bridge built and opened in 1929. Prior to the bridge, the only way to cross the canyon was by a small ferry at Historic Lee’s Ferry. Pioneers crossed their wagons on this ferry when migrating to Arizona. Before the Navajo Bridge was finished the ferry sank in an accident. It was never replaced and added an 800 mile drive to get around the canyon. The completion and opening of the Navajo Bridge was quite an event. However, the bridge was a narrow 18 feet, and had a weight limit. As vehicles became larger and heavier (think big trucks), the old bridge was no longer able to handle the traffic. A new vehicular bridge was built to mirror the old Navajo Bridge and was opened in 1995. The original was turned into a pedestrian bridge that you can walk across today high above the Colorado River gorge (467 ft). What an incredible history!
My next adventure was to the Historic Lee’s Ferry and Lee’s Fort on the Colorado River. The river is quite large here, moving swiftly but smoothly. Today this area is the launching point for multi day whitewater trips into the Grand Canyon. Others who’ve come from further upriver use this as their exit point. I walked the riverside trail that passes Lee’s Fort and other adobe brick structures from that time. There were descriptive placards and old machinery scattered around as well. A beautiful walk on a beautiful morning. In this same area resides the Lonely Dell Ranch near the Paria River. This ranch was built and run by the Lee family who created and ran the ferry. Many original buildings and machinery still exist there, as well as a very large orchard. Many different fruit and nut trees are in the orchard, and the public is welcome to pick some when in season. There were multiple trails to walk here and if I had more time, I might have tried the Paria Canyon trail. But I only did a short walk around the ranch.
Last, but not least, I made my way up to Page AZ where I stopped at the very famous Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River. The paved trail going out to the viewpoint is 3/4 of a mile long with shade ramadas every so often for people to stop and cool down (especially on the way back up!). The wildflowers were in full bloom and really set off the red desert sand. From a distance all you can see is a huge crack in the earth where the Colorado River runs through. As you get closer to the viewpoint, there are all types of rock formations that rim the edge. So many tourists! So many different languages! Phenomenal view down onto Horseshoe Bend. I took so many pictures trying to get just the right angle and color. No doubt it would have been stunning during sunrise or sunset. It was so big that I could hardly get the whole thing in one picture. You can walk / climb all over the rocks rimming the edge to get better views and angles which was a lot of fun… as long as you didn’t fall off! There are always those people hanging out over the edge for their epic selfie! Looking down on the river, you could see little colored specs of kayaks paddling along. I would have loved to do that kayak tour, but it was a 15 mile, 6+ hour trip. Wasn’t quite sure I was up for that. Despite the throngs of people, this was definitely a highlight of my time here. There was so much more I could have done in the area, but Zion National Park was calling my name. As John Muir said, ‘The Mountains Are Calling, and I Must Go’!
