Day #11—Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend, Page AZ--Thursday, June 2, 2011

I was awake at 5:30 AM this morning—according to my cell phone, but my watch said 6:30. Forgot that Arizona didn’t recognize daylight savings. What woke me was a small tortoiseshell cat rubbing against the tent. I let her in and she curled up next to me on my Polartec blanket and purred herself and me back to sleep. 

I got up an hour later at the real 6:30, packed up the tent etc., all of which was full of sand, took another shower to get rid of the sand on me, ate my cold pizza and drank a cup of free coffee from the campground store. The wind had died down sometime in the night but picked up again this morning. Had it not been windy I would have stayed in the campground another night. As it was, I decided it was Quality Inn time, and booked a room. 

Yesterday when I’d booked the Antelope Canyon Tour they told me they’d pick me up at the campground at 9:10. And that they did on the dot. Drove me back to the tour office where there were big 4WD trucks equipped with bench seats in the truck bed and canopies. We were loaded in, 14 to a truck, and off we went. When we got to the parking lot outside the canyon, our driver had us put on seatbelts and told us to hang on to our cameras and hats—for good reason. We were tossed about as the driver skidded and bumped for 5 miles down a wide wash to the slot canyon entrance. The sand was at least two feet deep in most places. I guess that if I go away from Arizona with anything, it will be SAND. 

They expertly herd you through this canyon, pointing out places to stand for the best photos, and telling about the canyon and how it is shaped from flash floods. Getting good photos is difficult, however, as the canyon is elbow to elbow people. Most shots therefore are of the canyon walls and do not reflect its narrowness. The floor of the canyon is—you guessed it—sand. Sand is deposited as the water gushes through and also sifts in from the rim. Our guide told us that from above, the canyon looks like a narrow crack in the earth. I had to protect the camera, but could do nothing about the sand that got in my hair and teeth and clothing. The guide also told us that because of the flash flood deposits and drifting sand, the canyon floor has risen about 10 feet since 2002. 

Here's one with some of the people in the group to give you an idea of perspective

This one is my best effort I think; I managed no people and the floor of the canyon

Here the sand is sifting in from the canyon rim and then falling from the rocks below

Wish I could say that this photo was mine but it is from the Internet. There was a sunbeam but there were just too many people to capture it

What we saw when we emerged from the slot canyon

After the crazy bouncing ride back to the parking lot and thence to the campground, I drove 89 south until I came to Horseshoe Bend Canyon. It was about a 3-mile RT hike to the rim through—you guessed it—deep sand. Bah. There were some bare rocks though and they attracted lizards that lay out and sunbathed. All of you will recognize my photo of the canyon, even though I could not get close enough to the edge to get the best effect. I’m a height as well as a heat wienie and lose my sense of balance when up high.

After some Internet research, I think this is a Desert Spiny Lizard

And think this guy is a Blunt-nosed Leopard Lizard

As close to the edge as I could get to give you a photo of Horseshoe Bend in the Colorado River

The left side of Horseshoe Bend; notice that I am standing near the canyon rim. It dropped straight down from here and I considered myself brave to get this close. So glad there were no other people as I can't stand (literally) it when others are close to the edge either.

At three o'Clock, I checked in to the Quality Inn in Page and have been at the computer de-sanding, snacking, enjoying the AC, and updating the journal ever since. The Inn is high on the mesa wall and overlooks the valley and the dam. 

The flowers above were Wild Flax, I think, but the camera did not capture their blue color. This has happened in other pix of pale blue flowers and I am not experienced enough with the camera to correct it.

Tomorrow I’m at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. In the lodge. Will send another report then.😊 

Day #12—Marble Canyon & North Rim of The Grand Canyon--June 3, 2011

After a hearty breakfast, I left Page and headed due south toward Bitter Springs on the Navajo Reservation. Dropped down off the plateau on a very steep winding two-lane road. There was a pullout at the top where all cars and trucks were instructed to stop and check their brakes, etc. Three-quarters of the way down, weathered Navajo women had set up tables of jewelry and white clay & horsehair objects (bears, turtles, etc) in a large, scenic overlook. I liked the cedar seed necklaces, but rarely wear a necklace, so bought nothing. I was still high enough that the cars on Hwy 89A seemed as though viewed from an airplane. 

The road down from the plateau;  photo taken from the place where the Navajo women were selling their wares

Plateau from which and valley into which I am descending; note the rim of the canyon running through it

When I reached the bottom, I took a sharp right onto 89A north and drove through a valley. There was very little traffic or noise. I felt cocooned in the car just drinking in the immensity of the Vermillion Cliffs opposite across the valley several miles. Interestingly enough, I hooked a big horseshoe and eventually was driving along at the bottom of the Vermillion Cliffs, looking across the valley at the edge of the plateau I’d just driven along.

Vermillion Cliffs under which I will be driving as the road curves around

Where the road crossed the Colorado at Marble Canyon, I stopped at the Navajo Bridge & Interpretative Center. The Colorado in this canyon was bright green, even without my sunglasses. It looked as though it had been dyed. Way down below were several zodiacs of people rafting this very calm section of the river. There are actually two bridges, an old one and a new one. You can walk across the old one and it makes a good spot for picture taking.

The green Colorado River

I continued on past the “town” of Vermillion Cliffs (a few widely scattered single-wides), and stopped at the town of Cliff Dwellers—this area is not very original with its town names. Cliff Dwellers was an interesting place. Giant boulders had fallen from the high cliffs above, and ancient peoples had hollowed out under them or built around them to make themselves shelters. I would have been afraid to build here, thinking that another boulder was going to come down at any minute.

Boulders that have tumbled from the cliffs and hillsides

At Jacob’s Lake I turned south on 67 and crossed the Kaibab Plateau, a beautiful, treed, grassy area with elk, mule deer, and ravens browsing on it. There was still snow under the trees in shady places. Oddly, the aspens on the hillsides come out of the ground and then twist up in a j. I wanted to get a photo of this, but the road was designed to discourage stopping—sloped, soft shoulders or no shoulders.

Maybe four cars passed me on the 44-mile drive in to the park. I thought: "Guess I am ahead of the season.” Guess again. When I got to the North Rim, the place was crawling with visitors, the parking lot nearly full and the lodge busy. The lodge sits right on the edge of the canyon, and visitors sat in rough-hewn versions of Adirondack chairs, feet on the stone wall, gazing toward the south rim of the canyon.

After getting settled in the lodge annex—cabin-like rooms in the woods—I walked to the lookout at the end of the Transept Trail and then to Bright Angel Point. Both end in a railed area on a rock hanging out over the canyon, and both required that I curb my acrophobia. Bright Angel is paved and only a quarter mile long, but toward its end it is on a spine of rock and drops off on either side of the trail—on the one side The Transept and on the other Roaring Springs Canyon.

Lodge Annex Porch

Viewpoint at the end of Transept Trail

Looking into Roaring Springs Canyon from Bright Angel Trail

Paved Bright Angel Trail

Flying off the cliffs were White-throated Swifts and Violet-green Swallows, as well as the ever-present ravens. Just after I got out of the car, a raven flew close to my head and gave its raucous hoarse croak. I jumped a foot. In vain I looked for the California Condors that were successfully released on the North Rim. Would have loved to see one of these enormous birds with a 10-foot wingspan. If you do get so lucky, you must report your sighting and the bird’s wing number to a ranger. 

After exploring the lodge, the Visitor’s Center, and walking the Bright Angel, I caught lunch (a salad) at the Lodge Deli and then got myself situated in my room. On the way back to the room I saw and photographed a Kaibab Squirrel, a close relative to the Abert’s Squirrel but with a pure white tail and found only at the North Rim. 

My blurry pic of the Kaibab Squirrel; below one from the Internet that shows the animal more clearly

Kaibab Squirrel (Internet)

I have had a cold since my freezing night in Singletree and find myself breathless at these high altitudes (North Rim is 8,500 feet and I was nearly at 9,600 feet in the Dixie National Forest Singletree Camp- ground). Suddenly I felt nauseous on top of it all. I whined to Jeff for a bit (after four unsuccessful connections where we’d be cut off mid-word), then typed up this journal. I was in bed again by 8 PM. 

Day #13—Good-bye North Rim; Hello Zion National Park, UT--Saturday, June 4, 2011

I slept a full 12 hours and woke feeling somewhat better. Brewed myself a cup of coffee and fixed a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast. Ate breakfast on the rustic bench on the porch hoping to see another Kaibab squirrel in the Ponderosa Pines. 

Aside: It smells wonderfully piney up here, and the volunteer at the deli yesterday told me that the North Rim is the second quietest place on earth. Oddly enough, when repeating this bit of wisdom to two guys at Roosevelt Lookout later in the day, the peaceful quiet was interrupted by the roar of a helicopter, a red sight-seeing helicopter that rose from the canyon right in front of us. We all had to laugh. (Internet photo below).

After breakfast I took several photos in the morning sunlight and called for a porter/cart to help me get my gear back up to the car in the parking lot. The porter turned out to be a handsome guy from . . . Bartlesville, OK. He enjoys his summers working here and said he has to acclimatize to the altitude each summer, too. 

I thought briefly of riding a mule on one of the trails, emphasis on “briefly.” Think I would feel higher and more precarious on a mule than on my own two legs . . . which heights turn to jelly. I know I wouldn’t trust the critter. 

I took the Fuller Canyon Road on my way out, and drove to Vista Ecantada and then to Roosevelt Point overlooking the Nankoweap Canyon and then out to Point Imperial where I took more photos and stopped for a picnic lunch overlooking the immense canyon. It is impossible to show the immensity and depth of the area with photos. 

Roosevelt Point overlooking Nankoweap Canyon

Vista Ecantada

Then I said good-bye to the North Rim, stopping first at the ranger’s station to report that a large Ponderosa Pine had fallen across the Fuller Canyon Road, blocking one lane and part of the other. Much of the area out the Fuller Canyon Road had burned in the past and the ranger said that falling trees and rocks were common occurrences. 

On the way out I saw some yellow and red litter in the center of the road and was shaking my head at the littering tourists when the wrapper flew away. It was a Western Tanager, a yellow bird with a red head and black wings and tail. 

Once past the buffalo and horses, the way into Zion from the East entrance is spectacular. Giant swirled mountains of white rock looking like the tops of soft ice cream cones, huge flat-faced cliffs, some of which sport gnarled Pinyon Pines seemingly growing straight out of the rocky cliffs; dark rock walls weeping water; roadside claret cup, beavertail, and prickly pear cactus; wallflower, birdcage primrose, wild blue flax . . . and two tunnels. The first is short but the second is a little over a mile long. I am not claustrophobic but must admit that I was anxious to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was pitch black inside, no lights other than the car lights, and the sound of the cars was magnified and eerie. This tunnel was built in 1930 I think. No long RV’s or buses are allowed on this road or through the tunnel without a guide car, and traffic is directed alternately through the tunnel so no headlights come toward you. 

East entrance tunnel (Internet)

After leaving the tunnel, one must navigate three very severe s-turns to reach the canyon floor. Once down, I went to the Zion Canyon CG just out of the Park in Springdale behind the Quality Inn. When I’d tried to reserve earlier, the Park campground (Weatherman) was already full, this being the weekend. I reached the Quality Inn CG at 4:30 PM. 

After checking in, and before looking at the campsites, I walked across the street to Zion Adventure Company to book a jeep tour. They had no one signed up for the following day and needed at least two people to run the tour, so I signed on for the 5 o’clock Cliffs and Canyons tour that was to leave in 20 minutes! Yikes!

There were 7 of us in a 1974 Mercedes Unimog 404, once a Swiss troop carrier, now a rugged all-terrain vehicle. One of the group was a young girl who worked for Zion Adventures. She’d invited her sister and mother & father to Zion. All four were from Norman, OK. Small world.

Zion Adventure Co. directly across the road from my campground (Internet photo)

The Unimog waiting for us outside the Zion Adventure Company and below a promotional shot of the Unimog

 Steve and his wife are both from South Africa and Steve was our driver. Steve said something about the Shawangunk Mountains, and I said, “Those mountains are in southern NY near New Paltz. I worked there out of high school at Lake Mohonk Mountain House. How do you know these mountains?” Turned out that Steve and his wife had honeymooned at Mohonk. Two degrees of separation working again. 

It was a fantastic tour because Steve was extremely knowledgeable. We wore headsets so that we could hear him, and he told us about the geography, flora, fauna, human history, and local folklore of the area. He pointed out and named all the wildflowers and trees, told us the history of the Mormons in the area, took us into a beautiful fertile valley and to Grafton Ghost Town where Joseph Smith had built a church and a pretty elaborate house out of adobe, and also a rudimentary log cabin (for the second wife). Grafton, Steve told us, was one of the sites of the filming of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Durango, CO, was another.  

Restored adobe Mormon school in Grafton Ghost Town

Mormon founder of Grafton Alonzo Russell's restored 1862 adobe house. It's nearly out of the photo frame but I wanted to get the formation behind it.

For comparison, this is the structure where Alonzo housed his third wife

Grafton cemetery. Though Grafton is now a ghost town, Mormon family members related to the individuals buried here still keep up this forlorn, dusty cemetery where their relatives are buried. Cedar Pete and Puss were Indians; James Jasper York and his brother John William, 10 both died of diphtheria. Four Fields died the same month, Sarah Ann Field, 37, and her 10-year old daughter dying on the same day, both of diphtheria. Joseph Field, 9 years old, was "drug to death by a horse" four years before them.

We dipped into deep gorges, crossed dramatic cross-bedded formations, and drove up Crybaby Hill, a mountain bike killer, very steep, deeply rutted, and impassable after any rain. Then we drove out to the summit mesa with a 270-degree view. Steve posed for me on the very edge of a rock outcropping. And to think the crazy guy wanted me to stand there for a picture. His standing there made my knees weak.

Steve's pose that I captured tho weak in the knees

We got back at 8:30 pm, so I had to rush to get my tent up before dark, which came earlier than usual because Watchman Mountain was just across the Virgin River from the CG. I was assigned site J38. Drove to it and found it directly in the sun (temps in the canyon are in the 80s). Went back and was reassigned J13—still not good but the lesser of two evils. This is not a quiet or a pretty campground, despite the fact that it sits on the beautiful Virgin River. The tent sites were tiny and J13 backed to a fence. Fully a third of it was under a fruiting mulberry tree, the ground littered with the purple-staining berries and useless for erecting the tent or sitting at the picnic table. 

My ugly, cramped campsite. Can you see my tent?