Vermillion Cliffs & Lee's Ferry

A few weeks ago our co-hosts got an opportunity to take a week-long rafting trip down the Colorado.  Cyndee and I covered their days for them while they were gone.  It was no big deal, the weather was gorgeous and we had no plans for our days off that week anyway.  But Don and Anne were adamant about wanting to do something for us other than just work some of our days.  They have a townhome in Flagstaff that they rent to vacationers and they insisted that we take any Monday thru Thursday that we wanted.  Okay.

It has been nearly a month since making the arrangements to go and stay in Flag but we finally got all the pieces of the puzzle to fall in place and we are off for three days of sightseeing and shopping.

For the first time since arriving in late July, we are going back out on the road that we came in on.  We saw a lot of places that we would have liked to of stopped at on the way in but we could not either because we were too big with the trailer in tow or there was not enough time.  Now we would be hitting those spots and more.

First stop(s), Vermillion Cliffs.  From our campground it was about an hour-and-a-half to cross the Kaibab Plateau and drop down onto the road that lead to Marble Canyon.  Looking out one side of the car as we drive along it is an uninspiring view of a bare valley floor with bleak-looking structures that the Navajo live in scattered all about.  But looking out the opposite window is altogether different.  I have said it before, photographs just cannot capture the three dimensional breath-taking scene of these grand expanses.  But I shoot pictures anyway.

Having the moon visible in this mid-morning shot was a bonus I had not planned for.

No cropping or enlarging, this is just how it came out of the camera.

With the moon available I probably shot more than I would have otherwise.

The road that goes by these cliffs eventually winds its way into Marble Canyon.  This is where the Navajo Bridge crosses the Colorado river, the only place you can cross the Colorado by car in what is still technically the Grand Canyon.  But just before crossing the bridge there is a turnoff for Lee's Ferry.  Lee's Ferry was the place where river crossings were made from the time that the Mormon's settled the region in the late 1800's until the Navajo Bridge was built in modern times.  Today, Lee's Ferry is the unofficial starting point for anyone putting anything in the water to make the trip down the Colorado.

From the turnoff at the bridge, it is only 5 miles to Lee's Ferry.  Along the way are more interesting sights.  One intriguing oddity are the balanced rocks.  According to the literature, these rocks tumbled from the cliffs above and over time erosion has carved away the soft sediments they landed on.  But each bolder has sheltered the sediment it sits on and protected it from being eroded at the same rate as the surrounding sediment, resulting in these "pedestals".

Scale is difficult to grasp in these dinky little photos.  I had Cyndee go out stand beside one of these bad boys to help put a little perspective on things.  That is her below in front of a house-sized "rock". 

Some formations are worth just stopping and looking at for awhile.

In just a short distance the barren and parched rocks and sand give way to the large and powerful Colorado.

We were able to get on the road that lead to the boat ramp and follow it along the Colorado for a short distance.  Even this far up the river it is running wide, deep and fast.

Major construction was being done on the road between the boat ramp parking lot and the ramp itself.  We could not drive all the way down the river on this day so we circled back up the side of the cliff where the park's administration buildings are and took the view in from there.

We moved up onto a knoll (actually the dump station for the campground) and look how the light/color changed between this picture and the one above it. 

 If you follow the road with your eye in the picture above and take it to the low ridge you will just barely see a gray blob at the bottom of the ridge.  This is where everyone parks their trucks and trailers after putting in.  It was at this point where the road was blocked by construction and kept us from going down and putting our toes in the 48 degree water.  But who am I kidding?  We could have walked out to the water from several places along the road.  I know how cold 48 degree water is.

Right there at the bend in the river, on the left is where all the rafting expeditions start from.

 From our little perch on the dump station knoll we had Lee's Ferry crossing in front of us and the campground behind us.  We enjoyed the moment while snacking on apples and water.

Could not resist one more shot with the moon in view.

We checked out the campground while we were here.  I don't think this is one we will be putting our application in for.  It is a small campground, less than thirty sites, but small is the key word.  Not only are there a small number of sites but the sites themselves are small.  The camp host site had nice utilities and a good view but our trailer would have hung out in the road and I have no idea where we would have parked Big Gulp.  Too bad, would have been a nice job for a month or two.

Lee's Ferry.  Check.  Next, Navajo Bridge.