We Paddle the Colorado!

While parusing a local "tourist magazine" we noticed an add for a non-whitewater raft trip on the Colorado River from the Glen Canyon Dam to Lee's Ferry. This triggered the idea for a paddle on the same 15 miles. One phone call, a credit card number and we were set for Saturday, yippie! http://www.canyon-country.com/lakepowell/gcdam.htm

http://www.nps.gov/glca/historyculture/leesferryhistory.htm

The drive to Lee's Ferry was punctuated by stops at the local Navajo jewelery stands, and some rather amazing toadstools!

We reached the Ferry at 11AM to meet the "shuttle" to bring us back to the Dam & launch. To our surprise, the tour rafts pulled up and were huge! First thing you know, we're loading the kayaks and our gear onto one of these big boys, and are ready to shove off. As we were heading upriver, a group was leaving to get the thrillride downstream.

Captain Brad was great! What can I say...a true born & bred river runner who has spent his entire working career in the Canyon. The one hour ride up the Canyon was a real treat, as Brad did an excellent job of explaining the features & history of the area.


About 12:20 we arrive just short of the Dam, unload, wave bye to Brad, have a nice picnic lunch on the beach in front of the Dam, and embark!

Looking back after rounding the first bend, I knew this would be a great experience. The height, sheerness and saturated colors of the Canyon walls were already beckoning for many more trips here in the future.

Having hiked Grand Canyon (50+ miles below here) where the water is "too thin to plow & too thick to drink), we were surprised by the clarity of the blue-green water here. Brad explained that it was due to the flow coming from the bottom of the almost 600ft high Dam. The water coming out is crystal clear and 42 degrees year-round. The River has been stocked with rainbow trout, fresh water shrimp and the necessary plants to support a thriving fishery. While on the River we saw a good number of folks catching fish, some as large as 21 inches!

One of the suggested stops was an archeological site that is not on the typical tourist stops (thanks, Brad!). A short hike up the dry creekbed followed by a climb of a couple hundred feet gave us a wonderful view of the River. After a bit of searching, we found the petroglyphs. They were unique being carved much deeper than any others we have seen. The warm sun felt good, and was starting to open a few cactus blooms.

Brad had explained that a there had been an attempt to mine gold here in the late 1800's. Just below and down from the Anasazi markings, we found the claim signature.

It's hard to capture or explain the sheer beauty of this experience. Coming up on "Horseshoe Bend" we realize how this part of the Canyon is so different from downstream.

Perhaps this shot taken Sunday from the overlook looking down on the very waters we paddled the day before will help....

We were told there were no rapids on this stretch (Kim gets a bit apprehensive about whitewater), but we managed to find a spot that gave us a little push!

Rounding the final bend around 6PM I couldn't help but think how blessed we are to have Nature's wonderful creations out here for us to enjoy! What a paddle, what a day!

Oh, and in case you're wondering how I got the shots overlooking Horseshoe Bend....her it is, and yes it took my breath away!

Antelope Canyon

Kim insisted we go pay the Navajo folks for this "guided excursion" into Antelope, a very narrow slot about 130 feet to the "surface". The 4wd Suburban did a good job of taking us up the wash channel and to the somewhat ho-hum entrance.

Once inside, one could easily understand how this would be an awesome place to wander alone, but no such chance...this is a full-fledged, camera totin' tourist experience. So, I'll spare you the details and just let you enjoy some of the terrific views from an extremely interesting place!

Our guide, a Navajo Native herself told of the mysterious powers of the spirits that dwell in the Canyon. Somewhat later, as Kim & I sperated from the main group, I watched in amazement as a lightbeam entered from above......as she vanished!

I began to see and hear the cry of the "lone wolf spirit"....

I caught up to the tour group to explain the vanishing, only to find she had been "beamed" down near the end of the tour!

Interestingly, the spirits altered the walls of the canyon to outline her return....

Trailer Repaired (well temporarily)

We are trying to get caught up while living here in another "cave" at Farmington RV, getting our bent axles replaced...the new axles area in!
tires & wheels tomorrow...yippie!



The new axles were put on, but we realized that the real problem is the design of the trailer. There is not enough clearance between the axle and the trailer frame....so on bumps the axle bottoms out, probably what bent them. The factory as agreed to fix the problem, so we will stop there (Oregon) on our way up to Alaska....more on this later...

Monument Valley - Four Corners - Natural Bridges

We decided to head over to MV to kill a couple of days while waiting for the trailer work. The RV Campground there has some "cabins" (really small trailers made to look like a cabin), right outside the Park.

We took the scenic route over and decided we just both had to be in 4 states at the same time??? It took a few minutes of contortions & gyrations, but we did it!

A little further down the road was another interesting landmark, Mexican Hat... seated in an awesome array of nature's textures & colors, this huge balance rock seems to defy gravity, perched atop that tiny spindle!

We arrived at Monument Valley late afternoon. Since the trailer was being repaired, we rented a small cabin at MV RV Park, it was nice & quiet. We got over to the Valley overlook about 4PM and were treated to this fabulous backdrop for an arrival photo!

I haven't figured out yet exactly what camera one needs to represent the incredible landscapes out here. I guess it just really doen't exist! We took a drive to the back side of the park on the Loop Road. There are great views at every turn in the road. And the scale of things, wow!

We returned to the entry overlook just as the late afternoon sun lit the entire valley before us!

The next morning, we headed North for Natural Bridges. As we drove back up Hwy 64, one couldn't help but notice the subtle colors along the San Juan River off to our right....

Kim noticed an interesting road through the Mesa Pass and some BLM lands, so we decided to "go for it".....hey it's another adventure. The entry sign gave fair warning to the tight steep serpentine path ahead. The road up was quite a trip!


I guess those reaching the top considered it "a conquering" as evidenced by this sign plastered with decals & stickers of all flavors from everywhere...
But, the views back towards Monument Valley from the top of the Mesa made it all worthwhile!

As we traveled further North, we came across a sign that almost beckoned abandoning our plans, and heading off to see another canyon...

But, we persisted on our original mission, and shortly beforenoon we arrive at Natural Bridges Monument, where no less than three huge arching monoliths have been carved out of the canyon, by the river (of tens of thousands of years ago) cut short it's path. This "cutting short" and bypassing large "loops" in the river is evident in the last photo below. For more info on the history & geology of this area go to http://bcn.boulder.co.us/environment/cacv/cacvgeol.htm

After a nice picnic lunch, we started on the 9-mile Loop Road and arrived at the first overlook...

We found it a bit hard to spot the bridge at first, but focusing our attention far below, moving to the side a bit and wahlah, it appeared!

It's almost 200' high and over 200' wide.... our original plan was to drive the Loop, but after seeing this from high above, we decided we just had to make the 6+ mile hike down the Canyon, and under the first two bridges, then back up (a few miles away) and hike back to the truck across the mesa (top). I wouldn't say it was on a scale with Mt. Katahdan or Washington, but from the very beginning, it was fun and challenging. The Anasazi style ladders and ancient ruins on the trail added interest to the descent.

I must say, after reaching the floor, that one misses the awe & wonder of these marvelous creations when viewing from hundreds of feet above....



Halfway down the canyon towards the second bridge, we noticed some ruins high above and to the right. Scaling the 300-plus wall to get to them proved to be a bit more of a challenge than desired. After getting way out on this steep ledge, and loosing my jacket, which slide quickly & straight down about 100feet , I knew I had to abandon this route. It wasn't until I turned around and started back towards Kim that I really felt the sheerness of the rock face. (yep, pretty stupid!)

After searching behind us a bit, we discovered this vertical "tree ladder". It looked very, very old, making us wonder if the Indians may have placed it there a few hundred years ago? Kim found the stretch to the second step almost impossible considering I taking the photo from a 2ft wide ledge below her, with a 200ft drop straight down!

But the climb was worth it. The ruins sheltered and tucked away high up here were in excellent shape. (many others have been "raided" and destroyed by vandalist over the years).

The roof was still intact on one dwelling, holding the camera inside with the strobe on revealed a kiva-like firering in the center.

Back on the canyon floor we found several pieces of petrified wood, including this large hunk. Kim found a unique rock triangle just past an area where ice remained along the shaded side of the canyon floor.

The second bridge wasn't quite as large as the first, but was much thicker, bolder, truly a different appearence...

The climb back out of the canyon was not near as dramatic as the descent, or the climbs to the ruins in between. I guess what really made it all worth it was this spectacular view of the "horseshoe" when I turned around and looked back behind.
Three more miles and one more climb at the end of the mesa (see Kim way up there), and a long day brought us back to the truck where we drove to the third (& final!) bridge. Smaller than the rest, we were happy to see this one "from the above".

The next day, we decided to head to Farmington via Bluff, Utah, a quaint little town on the San Juan River. Our treat for yesterday's hard work was the fish taco special at this one-of-a-kind "resturant" at an abandoned service station.