The two bridges--old one on left

Boat trip heading down river

The beautiful Colorado at Navajo Bridge

This river used to be silty until the Glen Canyon Dam

These huge boulders fall off the top of the cliff, then the softer rock erodes away and this is what's left. Pretty amazing.

Me getting my feet wet in the Colorado at Paria Rapids

Building remains at historic Lee's Ferry

Sat, 7/4/09

Kaibab Camper Village, Jacob Lake, AZ: Another beautiful, sunny morning. Decided to drive back to historic Lee’s Ferry and the Navajo Bridge over the Colorado River. Stopped at the Jacob Lake Inn for breakfast and then we were on our way. Drove down off the Kaibab Plateau on a series of switchbacks through the rocky hills and then into the vast Rock House Valley. This huge, arid valley has the Vermillion Cliffs on one side and Echo Cliffs in the distance on the other. The road we’re on is the only paved road in 2.8 million acres of public land. There are several other impressive canyons along this drive through this valley that would be landmarks themselves—but here they’re just another canyon—dwarfed by the Grand Canyon. Parked at the Navajo Interpretive Center by the bridge. I don’t know who designed this complex, but it blends in so well with the surrounding cliffs. There are two bridges here—the latest one built in the mid-1990s I believe and the other was built in 1928 and closed when the new one was built. We walked out to the middle of the original bridge and took a bunch of pictures of the beautiful, green Colorado River. This river used to be very silty. They used to say that it was too thick to drink and too thin to plow. With the building of Glen Canyon Dam the river is now silt-free. It now has this beautiful blue-green color but it is also cold—45-50 degrees year round. This is because the water is released from the bottom of the dam. Hypothermia is a real issue if you fall in. Leaving there we drove six miles up the road to Lee’s Ferry. This is River Mile 0 and is where most—if not all—river trips start. We explored the historic building ruins and then watched a river raft group setting up for a trip. Parked near where the Paria River flows into the Colorado and walked over to a little beach on the Colorado. Watched a raft trip float by on the Paria Rapids. Looks like fun. They camp on the beaches on the river. No tents—just sleeping bags. On one trip a girl half in her sleeping bag awoke to find a rattle snake coiled up on her chest. I think I’d want to sleep on the boat. It was 99 degrees down there. Drove back to Jacob Lake playing a CD of Sousa marches played by the US Marine Corps Band. Happy Birthday America! Back at our camp site it was 76 degrees. Sat outside for a while reading and listening to the wind soughing through the beautiful green pines against the deep blue sky. Burgers tonight for dinner. After dinner we listened to “A Prairie Home Companion” on NPR. Great show!

Angel Point--Mike walked out there...I couldn't

Grand Canyon Lodge--North Rim

North Rim Overlook

Fri, 7/3/09

Kaibab Camper Village, Jacob Lake, AZ: A bright, sunny morning so we headed to the north rim which is about 44 miles from Jacob Lake. We drove through the Kaibab National Forest which was a beautiful drive through a thick forest of firs, spruce, pine, and quaking aspen. The drive on the north rim is very different from the south rim. Much more diversity. We drove through thickly forested areas and then you’d come to a huge meadow, more forest and then another huge meadow. And it was a lot more hilly. Then we went through Thompson Canyon which wasn’t a canyon with steep cliffs, but with steep, rocky hills on both sides. The north rim is about 1000 ft. higher than the south rim. After going through the park entrance gate, we drove a few more miles to the Grand Canyon Lodge. Built in the l920s, this stone and wood lodge is right on the brink of a rock wall in the canyon and seems to come right out of the rock. It’s very rustic—built with stone and huge log beams. And there are a slew of log cabins around the main lodge with little porches with rocking chairs. Four of the cabins are right on the rim. We walked around the rim a little bit. The rim here isn’t as shear a drop as on the south rim and there’s more vegetation down into the canyon a little bit. And more red rock. We started hiking out to Bright Angel Point. I had to turn around but Mike went out there. He said it was a good thing I turned back. We had lunch in the Lodge dining room with a spectacular view. Sat outside on the patio on the edge of the canyon after lunch and looking through binoculars you could see the Bright Angel Trail, Indian Garden, and all the south rim lodges. Would have hiked around some more but the sky started looking threatening so we headed back to Jacob Lake. Stopped at the old Forest Service Ranger Station cabin adjacent to the RV Park we’re in. It’s one of the first forest service stations ever built. Think it was in the mid-70s at the north rim.

Getting his butt scratched

Thu, 7/2/09

Kaibab Camper Village, Jacob Lake, AZ: Rained during the night and still raining a little this morning,. No signs of clearing off, so we decided to do the laundry today and just kick back. The laundry room in the campground abuts a pretty little pasture belonging to one of the trail ride outfits here. In the pasture were two mares and their foals. While waiting for the laundry we walked over and one of the foals let us pet him. That entertained us for a while. Finished the laundry and then back to our site and put everything away. I finished the book “Over the Edge”—Death in the Canyon,” which Mike is just starting. Hard to put down. Then I went back to my book on Navy Seals in Afghanistan, which I had put aside. The people in the motor home next to us (from Maryland) were leaving today. They’re on a two-week trip from Maryland to the Grand Canyon, Bryce, Zion, Yellowstone, and the Tetons—in two weeks! They’ll barely get a glimpse. Anyway, the motor home wouldn’t start and they had to get a mechanic to put in a new starter. He was able to leave by 4:30 or so. We decided it was a good day to do the pork roast. So we had roast pork, mashed potatoes and a vegetable for dinner. Then we watched “Rio Bravo”, one of the John Wayne movies Mike bought while we were in Monument Valley—supposedly filmed in Monument Valley.

Beautiful pasture next to the campground

Aspens on the North Rim Drive

Wed, 7/1/09

Mather NF Campground, Grand Canyon, South Rim, to Jacob Lake and the North Rim: Left this morning around 10:00. I decided to drive the first leg. Drove back to Desert View and got our last glimpses of the canyon on the east rim road before exiting the park. Drove down off the Coconino Plateau passing the awesome but scary Little Colorado River Gorge. Stopped in Cameron to switch drivers and get something to drink. Now heading up to the North Rim and the temperature is 100. Back through the painted desert, but on Rt. 89 instead of Rt. 160. Much prettier. Crossed the Colorado River on the Navajo Bridge at historic Lee’s Ferry. This is where the river expeditions put in. It’s at river mile 0. The old bridge is still there and you can walk out on it. The river was a beautiful blue-green with steep cliffs on both sides—named Marble Canyon by Powell. Climbing steadily up until we’re on this vast plateau with vermillion cliffs on our right. Eventually left the plateau and climbed into some higher hills forested with old growth pines, junipers and cedars. Finally reached the town of Jacob Lake, well it’s not really a town—just an inn, some cabins, a gas station, and a café. Our campground is only a mile from the inn. It’s a pretty place nestled in a pine forest. We have full hook-ups, but no TV, no Internet, and even the radio in the RV gets no signal. I can only get radio stations on my Super Radio. So glad I bought it. After getting set up we went over to the inn and had an early dinner. A cute little place. Established in the 1920s I believe. Low 70s up here (8000 feet).

Hopi House--South Rim

Tue, 6/30/09

Mather NF Campground, Grand Canyon, South Rim: This morning we hit the grocery store and after coming back and putting everything away we headed to Tusayan and found an Internet café and downloaded e-mail and I updated the blog. That took about an hour and a half and then we went back to our site and sat outside reading for a while. The day was pretty cloudy from time to time but pretty warm—mid 80s. Decided to take the shuttle bus from the campground to the visitor center at Mather Point. These shuttle buses are a great deal. They take you everywhere on the rim and you can get on and off as you please. They run every 15 minutes and they’re free. Can’t beat that. We would have driven over but they have the parking lot closed due to construction. The bus worked just great. After checking out the visitor center we took the bus back and relaxed at our campsite. Had salads for dinner. Tomorrow we leave for the North Rim. We’re staying at Jacob Lake.

Fireplace inside Hermit's Rest

One of four Condors soaring in the thermals

Mule train on the Bright Angel Trail

Looks like a supply train

You can actually hear the rapids from this spot on the South Rim

Hermit's Rest

Another building by architect Mary Colter

Mon, 6/29/09

Mather NF Campground, Grand Canyon, South Rim: This morning we drove back over to Bright Angel Lodge to park and catch the shuttle out to Hermit’s Rest. This part of the South Rim is not accessible by car—you have to take the shuttle. They make 9 stops before ending at Hermit’s Rest. While waiting for the shuttle we saw three Condors soaring above a side canyon. These birds are huge--having something like a 9 foot wing span. We were lucky to see them. Our first stop was just on the other side of this side canyon. Got some amazing views of Bright Angel Trail and saw a mule train making its way up the trail. This trail is the easiest of the inner canyon trails. The worst part (for me) would be the initial series of switch-backs getting off the cliff. But the trail is wide and you could hug the cliff wall. Doesn’t sound like fun though. We stopped at most of the overlooks heading out but saved some for the return trip. You could get off and on wherever—they ran every 15 minutes or so. And you could walk the rim trail which went all the way to Hermit’s Rest. It’s called Hermit’s Rest because a Canadian prospector by the name of Boucher lived just over the rim by falling spring for 20 years. The building there at Hermit’s Rest was also designed by architect Mary Colter. Back on the shuttle stopping one more time with an amazing view of the Colorado. In fact, we spotted a boat trip down there. Seven boats. The river looked muddier than usual—probably because of the rain a couple of days ago. Back to where we got on the shuttle and then we walked over to Bright Angel Lodge and had a late lunch in the Arizona Room. We both had brisket with apple cider barbeque sauce. After lunch we walked back to historic Kolb Studio on the rim trail. This studio/home of Emory Kolb—photographer/river runner—was built right on the brink. It is now a library/book store and has great views of the Bright Angel Creek area and Indian Garden. It’s now about 3:30 and 89 degrees on the rim and looking down (way down) the Bright Angel Trail were some hikers trudging up the trail. It had to be well over 100 degrees down there with very little shade. That’s how hikers get in trouble. Hope they had lots of water. Walked back to our parking spot and drove back to our camp site. Very pleasant outside under the awning. Sat outside reading/relaxing for a while.

Colorado River as seen from South Rim

Sun, 6/28/09

Mather NF Campground, Grand Canyon, South Rim: This morning after taking our showers we filled the fresh water tank. While we were home this spring, Mike bought a small transfer pump that we use to pump water from our six gallon containers into the tank. It works really well and eliminates the need to lift this very heavy container. I don’t know what six gallons of water weighs, but it’s a lot. We drove out of the park back to Tusayan and had lunch at the café there. Then we went over to see the National Geographic IMAX movie on the Grand Canyon. It was really great. They had a replica of the wooden boats that the Powell crew used when they ran the river in 1869. The one-armed Powel was a Civil War veteran who had his arm amputated during the war. I think they did it in 79 days. Back then though the water was warm in the summer. Now, since the building of the Glen Canyon dam, the water in the river is around 45. Very cold! After the movie we drove back to our camp site and sat around relaxing and reading. Saw a moose. In the evening we turned on NPR and listened to “Prairie Home Companion”, broadcasting from Tanglewood in Massachusetts. Very entertaining two-hour show. Mike built a fire later and we sat around enjoying that. A beautiful, sunny day again today. It hit 88 today.