We left Valley of Fire and Nevada behind, headed for the narrow strip of Arizona north of the Grand Canyon. Even though the North Rim was essentially closed for the season, according to our research it was as open as we needed it to be, meaning it was open to drive into and have a hike around to the viewpoints. We didn’t need to pick up anything at the gift shop. But, as we were getting closer to Jacob Lake the snow started to get pretty deep and our stop at the North Rim started to look questionable. Sure enough, the sign at the Jacob Lake junction advised that the road was closed due to snow, and not to travel toward the park, as if the freshly fallen two feet of white stuff wasn’t enough of a clue. Well, there goes that plan. I guess the North Rim goes on the list for next time we happen to be in the neighborhood. With 12 cookies from the Jacob Lake Inn as our consolation we headed east toward the Vermillion Cliffs.
As soon as we dropped off the plateau we left the snow behind in exchange for sun and blue sky. Without the stop at the North Rim we arrived at our camp for the night with plenty of time to take a long walk and explore the area around Lee’s Ferry.
It was interesting to see the old orchard which is still tended and think about life in the early settlement days. Before long the day was coming to a close and we sat back and watched the sun set on the cliffs.
The next morning we were up with the condors, looking over the Colorado. Did you know they all get a number?
It appears 54 has been around since 2004, while X3 is still a kid, hatching in 2018. Both are males.
Leaving the Navajo Bridge we moved on towards Page. It seems the City of Page may have expanded its city limits just so they could collect the fee from people before they had a look at Horseshoe Bend. We paid up and took a walk.
There were quite a few people here, all to get the same picture of the Colorado, just freed from Lake Powell, as it makes its way around the bend. Several apparently either can’t read or don’t mind risking their (or their kids) lives to get just the right selfie.
So I had to look it up, and yes more than one person has fallen over the edge here, and no, none of them finished with a happy ending.
Our relatively short time in the Arizona Strip was coming to an end as we pulled into Page to refuel for our trip across Monument Valley. Since all lands in the Navajo Nation were closed we have another thing to put on the list for next time. We were able to see some of the monuments in the distance, and would have several views of them for the next few days in Utah, but I’m still missing that iconic shot. One day…
We crossed out of Arizona and into southern Utah later that afternoon, passing through Mexican Hat. We chose the nearest camp on our list of potentials, where Comb Wash meets the San Juan River. We would be in San Juan River country for quite some time it turns out.
We had a quiet evening on the river, but not without some excitement. A feral burro visited, we discovered some rock art and we had a history lesson on how the early settlers made their way from Escalante to Bluff. Comb Ridge seemed to be quite the obstacle for wagons.
The sun was setting on another day. Where does the time go?
Are you camped just south of Hyw 191 and Sand Island? I heard there are some petroglyphs there. There are some near the Sand Island CG.
No, we were southwest of there, right at the end of Comb wash. Apparently there are several petroglyphs and even a cliff dwelling nearby that I have only learned about since we returned home! We just happened to be taking an evening walk when we ran across the petroglyphs. Next time we’ll have some other things to search for.
I believe that the smokestacks from that coal burning Navajo power plant came down yesterday, so now there is only one ugly 😉
Sure enough, I just looked up the video. Thanks!