southwest road trip - day 6 - grand canyon

On our way from Lake Powell to our next destination (Bryce Canyon) we made a fleeting visit to The Grand Canyon (north rim). The north rim offers quite a different experience to the more-often-visited south rim. It sits atop the Kaibab Plateau about 1,000ft higher than the south rim, resulting in cooler temperatures, higher rainfall and a lush forest environment, very different to the desert-like landscape on the south rim. Unfortunately, the weather was wet the day we arrived, so our first view point, near the Grand Canyon Lodge was shrouded with low cloud and no canyon in sight!

In the hope of catching a few glimpses of the canyon we decided to hike out to Bright Angel Point about 3/4 mile (1.2km) from the lodge. The Grand Canyon is 275 miles long and is essentially made up of a series of canyons and river tributaries of the Colorado River. During our walk the sun did come out and we were able to see across Roaring Springs Canyon (above), although the view of the main canyon was still shrouded in cloud.

On the advice of a local ranger, we then took the winding scenic drive to Point Imperial at the north eastern end of the park. Point Imperial, the highest point on the North Rim at 8,803 feet (2683m), overlooks the Painted Desert and the eastern end of Grand Canyon.

Here, between the drifting cloud banks we were able to see the impressive size and colors of the canyon.

If you look closely you can see the moisture drops clinging to the fresh spring growth on the pine trees that lined the trail to Point Imperial.

Our next stop was Walhalla Overlook. At this point it started to rain again and was quite cold. As you can see from our expressions we were wondering if we weren't a little mad for wanting to see the views this badly!

A closer look at the canyon from Walhalla Overlook. Because of the height of the canyon and its steep walls, there are few places where you can actually see the Colorado River from the canyon rim. This is one of those few places. A bend of the Colorado River (and even some white water rapids) can be seen in the middle of this picture. (The river in the foreground is just a tributary).

The view looking east from Walhalla Point. From here it is about 8 miles (as the crow flies) across the canyon to the south rim. It is 215 miles by road!

Our next stop was Angels Window Overlook at Cape Royal. As you can see, the clouds were closing in again, but it was neat to see the sun lighting up the south rim. In the center right of the picture a ledge of rock juts out from the main ridgeline and forms a natural bridge. The hole is known as "Angels Window". It is so hard to get a sense of the size of the canyon in a photo, but if you click on the picture to enlarge it, you might just be able to make out that there are people standing out on this ledge.

Our final stop was at Cape Royal. This shot was taken from the ledge over Angels Window. I like the mood in this picture as the overhanging clouds make dark silhouettes of the trees while the sun still shines on the other side of the canyon. Soon after this pic it started to rain very hard and we had to run the 1/2 mile back down the trail to the cars. As we got into our cars it started to hail! Although we didn't get to see the canyon in all its glory, it was a very interesting visit.

southwest road trip - day 5 - lake powell

The American Southwest is famous for its spectacular desert scenery - not a place one expects to find a 250 square mile (660km2) lake, so we rented a 19ft speedboat for a day to check it out. Lake Powell was formed to provide water storage and power generation by the (controversial) construction of the Glen Canyon Dam across the Colorado River in 1963. It took 18 years from the completion of the dam for it to fill.

There are 5 marinas on Lake Powell, we headed to Wahweap Marina, just across the border from Page, Arizona to pick up our rental. There were literally hundreds of powerboats and houseboats at this marina. It's obviously a very popular recreation spot. After a few minutes of instuction on the operation of our boat we were on our way...

...zipping across the lake with the wind in our hair and marvelling at the red, brown and cream rock rising out of the water.

After about 1/2 hour of motoring we pulled into a sandy beach to check it out. The area is mostly Navajo Sandstone that is slowly eroding forming interesting canyons and red sand beaches. The water (including a lot of spring snow melt from the Utah and Colorado high country) was too cold for swimming, but it was fun to explore the shore. Pinnacle Rock makes an impressive backdrop in this shot.

Back in the boat, we headed into Labyrinth Canyon, a twisting narrow waterway formed by the filling of Labyrinth Creek canyon when the dam was built. The water was fairly smooth and glassy here in the shelter of the canyon walls.

After an hour or so exploring Labyrinth Canyon we headed back out into the lake with a pitstop at one of the many "floating rest rooms" they have provided on the lake. There's even a windsock atop the pontoon so you can guage your approach direction! This one was called Dominguez Butte Rest Room - named for the large rock outcrop behind it, but we couldn't resist the obvious joke about naming a restroom after someones butt!

After our reststop, we headed further up the lake into the broader Face Canyon (don't know where it got its name), looking for a sheltered spot to stop for lunch. We stopped in a small bay opposite a towering rock ridge that we decided to call "the great wall of china". It ran as far as we could see in either direction. If you look closely you'll see a houseboat on the right-hand side of this pic, which will give you some idea of the height of the ridge.

After lunch we decided to explore further up Face Canyon to see how far we could get. As the canyon got narrower Mike kept a lookout for shallow spots or submerged rocks.

In some places the canyon walls seemed to close in so much that we thought we would have to turn around, but as this picture shows, looks can be deceiving - we actually fit through this opening, see the wake from our boat in the water? We all felt it was rather like being on a ride at a theme park, never knowing what was around the corner!

Sometimes we'd come across a boat going the other way and we'd say "if they're coming from that direction there must be more to explore".

Eventually it was time to turn around and head back into the open waters of the lake to explore some more and enjoy the fun of having a speed boat. We spent quite a bit of time crossing the wide expanse of Padre Bay (named after the missionary leaders of a Spanish expedition that crossed the Colorado River here in 1776).

Despite having a speedboat, we only made it 23 miles down the 140 mile length of Lake Powell - there were so many offshoot canyons and bays to explore. The contrast of the bare rock, sand and sparse vegetation with the abundance of water was quite striking, and everywhere you looked there were huge cliffs, mesas and buttes (like this one called Gunsight Butte) towering over the lake. What a great day!

southwest road trip - day 4 - moab to page

Still in Arches National Park, we headed to the Balanced Rock picnic area to refuel our bodies. Balanced Rock stands 128ft (39m) tall, the harder rock of the "head" being balanced on the narrower "neck" that is made of a layer of softer, more easily eroded rock. The cars in the foreground give some idea of the size of the rock. If you look closely you'll also see one of the Window arches in the distance to the left of the rock and the snow-tipped La Sal mountains in the background. Everywhere you look in this park there is something to see!

After lunch, it was time for one more picture of our foursome, before getting into our cars for the long 270 mile (435km) drive to Page in northern Arizona.

Along the way we passed the small town of Mexican Hat on the San Juan River, named after this curious rock outcrop. The "hat" on the top is 60ft wide.

As we neared the Utah/Arizona border we drove past Monument Valley. The "valley" lies within the 26,000 sq miles of the Navajo Nation, a semi-autonomous homeland for the Navajo Indians. The mesa's and buttes of Monument Valley are a familiar sight to anyone who is a fan of Westerns.

Along the road there are numerous craft stalls where local Navajo Indians sell their jewellry, pottery, paintings, weaving and other hand-crafts.

southwest road trip - day 4 - fiery furnace hike

We headed back to Arches National Park this morning for a ranger-guided hike through the "Fiery Furnace". The Fiery Furnace is a maze of red and cream sandstone fins, pinnacles and narrow canyons. It was named by early pioneers who thought the fingers of rock, in the late afternoon sun, looked like flames in a furnace. Although our hike began in the bright morning sun, the outcrops still looked impressive.

There are no marked hiking trails in the Fiery Furnace and people have often got lost in the maze of rocks so permits are required to go into this region of the park. Ranger Patrick was our guide for today's adventure. He started with a talk about the area we were about to enter and explained that we should be careful where we tread, sticking to the washes of dry streams and areas of bare rock so that we didn't damage the "cryptobiotic soil crust". Although it looks like bare soil, it contains tinay cyanobacteria, lichen, algae and fungi that combat erosion, absorb moisture and provide other nutrients for plant growth in this delicately balanced dry desert region.

As we descended towards the dry "wash" in the first canyon it was amazing to see how much plant life was supported including this gnarled Utah Juniper which can live for 600 years.

Our group of about 20 hikers heads into the first canyon.

The walls of this narrow canyon seem to bend over us. The dark brown streaks on the salmon-colored walls are known as "desert varnish" which is formed by biochemical reaction of bacteria on the clay, black manganese and red iron oxides on the rock surfaces.

"All eyes on Ranger Patrick". We take a rest in the shade in Raven Canyon as Patrick tells us about the small pool of permanent water called a "pothole" that contains a surprising amount of life and attracts native animals & birds. During infrequent thunderstorms this canyon becomes awash with water. The tall walls of the canyon provide enough shade that the water trapped in potholes like these is very slow to evaporate. Apparently this pool is a popular drinking spot for the local ravens.

Apparently this pool is also a popular spot for the local ranger guides, who get a kick out of distracting their audience with the tales of the pool so that they fail to notice the spectacular Twin Arch (also known as Skull Arch) that is sitting behind and above them!

As we explored deeper into the furnace we had to scramble over rock crevices...

... and through some narrow slot canyons that were a tight squeeze!

The scenery was amazing...

... and clearly our intrepid hikers were up to the task!

We continued upward through the maze of rock fins and it was easy to see how one could get lost in this place with walls so tall there was no way to "see a way out".

After scrambling through another narrow slot we came upon Surprise Arch.

"I think the way out is through here..."

The sun shining into the narrow canyons cast some interesting light on the salmon-colored rocks. Mike took this picture of Heather, whose orange shirt matched the glow of the walls.

Even this lizard seemed to blend well with the colors of the rocks.

In places the canyons were quite wide and dotted with vegetation. We loved the contrast of the green plants, red rock and blue sky.

Here and there, spring blooming cactus added pretty decoration.

After 3 hours of "exploring" we passed underneath the "kissing rocks"...

...and saw our way out of the Fiery Furnace.

southwest road trip - day 3 - colorado river rafting

To escape the heat & give the hiking legs a rest, today we tried our hands at white water rafting on the Colorado River. The Colorado runs through the town of Moab, and there are a least a dozen adventure companies there that offer rafting and kayaking trips on the river ranging from half-day to 4 day expeditions. Most people opt for the larger 10-person rafts where the guide uses oars & does all the work, but we asked for the smaller "paddle-it-yourself" raft, that holds 6 enthusiastic paddlers (Mark & Heather in the front, Mike & Lindsey in the middle, a guy called Frank & his nephew in the back) and a guide (Scott) steering at the rear)

Since Mike & Lindsey had never tried rafting before, we chose the 4 hour, 13 mile trip down one of the milder parts of the river (class I and II rapids), known as the Fisher Towers section - named for the prominent series of free-standing rock towers and cliffs through which the river flows. The water level in the river was very high due to the Spring snow melt upstream, and much of the trip was spent in the calm sections admiring the amazing scenery.

Here's an action shot at one of the "more exciting" rapids. (Yes Heather & Lindsey got quite wet!) The four of us agreed that this was the most fun and next time we should opt for the more challenging Westwater Canyon or Cataract Canyon sections of the river.