Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone Health, Happiness and Prosperity in 2015.

Merry Christmas!

Sending wishes for a Merry Christmas from my family to your family. 

Sunrise, beach and Balanced Rocks

Friday October 17

Up early to go outside for the sunrise, not as colorful as I hoped it would be.

A morning walk - I drove down to a parking area near the beach on the Colorado River and walked as far as I could in both directions until I ran out of beach and encountered the high canyon walls. 

Driving in yesterday, I passed by an area of balanced rocks and this morning I stopped to take pics on my way out. 

Balanced Rock 

Glen Canyon Recreation Area 

"Thousands of years ago a huge boulder of conglomerate broke from the cliff above and rolled to a stop here. Since then at least 6 feet of this slope has eroded away. Ultimately, the softer rock now protected by the umbrella of harder conglomerate will erode and the boulder will topple again to the ground." 

I walked all around this field of very tall boulders, luckily there was no movement of rocks. Don't think I would want to be near here during an earthquake. 

Well, its only around 8:30am at this point and I still have some driving to do heading toward the south rim of the Grand Canyon with no reservations for the night (Oct 17th with close to freezing temps possible overnight at the higher elevations).   

Several more posts are needed to try and catch up on this trip and my current location. 

Lees Ferry

There was a typo in the last post for the years the bridges were built, this has been fixed. 

Thursday, October 16

"Lees Ferry is the only place in Glen Canyon where visitors can drive to the Colorado River within over 700 miles of canyon country. A natural corridor between Utah and Arizona, it is the very start of the Grand Canyon." (Nps.gov)

 

Lees Ferry Campground does not take reservations but I could see empty sites as I drove past. When I arrived I went to the day use area first, it was too early to set up camp. 

Today I went from an elevation of over 8000' at the North Rim to 3210' at Lees Ferry (in only 85 miles) and the temperature has increased, its very hot here during the day. 

Changed out of jeans and long sleeve shirt into shorts, tshirt and hiking sandals so I could walk along the river trail and find a bit of shade to sit and enjoy the river scenery.

The campsites are $12, no hookups, on a cliff overlooking the Colorado River.  There were several empty sites and I was lucky to get a large site with a view of the river. 

Temps cooled down in time to sit outside and watch the sunset 

I tried out my "Solo Stove" to heat water for tea, it uses twigs for fuel. 

If it was cooler during the day I would have stayed more than one night. I really wish I had stayed longer - it was so calm and peaceful even with more than half of the campsites occupied.

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Still experimenting, using the iphone to write blog posts. 

I had a spam comment on the last blog post but the Blogger app does not let me get into the dashboard to mark comments as spam or delete them. 

Can't insert links or do any changes to the blog design with this app.

Vermillion Cliffs Highway

This post was created on my iphone, i hope the layout is ok as I have not looked at it on a computer. I wonder if the pictures are tiny. 

October 16, 2014

On Thursday morning I left the North Rim heading north on Hwy. 67, the only road out. At Jacob Lake I turned right, heading toward the South Rim but will camp along the way to break up the 5 hour drive. I always take my time and stop to check things out and I know it will take more than 5 hours. 

Hwy 89A skirts the southern border of Vermillion Cliffs National Monument.  A curvy, hilly drive through beautiful scenery. I stopped at several overlooks and pullouts to read signs and stretch my legs. 

At the House Rock Valley Overlook there was a short trail so I walked as far as I could to the edge of a cliff. 

Lunch was at Cliff Dwellers - sat at a table outside and enjoyed the view. Very good food and generous servings. 

The next stop was Navajo Bridge. The Interpretive Center was closed (they are remodeling after a fire, check online for a re-opening date) so I crossed the bridge and parked in a small parking lot on the other side. There was access here to walk across the original bridge. There are 2 bridges side by side. 

The bridges span Marble Canyon over the Colorado River. One built in 1924 (now a pedestrian bridge) and the newer highway bridge built in 1995. 

           Rafters under the bridge

I crossed back over the bridge and drove a short distance then turned toward Lees Ferry. 

to be continued...

Hiking @ the North Rim

"There is not one path. There is not even the right path.There is only your path and you know it's yours by how it feels to you."

August 15 - October 15, 2014

Well, I did what I came here to do. Hike the Grand Canyon - no, I did not do the Rim to Rim. I know my limitations, but was successful just the same.

I hiked on these trails at the North Rim

North Kaibab, Widforss, Bright Angel, Uncle Jim, Ken Patrick,

Bridle Path, Nature Trail and the Transept Trail 

Widforss Trail

Widforss Trail follows the canyon rim as it skirts the Transept, a large tributary of the Bright Angel Canyon.  The trail winds through a mixed spruce-fir forest to a picnic area near Widforss Point overlooking Haunted Canyon. 

Transept Trail

I walked down into the canyon, to the Coconino overlook.  Someday, maybe, who knows, I may come back to hike further down into the canyon.

The mule riders stop here for a break and the mules love to chew on this sign.

hiking back up to the rim

I left the North Rim on Thursday, October 16th.  It has been great, I was fortunate to have a beautiful, wooded site for 2 months at a very reasonable fee and earned some money to pay travel expenses and met some great friends.

Phyllis worked in the gift shop with me and we had one day off together each week, so she was my hiking buddy.

I also met up with a blogging friend, Ranger Gaelyn, and we went out to the Walhalla Plateau and to the Saddle Mountain Overlook. There are many, many places to explore on the North Rim, away from the Lodge area, if you have the right vehicle. I hope to come back someday with the right vehicle, a small, strong 4x4 mini camper that will take me out to all of these beautiful places.



Bye for now, North Rim, it holds great memories for me.................

Sunset @ Bright Angel Point

October 4, 2014

It was close to a full moon, so I decided to take a walk at sunset to Bright Angel Point.

This is a short 1/4 mile, steep hike from the main lodge to an overlook.
I started near my RV and walked a little over a mile on the Transept Trail
until it met up with the Bright Angel Point Trail.

The path is narrow and in some places has drop-offs on both sides,

not a place to walk in the dark, but at dusk under the bright moon it was ok.

This is why I came to the North Rim...

The ever-changing views...

Sunsets, the Moon and Starlit skies

Even before the job offer
 I had plans to be here, at the North Rim
 on October 4th

It has been a long 5 years

The next step on the journey is not crystal clear

but the fog has lifted.