Rafting on the Colorado

We left the Lodge at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon at 7:30am, beginning a 2.5 hour drive to Page, AZ, where we were to embark on a river cruise down the mighty Colorado. Claire remarked on how easy the driving has been--good roads, little traffic, delightful companionship. Actually, I made up one of those.

We both continue to be stunned to see such consistent, monumental beauty in this Big Sky country.

The Vermilion Cliffs. These are the start of the Grand Canyon.

Marble Canyon

Marble Canyon redux

The Original Navajo Bridge, 1928. An important area event, since crossing the Colorado was not possible anywhere else for 600 miles. In a sparsely populated region, 5000 people came to celebrate its opening. Now a pedestrian-only bridge.

The Old and New Navajo Bridges. The near side is in AZ, the far side is part of the Navajo One Nation. Interestingly, they have different time zones: AZ is on Mountain Standard Time, while the Navajo Nation is on Mountain Daylight Time.

A pack of these guys came roaring into the parking lot with sixties rock music
blaring and engines pounding. Our first thought was that it was a bunch of outlaws rebelling against the world, trying hard to be as annoying as possible. Next thought was that it was a bunch of guys in their sixties too deaf to hear the damn music. Talk about shattering the peace of this gorgeous spot. Next thing we knew, they were yelling and screaming and running around the bridge, all wearing identical red t-shirts. Soon, in heavily accented English, they were singing Happy Birthday. We worked our way through the group, noticing that they were all young middle-aged and their t-shirts proclaimed "America Coast to Coast--Harley Davidson Tour!" I asked one of the guys where they were from....Brazil!

Triple AAA, our Rafting Guide. That is the Glen Canyon Dam (& Bridge) in the background. The dam created Lake Powell, the largest man-made lake in the US.

Rafting Down the Colorado...

Horseshoe Bend

Horseshoe Bend from above

Petroglyphs of Big-Horned sheep. We only made one landing stop along the way--to view the Petroglyphs. The guide said these were more than 5,000 years old. We did stop another time--in the middle of the river--Triple AAA had to repair our propeller.

17 mile, 4 hour rafting trip down the Colorado: $85 each.
Boxed lunch for rafting trip: $9.75 each.


Q: What do you get when you mix 50 pigs with 50 deer?
A: 100 sows and bucks! ~ Triple AAA

North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Second Day

Up early as usual for us, we were at breakfast in the Lodge by 6:30. The sun was coming up over the canyon and we watched the changing light in awe from our window seat. It really did change minute to minute. Prices in the dining room are reasonable and we found that the deli, although convenient, didn’t have a big enough savings to make it worthwhile for a meal.

Morning view

Chuck went with the breakfast buffet ($13.95); Claire with the steel cut oats ($4) and a fruit plate ($7). Once again, the food did not disappoint. The fruit even included blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.

Chuck's Breakfast

Claire's Breakfast

We love the lounge in the Lodge with more massive windows looking out on the gorgeous rock canyon. The sofas lined up facing the windows are comfortable and it has a very inviting ambience.

Inside the Lodge

Our goal this morning was the Widforss Trail, a few miles back towards the entrance to the park. This hike promised to take us through a blend of Alpine forest and canyon scenery. A relatively easy trail, we did a 5 mile roundtrip through the most beautiful section, which included numbered stopping points with a self-guiding trail brochure available at the trailhead. At one of the numbered sites, it explained why there is such a haze over the canyon: the Industrial Age.

Widforss Trail

Chuck at a View Point

Wildflowers with raindrops from the night

We started the hike at about 8 am and had the trail almost to ourselves. We did, however, run into a couple from Scotland with their friends from Seattle, whom we talked to for a bit. We also met Tom, a very nice young man from Kansas, schooled in Chicago, who is on a road trip from his job in Washington, D.C., to Palo Alto where he will pursue a masters degree in Mechanical and Design Engineering at Stanford. We talked and hiked with him for quite awhile.

Aspen and wildflowers

Fall colors

Along the Trail

We sure didn’t realize how forested the North Rim is with Ponderosa Pine, Douglas firs and Aspens interspersed with large meadows, or how cold it can get—layers and gloves come in handy. We were lucky this morning and mostly had sun but could see dark clouds in the distance. The ranger told us noon was the expected time for the thunder storm to hit. By 10:30 or so we were back at the trailhead.

Canyon view from the trail

Lunch for Claire was Anasazi chili ($5.35) and iced tea ($2.35). Chuck, still full from breakfast, opted for a soft swirl ice cream cone ($3.45)

The afternoon was spent relaxing and reading. Chuck took a break at 3pm for the Geology talk by a new ranger who had formerly been a geologist here for years. He chose to speak on water, a timely topic with all the actual and threatening thunderstorms. One interesting point was that weathering and erosion are largely responsible for the Grand Canyon’s appearance; Colorado River water is not solely responsible for all the carving that has occurred: it carries away what is washed down, pushing it toward the Gulf of California.

We had dinner once again in the Lodge dining room—so glad we made reservations in advance; it’s the only way to get in. Claire had the Imperial Vegetarian Tower and Chuck had the Prime Rib. I think I’ve seen bigger towers but it was delicious and very filling.

House made black bean flat cakes and goat cheese polenta points, accompanied by organic lettuce hearts, roasted tomatoes, cilantro drizzle and creamy sunflower sauce, $18.10.

Heart Attack on a Plate. This 10 ounce cut of prime rib came with baked potato, asparagus, au jus, and horseradish cream, $26.50.

It was a beautiful way to end our visit. We took one last look at the setting sun over the canyon before heading back to our little lodge. We leave for Page, Arizona tomorrow morning.

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time. ~ Steven Wright

North Rim of the Grand Canyon, First Day

Driving into the Park at 8:30 am we passed the 1,000 mile mark on our trip odometer; the temperature was 52 degrees in this 8,255 foot alpine forest and we made an immediate decision to beat the crowds and drive the 23 mile scenic route to various view spots. It was a great decision. We saw one or two other people until the very end when the final parking lot started filling up fast; but even that wasn’t bad. The North Rim really does live up to its reputation of being less crowded and quieter. It has only 500,000 visitors per year, compared to 4.5 million for the South Rim!

First View

Colorado River

North Rim View

The penultimate viewing spot is called Angel’s Window at the Cape Royal stop. We stared at the spectacular views and had fun watching storm clouds move in and out. Within 15 minutes we went from sun to rain to sun again. A volunteer ranger told us that this is unusual weather—the monsoon season is generally gone by this time of year.

Angel’s Window

By the time we made it to the lodge it was 11:30 Arizona time. (12:30 Utah time; so we were hungry--having gotten up at 5:30 this morning in Hatch). We decided to beat the crowds once again and have a nice lunch in the outstanding dining room with souring ceilings and massive windows looking right out over the rim of the Grand Canyon. We were seated at a nice table by one of the giant windows and enjoyed the best meal of the trip so far. Our server, Clayne, from Idaho, recommended the Navajo Taco and the Roasted Vegetable and Cheese Quesadilla. Good choices! Reasonable prices! Best meal on the trip so far!

Veggie Quesadilla

Navajo Taco

Our assistant server was Vince, from Malaysia. All of the servers are college students from various parts of the world. Vince was very excited about being here and told us that this student program includes a month of travel before he returns home. He was extremely polite and personable.

Clayne told us that he is a Jr. and his father was supposed to be named Dwayne. The person filling in his birth certificate didn’t understand and mistakenly wrote Clayne. He was proud to tell us he is the only Clayne on Facebook.

Dining room

After lunch we visited the Visitor’s Center and spent a fair amount of time talking with the two guys working in there while a thunder storm roared outside. We sure hadn’t figured on cold and rain in the Southwest! One of the guys is retired and has lived with his wife in a motor home for 16 years. He seems to enjoy working at the North Rim and has done this at a number of other national parks. The other guy is retired Navy and is a volunteer ranger and gives talks at the lodge.

Soon, the sun came out and we wandered along the Bridle Trail taking in the breathtaking views. I don’t think I’ve felt this relaxed and enjoyed myself this much in a long time. The day was absolutely perfect. We had fun taking pictures of other people and they did the same for us. We scrambled up some rocks and looked over cliffs. It’s amazing how few safety barriers there are.

On the Cliff

View Point

Lodge

Claire on the Rocks

Today was 9/11 and we were curious to see if there would be any recognition. We found the flag at half staff and a note on the white board that it was a day of remembrance.

Soon enough, another loud thunder and lightning storm worked its way in and we rushed back into the lodge.

Storm Coming

It Came

After some ice cream for Chuck and an iced tea for Claire (best iced tea in awhile too), we decided to hang out in the gift store until this storm passed so we could move into our room. Though our new wheeled suitcases are perfect over smooth surfaces, the rain forced us to use the zip-out backpack straps, which were just the thing for making our way from the parking lot through rivers of water, bogs of mud and slippery stone stairs to our own little lodge. Our room is great—no TV, no WiFi—and very quiet, at least during the day. In the evening we could hear the guy next door snoring then jerking awake with a shout then lapsing into snoring again. Earplugs work great! The room was $113 the first night; $116 the next night. They had a rate increase since we made our reservation so I guess we got a deal (?) on our first night even though it was guaranteed with our credit card. Maybe that guarantee is only for them—if we don’t show up, they charge us.

Our Lodge

I took a break today to hear a volunteer ranger talk about Condors. It was quite interesting for me, since I have always been interested in all things Peruvian—my dad was born in Mollendo, Peru. But, Andean and California Condors are distinct—the CC has a wingspan of only 9 feet—about a foot less than their southern cousins. Curiously, only Condors can distinguish gender visually—humans have to rely on blood tests. Even male Condors sometimes make mistakes!

We had reservations for 6pm at the Lodge’s Rim View Dining Room—we planned a leisurely dinner that would permit us to view the sunset through the large windows. We decided to make this a special night and ordered a Cactus Cosmo for Claire (High Spirits Prickly Pear vodka, Cointreau, cranberry and lime juices. Served up.) and a Grand Margarita for Chuck (Cuervo Gold tequila, Cointreau, Prickly Pear syrup. Shaken and served on the rocks.) They were delicious. The bread they brought was so hot I had difficulty holding it to tear off pieces. It was lovely. We finally decided upon Utah Ruby Trout for both of us--generous and wonderful. Later, we decided to share a dessert; after negotiations, we got the bread pudding—we think the presentation was supposed to represent the Canyon!

Utah Ruby Trout

Homemade fresh baked pinon-chocolate bread pudding. Served warm with caramel sauce. Claire gave it a 12 on a 10-point scale.

May the warm winds of heaven blow softly upon your house. May the Great Spirit bless all who enter there. May your moccasins make happy tracks in many snows, and may the rainbow always touch your shoulder. ~ Cherokee Prayer Blessing