After our hike around Bell Rock on Tuesday morning, we drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, taking our time, stopping to take photos all along the way. We drove over the Marble Canyon Bridge, spanning the Colorado River, then walked across the first Marble Canyon Bridge, built between 1927-1929, just south of Lee’s Ferry. Lee’s Ferry was the only way across the Colorado River for decades before the Marble Canyon Bridge was built.
Marble Canyon is at the foot of the Vermillion Cliffs, that run over 30 miles at a height of 2000’, in beautiful shades of deep red. We drove the length of the Vermillion Cliffs on our way to the North Rim, with rolling grassland to our south and the cliffs towering over us to the north. It was one of the most beautiful drives we’ve ever done, anywhere!
We had lunch at Jacob’s Lake, in a restaurant founded in 1923 and still run by the same family. We continued south to Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim, passing through broad meadows, with towering Ponderosa pine and aspen twinkling in the breeze. We checked into the Grand Canyon Lodge, staying in a 1920’s era cabin, that was very spacious and had a pair of rocking chairs on the front porch. We hiked out to Bright Angel Point and enjoyed the setting sun for over an hour. It was beautiful!
We were up early this morning, so we could watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. It was a cloudy morning, so sunrise was not as spectacular as we hoped. We ate breakfast and hiked back to Bright Angel Point, as the clouds began to lift. Nice!
We left the North Rim by mid morning to drive north out of the park. Along the way, we saw a herd of 100+ bison, grazing in a meadow. Amazing! We made numerous stops along the Vermillion Cliffs, because we couldn’t help ourselves from gawking! They are so beautiful!
We continued north toward Page, and stopped at Horsehoe Bend, a sharp bend in the Colorado River. We visited Horsehoe Bend once before with about 5-6 other people. This time there were a 1000 or more, mostly foreign visitors, many arriving in buses. Horseshoe Bend is found!
We checked into our hotel in Page, then took a short drive to the Visitor Center at Glen Canyon Dam. We arranged to take a boat tour tomorrow, then walked across the bridge spanning the Colorado River. Again, the views were beautiful, of the Glen Canyon Dam, as well as the landscape around.
