November 2, 2011 – Road Trip Time

Today, Andy, Pam, Steve and I decided to do a road trip so a little after 9, we piled in our Tracker and off we went.   We first headed down Coppermine Road and stopped in LeChee at the Navajo Tribal Office for maps and information.   From there we continued down to Coppermine where, according to one of our maps, was a trading post.  But before we got there, the road turned to dirt/gravel/sand and very washboardy!   Hmmm should we go on or not???   We made the decision to continue.

Here was the trading post – yep, it was no longer in business – :-((((.

  

Check out the stone work:

 

The inside – so sad:

The buildings nearby:

We continued on IR 6210:

 

Where we saw wild mules:

More strange rock formations:

And even llamas – who were probably as curious about us as we were about them:

 

And breath a sign of relief once we were on 89 – paved!   We headed south and stopped at the Echo Cliffs Scenic Overlook.

This is the Colorado Plateau:

This large crack is the eastern end of what eventually becomes the Grand Canyon.  The mountains/cliff beyond is the edge of Vermillion Cliffs National Monument (which we hope to explore next year):

 

We continued south on US89 then north on US89A :

 

 

To Historic Navajo Bridge:

  

The Historic Bridge is on the left, the new one on the right:

We were able to walk across the bridge and view the Colorado River below.  Looking south:

Looking north:

Steve and Pam:

And we were treated to a beautiful Condor flying below us:

The visitor center was closed for the season – Bummer – but I did find this very interesting on the other side of the bridges:

 

The view from the other side – historic bridge on the right:

 

And rafts on their way down the Colorado:

 

 

We then drove to Lee’s Ferry area which was nearby:

 

 

Where we had lunch and watched a group getting ready for a 15 day journey down the Colorado River.  Can you believe they will not have any guides?  How interesting and exciting too – :-)

Upstream towards the Glen Canyon Dam:

 

A group ending their float trip:

Downstream:

Our last stop was Paria Riffle – downstream from the raft launch site:

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We slowly made our way home and relaxed for the rest of the day.

 

What a great day!

October 31, 2011 – Horseshoe Bend and Lake Powell

Our first stop this morning was Horseshoe Bend at Glen Canyon NRA.  

“Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River in Glen Canyon makes a wide sweep around an escarpment of Navajo Sandstone.  Long ago as the river flowed southward toward the sea, it always chose the steepest downward slope.  This downward journey did not always occur in a straight line, and sometimes the river made wide circles and meanders.  As the Colorado Plateau uplifted about 5 million years ago, the rivers that meandered across this ancient landscape were trapped in their beds.  These rivers cut through the rock, deep and fast, seeking a new natural level.  At Horseshoe Bend, the Colorado River did just that, and as the river cut down through the layers of sandstone, it created a 270 degree horseshoe-shaped bend in the canyon.” 

Ok, so I copied that but I still have pictures.

Can I say AWESOME!:

 

This is the start of the trail to the edge:

  

 

Notice the boat in the center:

The boat is in this photo – can you find it?  This area is HUGE!:

And I have fallen in love with these rocks – the designs, the swirls, oh my:

 

  

 

 

 

  

WOW! and even more WOW!

From there we stopped at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area office for information on camping and hiking and then stopped at the scenic view area.   Here is the trail to the view:

The “Dam” View:

The Colorado River below the dam:

 

The Rocks, oh my:

  

 

From here, we decided to check out the Wahwep area and campground.  We do expect to come back here in the spring so we decided to check out other areas.  Here is Lake Powell from that area:

 

And the houseboats…someday I will rent a houseboat for a week or two and just explore this whole area by boat!:

We checked out the campground and found that they only had full hookup sites or boondocking sites.  The full hookup sites were beautiful, however, the boondocking sites left a lot to be desired.  Plus there were very few that we would fit into – most were tent sites.   We then went to registration and found out that the full hookup sites were $44.00/night – YIKES and the Boondock sites were $23.00/night.  The only area where they honored the National Pass was Boondocking.  So sad since they are not taking care of the boondocking sites…

From there were went to the Carl Hayden Visitor Center about the Glenn Canyon Dam.   There were some interesting displays there about the many dinosaur finds in this area.  (Turns out that grey barren area that we saw the other day was actually the bottom of the inland sea.)

Here is where that sea was:

 

And there was great information about the Colorado River and the Glen Canyon Dam:

More information on the Dam:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Canyon_Dam

Our last stop was at the Visitor Center where we found out more information on things to do in the area (so much to do – :-)).  We will definitely be back this way in the spring -

Back at the MH, we relaxed a bit and then got together with Pam and Steve, filling in each other on today’s adventures.  And had a great dinner at the Elks – Taco night – MMMMMMM!

Tomorrow our adventures continue so stay tuned and enjoy today.