The World's Biggest Hole in the Ground

Having been to the Grand Canyon (south rim) several times now, I really have a feeling of "been there, done that." However, it's definitely something that's worth seeing once, and I wanted my daughter to experience it. Sure, it's beautiful, but what really gets me is the challenge to ones sense of scale. It's just so big!

It was cloudy the day we were there, so the light was a bit flat and not the best for photography. We drove around and stopped at quite a few of the viewpoints.

We also stopped at an archeological site and had a quick look in the museum. It just so happened that we were just in time for a ranger-led activity. There were tons of people around, but surprisingly only one other couple participated. The ranger talked about the animal figurines made from willow bark that have been found in nearly inaccessible caves in the canyon. While they look like toys at first glance, their locations suggest that they were ceremonial. The ranger showed us how to make the figurines using giant twist ties. I teased her a little about the "traditional" materials, but they were apparently donated by a sponsor, and who has time to gather and soak willow bark these days anyhow?

The sun finally peaked through as we were getting ready to go, but by this point we were too hungry to take advantage of it. Our visit to the Grand Canyon was short, but worth it as my daughter was duly impressed.

Cameron Trading Post

On Saturday, we said farewell to Page and headed to the Grand Canyon (south rim). We'd previously been planning to go to the North Rim, but it was just so out of the way. A swing by the South Rim would increase our driving time by less than an hour (not counting all the stops, of course) so we decided to do that. We knew it would be crowded and lack the intimate experience, but it would still be worthwhile to show our daughter.

At the Blair Trading Post in Page, they'd mentioned the Cameron Trading post, so we stopped there to look around. Part of it is a gigantic gift shop with all the usual trinkets. The other part was a gallery with museum quality Native American art and artifacts. That was definitely worth the stop. I marveled at the baskets, rugs, flutes, sand paintings, and jewelry. There was even some photography printed on canvas. I was pleasantly surprised that they allowed me to take pictures.

There were traditional baskets as well as more colorful ones with modern patterns like horses and butterflies. They even tiny little baskets made of horse hair.

Lee's Ferry

On Friday we opted to beat the heat by spending much of the day in the car and taking a road trip down to Lee's Ferry. Because of the deep canyons, Lee's Ferry was once the only place to cross the Colorado River in all of Arizona.

Near Lee's Ferry is the modern way to cross the river, the Navajo Bridge. On the bridge, perched three California Condors. Seeing Condors in the wild was one of the highlights of our trip.

There were some interesting geological formations, including balancing rocks.

Upstream of Lee's Ferry, the Colorado River is a beautiful green; downstream it is brown. Where the Paria River joins the Colorado, it is brown on the left and green on the right.

There's also all sorts of historical remains. We did a one mile hike along the river and historical sites. The heat and humidity made this all we could handle.

Twilight in Page

I'd been looking forward to doing a bit of Page's rim trail after our pretty good Mexican dinner, but our daughter was having such a good time playing with kids at the park that we got a late start.

It was already after sunset when we got to the trail head, so we didn't go far. The light over Glen Canyon and Lake Powell was fantastic.


When it got too dark to take more pictures, we went back to the scenic overlook. We'd learned from the Hummer tours owner that the locals referred to it as the white house because of the way the dam was lit at night. He liked to go there at night because it was so quiet that one could hear the river and the turbines in the dam. We got there as twilight was fading, but our eyes adjusted quickly to the dark. There were bats flying around and an entirely different mood to the place--quiet, peaceful, mysterious.

Off the beaten path

For more of the stories behind these pictures, please see my previous entry: Too Hot to Blog, Part 2.

The Hummer tour we'd booked got canceled due to flash flood warnings, so instead of the "Secret" slot canyon, we asked them to just take us off-roading. My husband and daughter love off-roading. We used to do quite a bit in the Anza Borrego Desert in San Diego. I've always had a thing for thunderstorms in the desert, so getting to experience one up close was quite a treat for me. And of course, the scenery wasn't bad either.

It was particularly interesting to watch as the water accumulated in a dry wash and formed a river right before our eyes.

Blair's Trading Post

For more of the stories behind these pictures, please see my previous entry: Too Hot to Blog, Part 2.

The private collection at Blair's Trading post has to be the hidden treasure of Page, Arizona. The trading post itself looks like just another shop in a strip-mall, except it has a pawn-shop section in back. There were no signs advertising the collection, and they didn't charge admission, but the owner was happy to show us her father's treasures when we asked. Over the years, he'd kept the best of the things for which he traded. Not only were there beautiful and valuable pieces, but there was also a historical context.

The majority of the things were Navajo, who are well known for their weaving and jewelry, but there was also Hopi and Zuni.

I'm a fan of Native American baskets. I even took a workshop where I learned the basics, so someday when I have time, I hope to give it a try again. This magnificent basket was Hopi.

Lake Powell

For more of the stories behind these pictures, please see my previous entry: Too Hot to Blog, Part 2.

After Antelope Canyon, we drove down to the marina at Antelope Point. We hoped to rent a kayak and explore the flooded part of Antelope Canyon that way, but it was too windy.

There were no jet skis available there, so we went up to Waheap Marina. No luck their either, so we went to the beach near Waheap.

From the viewpoints near Waheap, we could see great views of the dam, Navajo Mountain, and the Navajo Generating Station. Considering that the dam is a source of hydroelectric power, I wonder how necessary the coal powered Navajo plant is. I imagine it's a good source of income for the Navajos, but it seems so contradictory that a tribe with such close cultural connections to the environment would run such an environmentally unfriendly facility.

Later that afternoon we walked out to a scenic viewpoint overlooking the Glen Canyon Dam.