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These were taken after I visited the “Toadstools” formations, about a half hour east of Kanab.

When I got out to where I had parked the car a light rain had started to fall.  Actually, before I got to the car I should mention that something ran across the path in front of me, scaring me half to death.  I think it might have been a jackrabbit (a rabbit variation with very long legs and very big ears).  Either that or it was a kangaroo.

Anyway, when I got to the parking area two trucks were pulling in with UTV’s on trailers (no longer just all terrain vehicles – these are utility terrain vehicles thank you very much).  These vehicles can hold four people properly strapped in, plus a two-martini lunch (for those who like theirs shaken, not stirred).

I told the two couples who got out of the trucks that the UTV’s were way too clean.  They said they had just driven through some heavy rain which washed all the fun-mud off them.  They were driving west towards Kanab, and I would be driving east and into the rain they had just experienced.  They weren’t planning to use these vehicles here, they just stopped to see the Toadstools.

I continued on east and soon came to the recreation area they had been at earlier in the morning.  This huge rock sits in the middle of a lake.  It is called Lone Rock, and is part of the Big Water Recreation Area.  The lake (actually, it is part of the Colorado River) continues east towards the Glen Canyon Dam, and there is a marina with larger boats and other pleasure craft further downriver.  Lone Rock is next to the Big Water Campground.

If you look closely at the photo above you will see someone jet-skiing on the river.  Here is another photo from a slightly different vantage point which gives you some idea how big Lone Rock is.

I continued on towards the Glen Canyon Dam.  Once I passed over the dam I came to an overlook which offered some pretty dramatic views.  The dam itself wasn’t all that impressive, in my opinion, plus there were lots of power lines and such so it wasn’t a very good photo op.

I took advantage of my newfound spy status to take some photos of people without their knowledge.

After leaving the Dam area I moved on to the next venue.  While walking up the hill to that viewing area I caught these folks candidly as well.  At first I thought the guy in the photo below was proposing, but after examining another photo which was zoomed in more he was just taking her picture.

These folks (different from the “proposal” couple) were using their dog, Suki, as a prop.  Evidently Suki isn’t afraid of heights, and fortunately they weren’t offering her for sacrifice…

Suki is SO cute….

 

 

After proceeding over the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge I arrived in the town of Page, Arizona.  Here I found something I had already bought a picture of the day before.

The picture I bought was taken by a professional photographer, either using a special lens or after being hoisted by a crane.  I have neither of those items in my repertoire so you’ll have to settle for a two-part picture, given the size of the object and my proximity to it.

This is a bend in the Colorado River as seen from 1,000 feet above (yikes!).  Believe me, it took all the courage I could muster to get the shot of the actual bend in the river, achieved pretty much by walking close to the edge (I SERIOUSLY considered crawling out but already looked silly enough in my Safety Sam vest, and there were lots of people around) and holding my phone WAY out in front of me, hoping I was holding it at the correct angle.  I’m relieved these came out fairly well because I don’t care to go back.

I looked around for another sturdy spot and thought I’d better try again, just to be sure.

After finishing up things in the Page, Arizona area I continued making my clockwise loop back towards Kanab.  I stayed on Route 89 until I got to the town of Bitter Springs.  Getting there required making a fairly substantial elevation drop to the desert floor.  Once there, I turned right on Route 89A which would take me to the next series of sights.

First up – the Navajo Bridge, which spans the Colorado River.  Given the reduction in altitude, the drop from the bridge to the water is less than half what it was at Horseshoe Bend, up in Page.

This was taken from the pedestrian bridge which is located alongside the vehicular bridge.

And this is looked the other way, northeast, away from the pedestrian bridge.

And these give you some idea of what is in the area if you stop looking down.  First looking northwest, which was my direction of travel….

…. and then looking southeast, which is where I was coming from.

 

It had started to rain when I arrived at the Visitor Center and Grand Canyon Lodge on Friday.  Inside the Lodge is a restaurant and a large observation room with three huge windows overlooking the Canyon.  On either side of that room are outdoor decks with Adirondack chairs for relaxing while you enjoy the view.  There weren’t any takers today, as everyone wanted to lounge on the huge, dry, comfortable leather couches in the observation room, or stand and stare at the view.

This was the deck outside the left set of doors.

And this was the area outside the right set.  The restaurant is inside the building on this side, and the path down to the overlook I went out on was over here as well.

 

These are pictures I took with the digital camera on Friday at the North Rim.  They are all from two scenic roads north of the Lodge which ultimately lead out to Imperial Point and Cape Royal, respectively.  These appear in the order I took them, with improving, then deteriorating weather conditions.

I did not take any photos with the digital camera from the Lodge itself due to the heavy overcast.

 

These are pictures I took with the digital camera on Friday at the North Rim.  They are all from two scenic roads north of the Lodge which ultimately lead out to Imperial Point and Cape Royal, respectively.  These appear in the order I took them, with improving, then deteriorating weather conditions.

These are pictures I took with the digital camera on Friday at the North Rim.  They are all from two scenic roads north of the Lodge which ultimately lead out to Imperial Point and Cape Royal, respectively.  These appear in the order I took them, with improving, then deteriorating weather conditions.

My Airbnb host in Kanab told me about this place which is about 35 miles east of town.  Saturday started out as a damp, dreary morning with a low cloud ceiling as there has been rain overnight.  As I drove east, however, visibility improved and I decided to make the one-mile trek back to see these curious formations.  They are sometimes called Hoodoos.

The “path” was mostly in a dry, sandy creek bed.  The overnight rain evidently hadn’t reached this far east so it was kind of like walking on the beach.  Occasionally the path went near some large rock over-hangings and there were some interesting layers of rock which had broken away underneath.

I found this rock in the path and it made me think of the Star Destroyer ship from the movie Star Wars.

I finally made it back to the eerie landscape where the toadstool formations are.  What follows are many photos from various angles of the main formation, as well as some standalone ones nearby.  The pictures in this post were all taken with the smartphone camera.  A post with other photos taken with the digital camera follows.

Toadstools are natural spires with a large rock sitting on top.  These aren’t things made as a prank by college kids.

There is another location with many toadstools (Hoodoos) in the town of Page, which I drove through later in the day after I crossed into Arizona.  That venue requires a considerable hike which I was not going to make.  I’m sure you can find photos online if you Google: Page Arizona Hoodoos.  They are even more spectacular that these.

I believe there may have been other toadstool formations at this location as well, but rain was moving back in so I made the one-mile trek back to my car.  I arrived there just in the nick of time, as a gentle rain started to fall which quickly became a hard rain as I drove away.  I hope the creek-bed didn’t fill up for the folks who were going in as I was coming out!

 

 

 

It was about a mile walk back to the area where the toadstool formations were located.  Much of the “path” was actually a dry, sandy creek bed which probably fills rapidly with water when the monsoon rains hit.  It had rained overnight west of Kanab but evidently not over this direction, as the creek bed was dry.

Once you get back to where the toadstool formations are located you are in an eerie, moon-like landscape with many large grayish-white rocks with wind-swept swirl patterns and many rounded nooks and crannies.  The “path” was not as obvious back here and I found myself in many dead-ends.

Nearby are many reddish-brown formations, such as the main attraction which is brown but sits high atop a white base.

Front:

Back:

And behind the main attraction are some smaller, standalone formations.

I believe this one fell over.

Before leaving Kanab this morning I looked at the radar to see what the weather situation was going to be for the day.  Sure enough, several pockets of rain were heading north from Arizona.  The largest and most intense areas of rain appeared as though they would pass by to the west, probably hitting Zion National Park later in the morning.  Another, smaller area looked like it would pass by to the east, probably hitting Grand Staircase – Escalade National Monument later in the morning.  So I decided to head towards the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which was my primary goal for the day anyway.

And before I left town I treated my car windows with Rain-X and installed a new set of wiper blades.  Today would be the most significant daytime rain I would experience since leaving Durham on July 5!  It had rained some that day when I got to Tennessee, and it rained some at night while I was in South Dakota and Montana, but it has basically been bone dry since then.  Sometimes rain was forecast for the area I was in but I was elsewhere when it hit since I move around alot.  Out here in the west you can often see where it is raining nearby but it may be sunny where you are.

When my preparations were complete (including a stop at a local grocery store for Gatorade, a sandwich and cole slaw for lunch and a few other items) I set off for the Grand Canyon!  I drove south on Route 89A and soon crossed into Arizona.  I drove for about an hour until I reached Jacob Lake, where I had to make a decision whether to commit to the Canyon and keep going straight on Route 67, or turn east and stay on Route 89A and make a big counterclockwise loop to see things to the east.  I no longer had access to radar so I trusted my eyes and continued towards the Canyon.  I could always retreat if things got out of hand.

Both roads (89A and 67) were very pleasant rides, through a variety of terrains.  There was very little traffic, and I stopped frequently to take in the sights, shoot some photos with both cameras (mostly the digital, which you’ll see some of eventually) and look for critters.  It wasn’t all that far to get to the Canyon entrance but it took a while with all the stops I made.

I am accumulating more pictures like the one above for my “Go play in the street” series….

This native plant thinks it will grow up to be a Saguaro cactus.

Shortly after I passed through the entrance to the Park (The Grand Canyon is a National Park, by the way) a huge bolt of lightning hit a ways up the road ahead of me, followed quickly by a loud rumble of thunder.  That means six more weeks of summer, right??

It rained hard, briefly, then slacked off to a gentle, steady rain until I got to the Visitor Center.  I had forgotten that Arizona doesn’t play the Daylight Savings Time game so that meant I had a bonus hour to spend (well not really, until I went to Arizona and stayed there, which I will in a few days).

It continued to rain lightly, off and on, for about an hour after I arrived.  I went in the various buildings and took some initial pictures (I’ll post pictures of the Lodge itself in the future).  While waiting out the rain I went back to the dry comfort of my car (and I lucked out by getting rock star parking) and enjoyed my picnic lunch which I bought  before leaving Kanab.

Now, on with the show.   I know you are anxious to see pictures of the Canyon….