Trying to Take it Easy

Bud’s foot is getting better, but isn’t completely healed. And I have hurt my right leg. I don’t know how but I suspect it might have been rushing down the slope to check on Matey after he ran off the ledge. Matey seems fine, but we are trying to minimize walking for a few days.

Wednesday we took a drive back off the Kaibab Plateau and along the Vermillion Cliffs. We drove 35 miles and descended 4,000 feet. The temperature rose from 72 to 92 degrees. This is the overlook about 2/3 of the way down the plateau.

The cliffs are beautiful but there is no driving access so this is as close as we got.

We drove down to the Navajo Bridge across the Colorado. The first bridge here was finished in 1929. It was replaced in 1995, and is now a pedestrian bridge. I was standing on the old bridge to take this picture. This is looking south, downstream.

This is looking north, upstream. I learned today that Colorado means ruddy, and the river used to be full of silt. The silt colored the water red and carved the canyons. Today the silt is captured by Glen Canyon Dam and the river is blue (except after heavy rains) and colder.

Yesterday I did laundry and we hung around the campground. Someone still has to walk Matey so we’ve been taking turns. Today we decided to drive back down to the North Rim and walk the short trails to the vistas that we didn’t see Tuesday because dogs aren’t allowed on them. Matey had to stay in the camper.

First we revisited Cape Royal and walked out to Angel’s Window and the point beyond that. Angel’s Window is the hole in the rock you see in this photo. A side trail takes you right out over the opening.

As you get closer you come to a place where you can see the Colorado through the opening in the rock.

This is from the top of Angel’s Window looking almost straight down, dizzying.

This wall, that formed one side of the opening, was so vertical it almost looked constructed.

This is the view further down the trail at Cape Royal. If you look closely to the left of the near peak you can just see the river. A sign explained that the North Rim is 1200 feet higher than the South Rim and on average gets twice as much snow. Water flows south in this whole region so the greater snowmelt flowing into the river cut canyons back along the North Rim, leaving the river further away. The snowmelt on the South Rim flows away from the river, so there has been less erosion and the cliffs are steeper.

Next we drove back to the main visitor area and walked through the Grand Canyon Lodge and out a trail that took us to the main trail to Bright Angel Point. This is looking back at the lodge from the trail. It certainly fits into the landscape. The large windows are on a lobby area and there is outdoor seating to the right.

The trail goes a quarter mile out along a peninsula of rock. There are no railings.

Here they have a bit of a wall as the ground drops off immediately on either side of the path.

Thank goodness there was a railing at the point!

This picture shows the fault line where Bright Angel Creek descends. The North Kaibab Trail follows the creek to the bottom of the canyon. It is the only trail down into the canyon on the North Rim.

I took this photo holding my phone out from the edge of the trail on the way back.

I took this photo of a sign showing a picture of the canyon on a clear day.

Unfortunately, this was the view today. I don’t think this is air pollution, I think it’s dust! It has been windy almost every day for the past week. The dust doesn’t blow too much up in the trees, but out across the lower land the dust is terrible.

I still got some nice pictures but I would love to get some across the canyon on a clear day. That may not be possible, the weather forecast for the next week has days that are windy and days that are very windy!