10 June

Route: Page-Marble Canyon-Grand Canyon, North Rim.

Our biological clocks have not reset, so we wake at 4:30, Arizona time. We decide to get going as we anticipate a long day, knowing that the camp ground is full, means we will have to still drive to Flagstaff after our visit. Just after the road crosses the Colorado, near Lees Ferry, we pass Marble Arch, where we will be staying the night before our rafting trip. The road parallels the Vermillion Mtns, which have been said “seem to radiate the light, rather than reflect it”. The colour of the 1500-foot high cliff is reddish, orangy, purply, pink, even on this overcast day. They must be awesome when the morning sun hits them. We pass through a series of hairpin bends, which takes us to an elevation of 7000+ feet, immediately the temperature drops and the vegetation changes to a mixed conifer forest. The

Kainab NF, which forms a buffer to the Grand Canyon, consists of short grassy meadows, with small open pans surrounded by Aspen and conifers.

Past management practice when fires were suppressed has resulted in encroachment of the forest into these meadows as well as the reduction in the amount of Aspen. Now days the areas are burnt every three to five years resulting in healthier Aspen population as they re-grow from the roots.

We overheard two conversations today, the first was a women speaking to a hotel staff person asking how do you get a reservation and whether there was ever any cancellations. His reply, “you have a one in a million chance”. The second was in the reception of the hotel with someone cancelling his night’s stay. Like Jack flash, so quick that the receptionist could not believe our question, we had a night in the grand old “Grand Canyon Hotel”. Not only did we get a room, but we also got one of only five that overlooks the canyon rim. You can work out the odds, there are 450 rooms in the hotel!

From the sun porch of the hotel built in 1928, rebuilt after a fire in 1932, we took the path to “Bright Angel point”. This narrow path with absolutely no barriers takes you out on a buttress 2000ft above the canyon floor.

From the viewpoint at the end of the trail, we could see a path that we would have to take when we exit the canyon after our rafting. We are not sure whether this scares us more or the terrifying drops around us!

We did the scenic drives that takes you to Cape Royal Point and Angel’s Window. Angel’s Window, named as this is the only place on the north rim where the Colorado river can be seen, this through an opening in the rock buttress.

You may be able to just make ot the Colorado, in the window. Also note the people on top.

I ventured onto the buttress with much trepidation, what with the height, extremely high winds and a 600 wide “bridge” to cross I would be lying if I didn’t say I was petrified.

The view from our rocking chairs on our patio was an apt way to end another awe-inspiring day.