Horseshoe Bend, Navajo Bridge, and Lee's Ferry National Monument

Today we began to explore the area around Page Arizona.  We visited the famous Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River, the old and new Navajo Bridge that connects the Grand Canyon North Rim to the South Rim, and Lee’s Ferry National Monument.

Horseshoe Bend is a very photogenic place on the Colorado.  It is just below the Glen Canyon Dam about 5 miles south of Page AZ.  You park in a lot alongside Highway 89 and walk about 3/8 of a mile uphill and downhill (about 200 feet elevation change) through soft red Arizona sand.  The hike is worth it.  1000 feet below, the Colorado River makes a 270 degree turn around a sandstone bluff.  The view is amazing.  We were there earlier in the morning and not the best time for photography because of the sun position.  Now I know when to be there and will return in the afternoon.

Horseshoe Bend

Next we went on the Navajo Bridge.  The original bridge was completed in 1929 and was paid for by what is now the Arizona Department of Transportation with cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.  The bridge is only 18 feet wide with a load capacity of 22.5 tons (although the posted load capacity is 40 tons).  At the time it was constructed, consideration was given to the fact that it may be too small, but a larger bridge was rejected as being too expensive.  Well, as usual, they should have built the bigger bridge.  Because traffic became too heavy, and too frequent, a new bridge had to be built.  There were many environmental impacts that had to be considered including the impact on the Navajo sacred land and the Marble Canyon itself.  The new steel arch bridge was commissioned in 1990 and completed in September 1995 at a cost of $15 million dollars.  The old bridge was left and is now used only for foot traffic.  The new bridge was designed to look similar to the old bridge is a beautiful addition to the Marble Canyon.  While photographing the two bridges I spotted 2 California Condors.  I scurried back to the truck and got my BIG lens.  I was able to photograph 3 Condors.  There are currently 122 California Condors in existence.  I was able to photograph number 02, 55 and 83.

New Navajo Bridge

New Navajo Bridge

New Navajo Bridge

New on Left.  Old on Right

#55 and #83

#02

He Got Nervous

In flight from the Old Bridge

Disagreement?

Maybe Just Play

Until the original bridge was constructed, the only way for vehicle traffic to cross the Colorado River for hundreds of miles, was Lee’s Ferry.  Lee’s Ferry began service in 1872 and was discontinued in 1928.  The ferry is gone, but the campground and surrounding area is operated by the National Park Service.  The scenery is amazing.  The Vermillion cliffs stand out against the deep blue sky.  Lees Ferry is the only place within Glen Canyon where visitors can drive to the Colorado River in over 700 miles of Canyon Country, right up to the first "rapid" in the Grand Canyon.

Road to Lee's Ferry

Road to Lee's Ferry

Lee's Ferry at the Colorado River

Balancing Rock

Going North on Highway 89A we come to Cliff Dwellings.  These are primitive homes built at the base of huge rocks.  At first you may think these are ancient Native American dwellings, but you would be wrong.  In 1927 Blanche Russel's car broke down in the area and she like the country so much she decided to buy some land there.  Why the buildings were built the way they were, I have no idea.