Lee's Ferry

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For the start of our Grand Canyon Experience, we sloughed off our excess luggage in the Hooters parking lot and shuffled on to a bus. We traveled through the arid landscape under ever-changing clouds.

On the bus, our fearless leader asked us to share who inspired us and what we hoped to get out of the trip. Eventually, we reached Lee's Ferry. We checked into a motel and dispersed for naps, hikes and/or beers according to our tastes.

Julie, Grace, Helen and I decided to start with a hike. The Cathedral Wash trail sounded nice, though our map was a bit cryptic.

We headed toward the Lee's Ferry ranger station and the Navajo bridge (or rather bridges; one for vehicles, one for pedestrians). We got our first glimpse of the mighty clear turquoise/green Colorado River. More on that later.

The ranger tried to discourage us from the hike we had intended to go on - apparently it's a big wash area and if the thunder was indeed a sign of a rainstorm, we'd pretty much be toast. (Soggy toast swept out in a giant flood? Maybe the metaphor doesn't quite work.) So we walked into the middle of the pedestrian bridge to tempt fate in our own way.
It was pretty steep:

Once it started to rain, however, we split up. The sensible folk went back to the motel with its covered beer garden and socialized. Julie and I decided to head into the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area.

It was exhilarating to walk out and explore in the desert as we got muddy.

I liked this rock formation, which made me think of Hamlet meditating on Yorick's skull ("Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio. A fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy."):

This mushroom-shaped rock fascinated me. There was a French family posing by it for a while (you might dimly see the children to the left of it):
I got ready to catch the top-heavy rock, of course:


Here is a balanced rock:


Eventually, we found what we believe was the Cathedral Wash trail area - though we did not go down into it. The grooved, sinuous sides of the wash reminded me of old-school baths:
Reluctantly, we started heading back so that we'd have time for dinner before orientation. It was a good thing, too, because the path was a lot longer and more hilly than we'd remembered.

We were able to relax and enjoy a good part of the evening with our fellow rafters before KJ started explaining why we needed to rush out and buy replacements for things that some of us had deliberately left behind in Las Vegas. Grrrr.

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