Lees Ferry - Arizona

In order to get from Flagstaff to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, it is a five hour drive heading east to get around the end of the canyon. As can be seen, not much out here!

There are, however, beautiful cliffs along the drive. These are part of Marble Canyon.

These cliffs form the Vermillion cliffs, run about 100 miles across, and are estimated to be about 250 million years old.

And here we have our first close up view of the Colorado River. If you look at the sandy beach, there are a few fisherman there. Turns out the climb down is no easy trek, and as the Glenn Canyon Dam did it's daily release of water, in a few hours, the river will be 6 feet higher.

We were working our way to Lees Ferry and came across a beach that was easy to access.

As the dam releases water from the bottom of the lake (Lake Powell, and 400 feet deep), the water is extremely cold. I waded in (see Amy's Pics), and I have to admit my legs froze almost instantly.

Lees Ferry was at one time the only way to cross the Colorado River for many hundred's of miles. A bridge was bulit in the 1920's, so Lees Ferry disappeared. It is now used as the staging point for the rafting tours of the Colorado River.

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