May 29, 2022, Sunday. Page, Arizona

 Today is Sunday so we attempt to connect with the Christiansburg Mennonite Fellowship worship by Zoom. It begins 10 am eastern time, which is 7 am Arizona time. The connection works, but the sound is not coming through and we hear nothing, so we sign off and go to breakfast.

The way to the North Rim goes through the park, so we get one more glimpse of the Canyon South Rim as we leave. Then it is the road east until we connect with route 89 north. Looking at a map, we see that Page is only 25 miles from our planned route, or 50 miles going and coming, so we think we have the time and still get to our hotel for the night. Besides, it is time for lunch, and maybe there is a laundromat in Page. We are on our way to Page.

Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River

The town of Page began in the 1950’s as housing for the workers building the Glen Canyon dam. When the dam was finished, some decided to stay and incorporate the settlement as a town. Today it has a population of over seven thousand.

We stop at Horseshoe Bend and pay the ten dollar parking fee and view the Bend. That did not take long. On in to town to the Burger King, and sure enough, there is a laundromat not far away. Now we have clean clothes and satisfied stomachs and we are on our way to the Kaibab Lodge, a few miles from the North Rim entrance gate.

Vermillion Cliffs

The road takes us through the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. Red sandstone cliffs and buttes everywhere, and the landscape is about as barren as one can imagine. The only thing that grows is sage brush. At one point a clump of tumbleweed bounced across the road in front of us. This is probably what Mars looks like, except for the sage brush. It is hard to see that the land is profitable for anything. And it is windy, windy, windy, blowing red dust across our paths. Glad we do not have one of those high RVs or campers to pull and try to keep on the road.

From 5,000 feet elevation, the road slowly climbs past 7,000 feet to about 8,000. The landscape changes from red, barren hills and buttes, to forest of pine and aspen. Some parts show signs of forest fire. Large trees mostly dead, new growth coming. We are entering a different world. It is still windy, but the temperature is in the low 70’s or less.

Arriving at the Kaibab Lodge, we are told there is no electric. “The wind has wreaked havoc with our power lines. We will have the generator running in a moment.” The power outage also delays the evening meal, but that comes around eventually.