Not Quite the North Rim

My husband and I are home from our road trip to Mesa Verde National Park. We travelled through Nevada and the Four Corner states (Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico). Our route took us on a loop from Oakland CA, to Tehachapi CA, St. George UT, Jacob Lake AZ, Kayenta AZ, Cortez CO, Winslow AZ, Kingman AZ, and back to Tehachapi and then Oakland. We had planned to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on our trip, but the White Sage and Dragon Bravo fires stopped that. They both ignited from lightening strikes on July 4. The lodge at the North Rim burned to the ground, and Highway 67 to the North Rim was closed for the season.

I booked lodgings at the Jacob Lake Inn, and monitored the fires throughout the summer. At various times over 750 firefighters were on the line (many stationed at the Jacob Lake Inn); record heat and winds kept the fires whipped into a frenzy; key roads were shut down; and people were evacuated from the area. I kept our reservation anyway, because there is still so much to see in the area, even without quite getting to the North Rim.

The lure of the open road

Big open spaces

Desert scrubland

The drive from Oakland to Tehachapi is long, but there is always something interesting to see (miles of Yucca and Joshua Trees), and a good "book on tape" (a Mathew Scudder story, "Ticket to the Boneyard"), makes the time fly. In Tehachapi, we stocked up on a few bakery items at Kohnen's Country Bakery. On the way to St. George UT, we drove through the incredible Virgin River Corridor (an engineering feat). We enjoyed the warm climate and sights during our overnight stay in St. George (relatively close to Zion National Park, which we visited over a decade ago).

We also started seeing the dramatic red rock formations and the Vermillion Cliffs, and stopped all along the way to snap pictures and drink in the views. Iron seeps into the sandstone, giving the Navajo formation rock its distinctive red color. We also stopped at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, with its seven miles of fine pink sand. It's like being in the Sahara Desert.

Vermillion Cliffs area

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park

At the Le Fevre Overlook in the Kaibab National Forest, we found that the trees and ground had been scorched by the White Sage and Dragon Bravo fires, but the Overlook structure had not been touched. While viewing the surrounding hills, I could see how easily the flames could travel and get out of control so quickly. This made me appreciate the courage and dedication of the fire fighters who had battled these fires (or any fire). From the Overlook, we could see the exposed layers of The Grand Staircase.

Scorched earth from the White Sage and Dragon Bravo fires

The Grand Staircase as seen from Lefevre Overlook

The Grand Staircase: layers of geological history

In Jacob Lake, my husband suffered from a case of altitude sickness and was pretty miserable. The elevation is about 8,000 feet so it is not surprising (although he has experienced 8,000 feet elevation before with no ill effect, on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road in Austria). I scoped out nearby ERs  just in case (I found two, each one was an hour away). While he dozed in our cozy cabin, I visited the nearby Kaibab Visitor Center, hiked on a nature trail through the pine woods, and enjoyed a few delicious baked goods at the Inn. I could feel the altitude in my breathing, but had no other complications.

Tall pines around Jacob Lake Inn

Kaibab National Forest (in green) is surrounded by desert

Jacob Lake Inn - Room 58

We stayed at the Inn for two nights, and then we headed for lower altitudes. From Jacob Lake, we followed Highway 89A, known for its dramatic scenery. We stopped at the Navajo Bridge that crosses the Colorado River in Marble Canyon. The color of the Colorado River is an amazing shade of blue green. We were close to Lee's Ferry, where river rafters embark on their adventures down the Colorado River. It is the only place in Glen Canyon where you can drive to the river. Brave the Wild River gives an account of the Neville Expedition, which departed from this area in the 1930s.

Navajo bridge and pedestrian walkway

The blue green of the Colorado River

We followed Highway 89A, which merged with Highway 89, marveling at the stunning red cliffs, buttes, plateaus, mesas, and other amazing formations, and entered the Navajo Indian Reservation. We joined Highway 160, and headed for our next stop, the Moenave Dinosaur Tracks.

The highway runs parallel to the red rock formations

Learn More

• AAA's Indian Country: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico Map (Automobile Club of Southern California, 2017). This map includes information on national parks and national monuments, recreation areas, campgrounds, tribal lands, and other points of interest, along with "Notes from the Road" by ACSC Field Cartographer, and was invaluable for planning our trip, and for navigating during our trip. We got our paper copy free from the Automobile Club, but you can purchase it at an affordable price through Amazon and other online vendors.

• Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon, by Melissa L. Sevigny (W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York, 2023). The book provides an account of the trip down the river by the Neville Expedition. On our trip, my husband and I saw or were close to some of the places named in the book, such as Lee's Ferry, Navajo Bridge, Marble Cliffs, and Mexican Hat. I'll have to re-read the book now that I'm more familiar with their route and the terrain.

• Canyon Country: Geology for the Layman and Rockhound, by F.A. Barnes (Arch Hunter Books, 2000, with previous publications in 1978, 1988, and 1996). I read this book before our trip to learn more about the geology of the Four Corners region. Barnes provides a basic overview that is perfect for the layperson. I learned so much and could appreciate and identify what I was seeing in the field.

• Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park (Utah - elevation ~6000 feet). Seven miles of fine-grained coral pink dunes! Plants hold the dunes in place, sending out their rhizomes to stabilize themselves in the shifting sand.

• Grand Canyon National Park, North Rim (Arizona). Our goal had been to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, until the White Sage and Dragon Bravo fires ravaged the area in July and August, burning the Lodge, water treatment facility, and housing. With Highway 67 closed to the North Rim, we decided to stay at Jacob Lake, AZ and see the other sights and natural wonders in the area.

• Jacob Lake Inn and World Famous Bakery (Jacob Lake, AZ - elevation ~8,000 feet). Cookies, pies, bread, and dinner rolls. We stayed at the Jacob Lake Inn, and ate delicious food in the restaurant, but the bakery is the real star! Some of the heroic firefighters that battled the White Sage and Dragon Bravo fires bunked at Jacob Lake Inn, and a few were still there during our visit.

• Kaibab National Forest (Arizona). The forest is surrounded by desert and overlaps with the majestic Grand Canyon. I enjoyed several hikes in the pine forest, and the Visitor Center next door to Jacob Lake Inn.

• Kohnen's Country Bakery (Tehachapi, CA on Highway 58, elevation ~4,000 feet). My mom and dad used to stop at this German bakery on their trips between Southern and Northern California. They are official experts on all the best bakeries in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. My husband and I ate breakfast at Kohnen's in Tehachapi, and stocked up on bread and a few goodies for the trip to St. George UT and Jacob Lake AZ. Unfortunately the bakery closes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so we missed them on the way home.

• Navajo Bridge National Park (Arizona). Two bridges span the Colorado river as it passes through Marble Canyon - the newer Navajo Bridge is used for automobile and truck traffic, and the older one is for pedestrians. From the bridge we could see how steep the canyon walls are, and how challenging it would be for river rafters. Since 1975, Marble Canyon is considered part of Grand Canyon National Park.

• Road Trip: The I-15 Virgin River Corridor is a Hidden Engineering Marvel, by Tom Herrmann and Gant Wegner (Arizona Department of Transportation, ADOT Communications, posted July 14, 2016). I'm a writer, not an engineer, but even I could recognize the engineering feat required to build I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge. We travelled I-15 from Barstow, CA to St. George, UT.

• Vermillion Cliffs National Monument (Arizona). Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. This monument is a geologic treasure that borders Kaibab National Forest to the west and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to the east. We could not get enough of the red cliffs!  We learned that a growing number of California condors live in the area.