Fotoeins Fotografie

October 2018.

The following takes place entirely on travel day 11 in the American Southwest. The previous day was a long one on the road: from Flagstaff, we drove north on US-89 and US-89A next to Echo Cliffs and Vermilion Cliffs, and ending up at North Rim for our first-ever visit to the Grand Canyon.

After overnighting at Cliff Dwellers Lodge, a new day began with a stop at the Rock Houses nearby, then retracing the previous day’s drive back to Cameron, before turning west to spend the rest of the day at the Desert View section of the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. That began our first-time visit to the South Rim which we visited over a period of two days.

Total distance from Cliff Dwellers to Flagstaff (via South Rim): 217 mi (349 km).

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Highlights

• Cliff Dwellers Lodge
• The Russell Rock Houses
• Little Colorado River Gorge Lookout
• Desert View, Grand Canyon’s South Rim
• Grandview Point
• Sunset at Lipan Point

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Cliff Dwellers Lodge

Cliff Dwellers Lodge is located near mile marker 547 of highway US-89A; the little hamlet was established near fresh water springs at Soap Creek. In the midst of a desolate “Arizona Strip,” Cliff Dwellers Lodge is an oasis: lodgings with modest, clean, and cozy rooms; restaurant to fuel up with ample delicious diner fare; and gas station and general store to stock up on supplies. We’re very happy to have overnighted at this location; it’s busy by day, but very quiet at night. Other accommodations in the area include Lee’s Ferry Lodge at Vermilion Cliffs and Marble Canyon Lodge. (Our 1-night stay at the Cliff Dwellers Lodge was neither requested nor sponsored.)

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The Russell Rock Houses

About a quarter-mile east from Cliff Dwellers Lodge are a set of unusual formations which I mistakenly believed was of indigenous origin. In the early 1930s, Blanche and Bill Russell were travelling through the area, fell in love with the location, and dropped anchor to build stone houses and operate a trading post, serving the needs of Mormons travelling to and from the nearest Mormon church 135 mi (217 km) away in St. George, Utah. This spot is also called “Blanche Russell Rock Houses” or “Cliff Dwellers Stone Houses”.

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Little Colorado River Gorge Lookout

Leaving Cameron and US-89 behind, we drive west on state highway AZ-64 to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim and east entrance. About 11 miles (18 km) west from Cameron, we stop at the Little Colorado River Gorge Navajo Tribal Park for a visual appetizer. The Little Colorado River is one of the largest tributaries feeding the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon; we had already crossed the Little Colorado River in the Painted Desert on a previous 1-day drive. Squeezed between the Coconino Plateau and the river’s upper gorge where the canyon is deep as it is wide (240 metres / almost 800 feet), AZ-64 provides easy access to views of the Little Colorado River gorge, including the Tribal Park’s (east) overlook between highway mileposts 285 and 286.

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Desert View (Grand Canyon)

This was our first ever visit to the Grand Canyon. We’d been blown away by the views of North Rim the previous day. But on this day the anticipation was high because the sun was out with few clouds present. We arrived at the South Rim’s Desert View, and the Grand Canyon’s eastern section did not disappoint.

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Grandview Point

With a lookout point labelled “Grandview”, ya gotta go find out why. Healthy skepticism and endless curiosity are a direct route to answering that question for ourselves. In the heart of the South Rim’s eastern section, the sweeping 180-degree view is magnificent as it is memorable, particularly for the hundreds of millions of years in geological evolution visible in the exposed rock layers below. There’s also a nice bit of “closure” with the North Rim’s Cape Royal where we had visited the previous day.

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Sunset at Lipan Point

Naturally, we stayed for sunset, a perfect way to end our 1st day in the Grand Canyon’s South Rim and another 1-day drive in the American Southwest. As dusk gave way to darkness, we drove east on AZ-64 back to Cameron, then turning south to Flagstaff where we established a base for the next couple of days. Our Flagstaff hosts recommended to us the delicious southern stylings at Satchmo’s. Even better conditions accompanied our visit the following day to the South Rim’s western and central sections.

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I made the images above on 14 October 2018 entirely with a Canon EOS6D mark1. Thanks to AB for making this memorable trip possible. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-f5i.

1-day drives in the American Southwest

• Georgia O’Keeffe Country: Santa Fe to Abiquiú
• Santa Fe to Taos
• Santa Fe to Flagstaff
• Flagstaff to Vermilion Cliffs, and on the same day, Grand Canyon’s North Rim
• Cliff Dwellers to the South Rim
• Grand Canyon’s South Rim, on 2 separate days
• Tucson to Santa Fe