October 29
40mi/64km
+890ft/270m
It was a cool day today, and we had much more downhill than uphill, so it was also pretty easy. We started the day riding through Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. We had awesome views all day, and we saw California Condors flying overhead.
We eventually joined the pavement, and there was no shoulder, but the traffic was very light and all the drivers were very courteous today. We are still on the Arizona Strip, the region of the state that lies North of the Grand Canyon. There’s no way to cross the Colorado River for 600 miles (aside from hiking through the canyon), so this portion of the state is remote and more accessible to Utah than it is to the rest of Arizona.
Much of the route we’ve been on today and yesterday are following the footsteps of the Escalante expedition of 1776. These were the first Europeans to explore the Colorado Plateau. Many areas in the southwest area named for Escalante, almost all of which he never laid eyes on. Nothing here is named for him, but this is where he was, searching for a way to cross the Colorado River. The site they eventually crossed at (The Crossing of the Fathers) is now submerged under Lake Powell, to the East.
We rode to Marble Canyon, near Lee’s Ferry and the Navajo Bridge. When the bridge opened in 1929, it finally offered a link across the Colorado River to motorists aside from the risky ferry. Eventually a bigger bridge was constructed for modern traffic in 1995, and the original bridge is now a pedestrian walkway. We visited the bridge and saw a few more Condors and enjoyed the sunset.
We’re staying at the Marble Canyon Lodge tonight, so we can get up early for our ride to Cameron in the rain tomorrow.
