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| A cliff dwelling? |
Cliffs, Canyons, and Cliff Dwellers
Turning east on U.S. Highway 89A at Jacob Lake, Arizona, we soon found ourselves traveling alongside a seemingly interminable, high, red, craggy escarpment on our left. The Vermillion Cliffs, so named because of the high percentage of iron oxide in the stone, were designated a national monument in 2000.
The Vermillion Cliffs
The site is administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The monument is said to have a large number of rock art sites (petroglyphs), although to be honest, we did not stop and look for them.
Blanche Russel's Cliff Dwelling.
About an hour from Jacob Lake, after many stops to take pictures of the cliffs, we rounded a curve and came upon one of the strangest sights of our travels so far -- a small collection of crude rock buildings built into and around immense boulders that had fallen from the cliffs above. We had stumbled upon the Cliff Dwellers Lodge: Blanche Russell's rock houses.
Complete with chimney.
In 1927, Blanche Russell and her husband Bill decided to take an automobile tour of the southwest in hope that the clean, dry air would cure Bill's tuberculosis. Their car broke down at this valley of immense, oddly-shaped boulders that had fallen from the cliffs above. Not having cell phones and emergency road service, they made themselves a shelter from old planks and tarpaper and settled in for the night.
An interior room. Hot and cold running scorpions.
In the following days, Blanche and Bill became so enamored with the desert scenery, the clear skies and clean air, and the solitude that they decided to stay right there. They bought the land and actually opened a restaurant, and later, a trading post. They were there for ten years before moving on and selling the place to a rancher named Jack Church, who turned the restaurant into a bar.
An ice cream cone, perhaps?
Nine miles farther along from the Cliff Dwellers Lodge is the Navaho Bridge, which spans Marble Canyon at a height of 467 feet above the Colorado River, making it the ninth highest bridge in the United States. We stopped at the bridge for a few minutes and made pictures (of course), then headed south on U.S. 89A and 89 for Flagstaff, about 130 miles away, traveling through Navaho territory most of the way.
The Navaho Bridge and the Vermillion Cliffs. 
467 feet above the Colorado River.
We decided not to visit the much more crowded and touristy South Rim of the Grand Canyon on this trip. Maybe next time.
In Flagstaff we merged onto Interstate 40 East and began the long slog home. But not without a few more adventures.
Fuji X-T20, Fujinon XC 16-50mm f3.5-5.6 OISII and XC 50-230mm f4.8-6.3 OIS lenses.
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(Photographs copyright David B. Jenkins 2020)
Soli Gloria Deo
To the glory of God alone
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