Saturday, January 27, 2018

Lee's Ferry

     In the early 1870s the leaders of the Mormon Church in Utah wanted to colonize Arizona, but the Colorado River and its canyons blocked the way Here at the mouth of the Paria River was the only place in hundreds of miles they could build a wagon road to the river, cross on a ferry, and continue south. Explorers, Indian traders, miners, and finally tourist followed the pioneers.

Boulder fields where huge rocks have fallen from the high mesas. 

Lee's Ferry Fort
      In 1874, the Mormon Church President, Brigham Young ordered that a fort be built at Lee's Ferry for protection against the Indians. The fort was never attacked since the ferryman became friends and traded with the Navajos in the area.

The area is desolate and O so Peaceful!
      Rumors of gold in the mountains led Charles Spencer to construction a gold mining operation along the Colorado River in around 1911. In order to get coal for his machinery, a rough mule trail was made up a seemingly sheer cliff. The trail climbs 1700 feet up switchbacks to the rim of the canyon after which the mules then had to haul coal from Warm Creek Canyon, which was about 30 miles away. We most definitely did not hike the mule trail and it looked nearly impossible to get up the cliff but I guess they managed!

A steel boiler that Spencer used in an attempt to extract gold.
      Spencer was in the Lee's Ferry for 10 years but only had the gold mine operations running for a year. The gold flecks were to small and light and floated away so it wasn't worth the time or money.

The sunken steamboat
      Spencer's investors from Chicago insisted that a steamboat would be a much more practical way to get coal instead of using the mules. The steamboat was hauled in pieces from San Francisco and constructed near the coalmine. The vessel launched in 1912 but never took another trip. It was not made for the swift currents of the Colorado and despite many failed attempts, they never could get the steamship upriver! Eventually it was abandoned and sunk into the river where we were able to see it.

A building at the site of the ferry

The ferry site
      In 1899 the ferry was moved upriver to this site in hopes that it would be a safer crossing then its previous location 1/2 mile downstream. The ferry was on a permanent track cable but many accidents still occurred. Nine people drowned in the mishaps and the ferry was often out of service for days or months at a time. The final accident occurred in 1928 (only 89 years ago!) when the first ferryman's grandson was crossing with 2 friends and his Model T. The boat twisted and was capsized which caused the cable to snap. Sadly, all three men drowned. Construction of a new bridge across the Colorado River 6 miles down was almost finished so they decided not to rebuild the ferry.

A faint wagon trail still remains on the opposite bank.
      This is where most of the Mormon pioneers crossed the river in the 1870s and 1880s. The road south continued one and a half miles up the steep and very rugged rock ledge that became known as Lee's Backbone. Many considered it to be the worst part of the trip to Arizona. Most people had to double-team their wagons to the top, 350 feet above the river!

A snapped cable remains on the shore.

The narrow wagon trail leading to the ferry.

The Colorado is now a calm, controlled river.
      Before the Glen Canyon Dam was built, this part of the Colorado River was dangerous and unpredictable. In the spring or after a storm it would become a roaring monster that flooded everything in its path but in the summer and fall it would dry up to barely a trickle. It was warm and muddy but now it is cold and clear.
     While we understand that dams are important to regulate the water, it's hard not to get passionately against them when you see how we have messed up the earth up by trying to control it. By creating a reservoir, you lose massive amounts of water due to evaporation and seepage. History is buried in millions of gallons of water. The ecological systems are highly disturbed and many animals are now extinct or going that way quickly. We've learned about places where dams have been built and soon thereafter the earth's surface has cracked and caused earthquakes. But! Despite the fact that there will NOT be enough water to raise crops and have huge green lawns in the west if we keep on, we continue to do what suits us best. Because, convenience. And money. And practicality. See, easy to get passionate about it :). 

"Broken beauty can still be beautiful"

Pictures showing the warm, muddy Colorado before the dam and the cold, clear Colorado River after the dam.

Lonely Dell Ranch

The Lonely Dell, a lovely 1 mile walk from Lee's Ferry

     The was the home to the families who operated Lees Ferry. This area was so isolated that anyone working at the crossing needed to be self-sufficient, growing food for themselves, their animals, and often the many travelers that came through in the summer months. It was hard work and a difficult challenge but several families did very well. 
     It was 1871 when John Lee and his wives Emma and Rachel (2 of 18!) arrived to start the operation for the Mormon Church. Emma became the driving force behind the ferry and ranch as John Lee was often absent, on "business" or visiting other wives. In 1874 he was arrested then executed in 1877 for his involvement at the Mountain Meadow Massacre. Look that up, horrible, horrible incident that the Mormons blamed the Indians for. 

The orchard at the Lonely Dell
      The last private owners of the property planted this orchard in 1865 but before this, many fruit trees were tended north of the ranch. The apricot, peach, pear, plum, and apple trees are tended by volunteers and the fruit is free to the public. The day we were there a very kindhearted gentleman was cleaning out ditches and took time to chat with us and gave us great history tidbits.

Irrigation ditches for watering the orchard and garden.
      One of the first things done at the ranch was a dam built across the Paria River and ditches dug to divert the water to the ranch. Irrigating the ranch was backbreaking work since the dam washed out an average of three times a year and the ditches were continually filling with mud or washing out. But they never gave up and grew a lush green oasis of pastures, alfalfa fields, orchards and vegetable gardens. It was either grow your own food or starve!

Ditches that ran water to each tree.
      Emily's favorite part of the day was talking to the gentleman and asking him questions about the trees. He told us that they white-wash (to be time period correct) the trunks to keep the trees from getting warm to early or else the sap will rise and they will start to bud before the danger of freezing is over. Fascinating how smart they were!

One of the remaining cabins
      The Lee's, Johnson's and Emmet's were three of the main families living here in the late 1880s. Since they were Mormon, it gets a bit confusing but each man had at least 2 wives that lived here with her children.

A wagon parked in front of the cabins.

The bell in front of the most modern building on the ranch. 
      The Weaver Ranch house was built after 1900 as a guesthouse but it was never very profitable.

Lonely Dell Dugout
      The dugout was used to store vegetables in the winter. In the summer it was a cool place to store milk, butter, and cheese. Families would often spend part of the afternoon there on the hottest part of the day. Makayla was completely fascinated by all the old buildings and imagined herself a little 8 year living there.

An old truck at the ranch.
      In 1965 the National Park Service purchased the Lonely Dell to be used as a historic site. The last owners left a few belongings there-like this old truck. Michael loved that it was a dually!

The Cementary
      Twenty-five residents and travelers were buried in this cemetery. The large headstone records one of the saddest events at the ranch. Four of the Johnson's six children died of diphtheria over a seven week period after they took in some ill travelers who were obviously carrying the disease.

The path leading to the Paria wilderness and canyon.
      We kept walking past the ranch and cemetery and soon came to this scary looking path we needed to cross in order to get to the "back pasture" of the ranch. Eldon assured me that if I fell off, I would simply float downstream to where I could easily crawl out. I was thrilled that his advice wasn't needed!

The back pasture.
      This is where sheep and cattle were often pastured. It was so beautiful here!



A falling apart shed.

Walking back across the scary path.

     It's impossible to capture the allurement of this place with a few pictures and words but I hope you caught a small glimpse. This was easily my favorite place we've been to in Arizona yet. The setting was so surreal and I loved how far removed from towns and people that it was.
     Eldon was intrigued by the necessity for the pioneers to be completely self-sufficient and their systems for irrigation and growing things. We are making plans to go back at least once during our time here and hopefully more. There is a lot of trails begging to be hiked and we want to see the fruit trees in bloom.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Horseshoe Bend

If you've ever looked up Page, AZ online or seen a brochure from Arizona, it's highly likely that this huge bend in the Colorado River was featured. It's stunning, to say the very least.

To get there, you must hike 1/2 mile in the sand that is so typical for this area. It's uphill for a ways from the parking lot but you get a break because the next half is downhill. And then, coming out it's reversed which is my favorite way to hike - get the hard part over first!


There are several benches along the way if you need to rest.

The downhill part.

The famous Horseshoe Bend

Sheer cliffs, 1,000 feet down!
 As of now there is no rails so you are expected to use common sense. It was neat to see how our children reacted to this! Makayla kept squawking that I was hurting her hand and she wanted to get closer so she could SEE! Michael was very cautious but ok with going close enough to get a good look. Emily was fairly terrified and after one look over the edge wanted to go home. Ethan was the same. Eldon had him in the carrier and whenever he got to where Ethan thought was to close, he would yell at him to get back :). I admit to being more scared of heights then I realized! It's a long ways down and had a dizzying effect on me. Thankfully Eldon was unphased and took pictures for us :). 



This is below the Glen Canyon Dam 1/2 a mile or so.

"I'm scared! Get back! No, no, no, I'm gonna fall!"

By summer of 2018 they plan to have this area wheelchair accessible and a fenced in look-out.

Right now the grades are steep and sandy but very manageable for any healthy person.


 In case you didn't know, some Japanese people LOVE to take pictures with Americans, especially children. This has happened to us before and it's always so fun to me. I love trying to converse even though we speak complete different languages. There was a tour bus there and no less then 4 different people wanted pictures. Emily was scowling until it was over! 



Imagine being a pioneer trying to cross through this area and continually running into canyons like this?! I believe it's between Utah and Southern Arizona that there were only 6 places to cross the Colorado and some of those were very dangerous. Amazing what those courageous people went through to try and better their lives!

Back at the parking lot there is nice vault toilets but no running water.

This is a 1 mile round trip hike through sand. Good shoes or boots and water is a must. Bring a camera and prepare to sit in awe of God's beautiful world!

Photo courtesy of vinjabond.com
Not my picture, but it captures the wild beauty much better then ours did!

Saturday, January 20, 2018

Bucktank Draw and Birthday Arch

     Eldon picked our hike last Saturday and it was a fun one! We're only a few miles from the Utah border so we headed up the 89 to find the trail head for Birthday Arch. There's no markings or a parking lot but between mile marker 9 and 10 there is a wider gravel area and a fence with a gate.


Once there, we simply walked up Bucktank Draw for over 2 miles. It was mostly flat but walking in sand made it hard.


The children absolutely loved it and shocked us both by how well they did! Several places require scrambling up over rocks and this was the most fun, they said :).

So much sand!


One of the very few pools of water we saw.


Here we are leaving the draw and heading towards the arch. It was steep and the sand made it extremely difficult. 10 minutes of this was more exhausting then an hour in the draw!

Gorgeous

Birthday Arch

     The last half mile that takes you right under the arch requires walking along the top of a canyon on loose rocks so we opted to skip that. It looked a little dangerous with 4 littles. But we still were able to admire it while we rested and ate a snack.

     This hike was 4 miles round trip and easy to moderate. Be sure to take plenty of water and wear proper shoes. Of course we all wore our boots and still got sand in them!

The Toadstools

The Toadstools is another hike in Utah that we loved. The landscape is remarkably enticing to Eldon and I and we have so many questions about how and why it is this way! 

Red dirt




Happy hiker!

Crossing a "bridge" with small drop-offs on either side.

A toadstool!

Why the red strip?

All around it was the exact same level. Undoubtedly, something to do with the water level at one time.



These white rocks were super soft and crumbly.




Collapsed toadstools
     This hike was 1.7 miles round trip and easy to moderate. You can just walk up the steam bed but there is trails all over beside it too, which makes it confusing! However, there is plenty of signs to mark the trail along the way as well.

It's a bit sad, yet intriguing to realize just how fast things change in places like this. In a few years, it could look completely different depending on the rainfall and the heat. If we lived in a place like this I'd take a picture of the exact same thing every year and I know we'd all be stunned how much it changes!