Here are a few links to info about Lee's Ferry I couldn't post earlier due to on and off internet access.
I'll give them first, and then more on today.
Lee's Ferry 1
Lee's Ferry 2
Some of the info is repetitive, but combined they should give you a feel for the area.
If you already looked at Day 55 - go back to see the pictures I just added.
The first 18 miles of the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam is accessable to everyone for recreational purposes. But only one company has the "concession" to take paying passengers down that short stretch. They leave Page, float the 18 miles to Lee's Ferry, then bus the passengers back to Page. It's about 5-6 hours total time. We were going to do it when we were in Page, but the time away from the dogs was too long without paying for a "doggie day care" which we are reluctant to do, and not because of the cost. So while in Page we did a 3 hour Lake Powell boat tour. Before leaving this thought - travel on the Colorado River is STRICTLY controlled by the NPS. No one gets past Lee's Ferry without a permit to do so. And it can take upwards of 10 years, yes 10 years, to get one of these permits. So it's a pretty special event. River Running Companies have "concessions" with the NPS and can take a limited number of passengers each year, but even reservations with them can require planning 1-3 years in advance. In summary, the NPS allows only a certain number of people on the river at any one time to minimize the impact.
Moving on - We got to our campsite here at Lee's Ferry and we saw the boats from Page pulling in at Lee's Ferry to drop off their passengers. Ellen lamented that we should have taken the raft trip instead of the boat trip. So I told her to call the rafting company, make a reservation for herself, and I would drive her back to Page so she could float back to our campground. She did it and her pictures are below. She may add some "verbage" as well when she looks at the blog. Needless to say, the dogs and I had a wonderful, quiet afternoon.
Below the dam at our boat launch
Just got on the river and looking back at the dam
Our river guide Mike
A beautiful, slow, cruise down river. Would have liked some rapids but they start after Lees Ferry. The canyon walls on this part of the river get up to around 1,100 feet high and are Navajo sandstone. In the Grand Canyon the depth of the walls can be as high and straight up as a mile (5,280 ft.) and 7 layers of rock!
We stopped at a sandy beach area for lunch and a short hike to see some ancient petroglyphs
More beautiful scenery all the way to Lees Ferry
The bus was waiting to take our group back to Page but I had my own "driver" named Jim who picked me up at our take out point. He had 2 gorgeous "babes" named Isabelle and Gracie with him. It was a good day!
Looks so peacful! Maybe Isabelle is just chilled out from all the great views and hikes. I know I would be. xoxo
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