Painted Desert

The next morning we left the south rim and traveled the loop to the North Rim through the Painted Desert. Most of the day was spent in the car but we occasional stopped to enjoy the scenery.

Morning light from the South Rim.

A view of the Little Colorado River on its way to the Colorado. This photo was taken looking north. Notice the flat plateau that extends to the east.

The ground at one of our spots was dessicated creating the crack pattern seen at the surface here. Our resident geotech engineer identified the soil as expansive silt with a touch of clay. It was quite an odd sensation walking upon it, as it felt spongy and would collapse under our weight.

King of the Mountain. Quent and tore through the barbed wire fence seen here in the foreground and raced to the top of this hill to check out the the view. I say tore because I ripped my shirt on my way through and drew blood on my shoulder on my way back. I haven't yet met a barbed wire fence that has not taken a liking to me or the clothes I'm wearing. These fences however have seemed to show no interest in Quent. They must have become bored with him after his many years on the farm back in Michigan.

An interesting sight along the highway. Years of erosion have exposed the distinct layers of soil along this ridge. Our resident geotech giggled with excitement. The rest of us yawned. Just kidding, we all were impressed.

The beginning of Echo cliffs on the eastern side of the road. This area was basically open desert with these cliffs suddenly rising from the sage.

A view of the Vermilion Cliffs directly ahead of us as we traveled west towards the Colorado River.

The new truss arch bridge spanning over the Colorado River. Its abutments were built directly into the face of the canyon.

The original truss arch bridge is to the right and currently only supports pedestrian traffic.

A view of the Colorado River from the old bridge. The water here is a deep green with milky clouds of sediment flowing beneath the surface. Quite a contrast from its mud brown appearance within the Grand Canyon.

Another view of the Vermilion Cliffs.

A picture of the House Rock Valley. The edge of the Vermilion Cliffs are to the right.

After leaving the House Rock Valley the terrain quickly changed. The road turned south and climbed towards Jacob Lake. A mix of pines and grassy fields dominated the terrain. After making a quick stop in Jacob Lake we continued south to our campsite for the night, located in a National Forest Campground just north the the National Park.