Off to Utah! (2490 miles so far)

I had originally planned to get up early this morning, and shoot the sunrise and moonrise, but sleep was entirely too necessary! We packed, re-loaded the van, and caught a little breakfast at the lodge before hitting the road, with intentions of getting to Utah.

We first stopped at the watchtower at the end of Desert View Road. This was our original destination last night for the sunset, so we figured we’d take a look. The site was beautiful, and terrific to shoot. I’m glad we didn’t go there for the sunset, though – I think it would’ve been way crowded!

As we left the Grand Canyon NP, we stopped at many roadside vendors, looking at various Indian wares while still on the Navajo Reservation. We only picked up a few things, but were amazed at the variety, and the natural beauty of the canyon area outside the park.

Farther up the road, we stopped at the Navajo Bridge, which crosses the Colorado River in northern Arizona. When I was last through here – 10 years or so ago – the (now) pedestrian bridge was the only bridge, and car traffic on Highway 89A went right across it. Now there’s a separate bridge for the cars and the people, and you can now stand on the old bridge, and gaze lazily at the Colorado River far below.

We climbed through the mountains and hills of northern Arizona on Highway 89A, and finally made it to the top, at Jacob Lake AZ. I remembered this place from my last trip through here – it really started to freak me out! I started remembering little bits and pieces about the area, and it was almost like sharing memories from someone else’s head. Very strange.

The drive continued toward southern Utah, and the clouds got thicker and thicker. We decided to pull over in Fredonia AZ, and take our night’s rest at the Crazy Jug Inn. Nice, rustic place, with a great restaurant. They are really busy once the north rim of the Grand Canyon opens (about a month from now). Tonight, there was little business though, and it was almost as though we had the place to ourselves.

The weather got ugly though – 50+ mph winds that looked like a blast front moving through town. Fortunately, this happened at dinner, so we weren’t out in it!