Day 86: Grand Canyon to Page, AZ

We left the South Rim of the Grand Canyon by heading East, allowing us to see the Desert View Watchtower. This tower was initially built in consultation with Indigenous tribes in the area as a way to bring tourism to this part of the canyon. We were able to climb the tower for a Birds Eye view of the canyon.

As we continued East, we stopped to stretch our legs in Cameron and browse Navajo arts and crafts at a local market. We saw loads of beautiful and interesting things including handmade traditional arrows, pottery and weaving, and silver and turquoise jewelry.

Our next stop, just outside of Tuba, was the most memorable of the day. We pulled over to see trace fossils of dinosaur footprints. These were three-toed prints preserved in the sandstone from the early Jurassic period, about 202 to 200 million years ago. The tracks likely represent several different types of carnivorous dinosaurs. Guided by a lovely Navajo woman who grew up and lives in the area, we got to walk right beside the dinosaur tracks, literally walking with the dinosaurs. Incredibly cool.

Our tour guide had a wonderful imagination showing us many other rocks and formations that could have been dinosaur skeletons, eggs and poop. While the internet says that this is more a story than a real dinosaur graveyard, we appreciated the creative storytelling and were happy to use our imaginations to picture dinosaurs roaming across the sandstone.

Rock that looks like a skull.

Iron concretions (Moqui marbles) that look like dinosaur eggs.

Sandstone that looks like dinosaur ribs.

After driving alongside and eventually through some majestic red cliffs, we finally arrived in Page. For our first stop here we visited the Glen Canyon Dam, an only slightly smaller version on the Hoover Dam, where we learned about its construction and importance. The boys did the Junior Ranger program and we looked up information on the current controversy about possible safety issues with the dam when the water level gets too low and the push to drain Lake Powell in order to fill Lake Mead.

First time we have seen green grass in a while.

We checked into our fancy campsite - electricity, water and sewer (what luxury!) - at the Wahweap Campground and headed off for a guided ranger hike to the Hanging Gardens at sunset. We learned lots of interesting details about native plants, including Mormon Tea (Ephedra viridis) with stimulant properties similar to coffee. We also saw black Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum) growing on the sandstone wall. Apparently balding men used to smear their heads with a paste made from this plant as a (unproven) cure for baldness.

Mormon tea.

Maidenhair fern.

Lake Powell.

Dinner was chicken burgers on the BBQ and we spent the evening sitting outside stargazing and watching lightning flash in the distance. It was a relaxing end to an exciting day.