Escapees September-October 2022

skp stops

help of Warren Marshall Johnson and his plural families who came in 1875. In 1879 the Mormon Church bought the ferry rights for $3000 and Emma left. At the Lonely Dell cemetery were the graves of four of the ten Johnson children who had died of diphtheria between May19 and July 5, 1891. Descendants of the 20 pioneers buried there still visit and tend the graves. The second historical information hike was the two-mile round trip River Trail. There were buildings and information boards about history along the river. Because tensions between the Navajo and Mormons were rising, a fort was built in 1874. But soon it was converted into a trading post, and later a residence, school and a mess hall. The trail ends at a small stone cabin along the river. The Cathedral Canyon Wash, three miles round trip and three hours long, was quite challenging. It started out wide and fl at but soon we had to go up onto ledges part of the time. We did some crawling on our hands and knees and on our butts and did some rock scram bling. The last one-third mile was open and fl at again and we were fi nally at the Colorado River which was cool, clear and refreshing. People can paddle the Colorado River upstream north of the Lee’s Ferry campground but not south (too many rapids). There are also companies that will drop you and your kayaks/canoes upstream so you can

paddle back down but we opted not to do that. Leaving Lee’s Ferry, we headed west on 89A through the Vermilion Cliffs area. On the way we stopped to see the Cliff Dwellers site. It looked like people had built dwellings around and under the many boulders in the area. Native Americans were selling jewelry and pottery at the site. Doing an on-line search, I found little infor mation about the place but it’s worth a stop and you can hike back into the rocks. We stayed at the campground at Lee’s Ferry. There are no reservations. It is $20 per site/per night (half price with Golden Age pass). The 54 designated sites have no hookups but an RV dump station and potable water are down the road a ways. There are modern bathrooms but no showers. A gas station and supply store are on route 89A at Marble Canyon about fi ve miles west. The Walmart in Page (45 miles from Lee’s Ferry) is one of the few in that area that allows overnight parking, so we did our grocery shopping and laundry before heading for Lee’s Ferry. For detailed information about Lee’s Ferry and paddling in the Colorado River, contact National Park Service, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, PO Box 1507, Page, Arizona 86040 Article and photos by Joyce Space #61818

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September/October 2022 ESCAPEES Magazine