After a quiet night at the S. Rim of the Grand Canyon, we headed out in the morning to go to Lees Ferry, AZ. The drive out of the Canyon was along an incredibly beautiful road running from the main Visitor's Area to the Eastern entrance of the Canyon. About 40 minutes altogether. Many gorgeous vistas along the way, including a Watch Tower that we had to climb.

After leaving the GC NP we drove through a Navajo Reservation and on into Lees Ferry, AZ. This is the place that all of the white water rafting trips through the Grand Canyon originate. It was also the site of a ferry that would take people across the Colorado back in the early 1900s along an underwater cable. Eventually (1928ish??) the "Navajo Bridge" was built which connected the Navajo Reservation with this section of Northern AZ. Prior to then, the little section of AZ that is N of the Grand Canyon was very remote and shut off from everywhere else. It still pretty much is! The N Rim of the Grand Canyon gets 1/10th as many visitors as the S because it is so hard to get to!

We stayed in Marble Canyon, at a little place named Lees Ferry Lodge. This was recommended to us by a very good friend of mine whom I trust implicitly on all things travel-related, Deanna. I know she would never steer me wrong! This is a funky little place with assorted cabins that all look out over the gorgeous Vermilion Cliffs that are to the N and E of the Grand Canyon. You have to see the photo album. They are very pretty.

The kids got an interesting taste of reality when one of the workers' kids came over and asked them to play. He is 10, and his brother must be about 11. They go to school more than an hour away. For fun, they have strung an old, broken down bicycle from a rope over a branch and they swing on it. No TV. No Wii. No xBox. They DID have DSis, but that was it. Old fashioned playing at its best. My kids were in amazement. They were also little hooligans, but that is a different story! ;-)

After a great dinner with an unbelievable beer selection, we settled in for a good night's sleep in a hotel room. I actually didn't sleep any better (maybe worse?) than I did in the tent trailer. That's a good thing!

N Rim of the Grand Canyon tomorrow!