Day Three: Rainbow Bridge

Kevin was up early Thursday morning. By 4am he was up to make coffee and sit at the aft working on his Boston Globe crosswords. I didn’t get up until 5:30am. Iris was already up and slowly Jason and Marcela showed themselves, then Mom, then Bill and finally Alex and Matt.

The plan was to see Rainbow Bridge this morning, taking the speed boat up the canyon, hike up to the bridge and return to the houseboat. Mom and Bill would stay behind since they had already been to the Bridge, and kayak by themselves while we were gone. It sounded like the perfect plan.

We left by 8am. The ride there took longer than I thought, but once we were in the right canyon the scenery became more majestic. The canyon walls narrowed. The colors became more starker, and the smell of sage and other desert brush became stronger. It was my first flora aroma.

What did this canyon look like before the flooding back in 1963? I couldn’t help but wonder what really went on in DC when the Natives fought to keep Glen Canyon from flooding over. The US Supreme Court ruled against Native American rights and for water rights. Now the Rainbow Bridge is a Park Monument. It all seems so ironic to me.

The closer we came to the bridge, the more of a maze the water became. We went up one false alley, only to turn around and go into another one. The correct passage way was only well-marked at the last 1/8 of a way.

There were only two other jet skis parked at the dock when we pulled up, and the two men were on their way back as we jaunted out.

The canyon entrance to Rainbow Bridge started in a lush but not wet creek bed that ascended for another 2/3 mile. The path was paved (!) which took away from the natural state, but that was to make the passage easier for others with more disabilities. I couldn’t wait to see the bridge and neither could Kevin, who was ahead of everyone else. He’s already been labeled the Union Jack, someone who could relive the Civil War, as he wore his brown Indiana Jones hat and scoped out distance canyons through binoculars.

It was a pleasant walk to the Navaho monument. And although it was highly discouraged, I walked to the base of the bridge to look upward and marvel at God’s handy work. How long has the bridge been standing there? I did not walk pass the “Trail Closed “ signs, only walking near the ledge with the creek bed below. Iris kneeled down to marvel at a squirrel while others climbed around further up.

We weren’t alone for long. Soon a tourist group of around 30 came over the hilltop to join us, led by Tom the Tour guide from Arizona. He was decked in a white shirt and wore turquoise on his wristband, watch and ring. French and Germans were in this group but were amazingly quiet. We were ready to leave when Tom gathered everyone around to talk about the Paiute legend of the two boys and the stone lizard, and how the bridge became. He also showed up faint imprint of a dinosaur foot and an oyster. I never would have noticed them myself!

We were now ready to leave. After a short chat with Rick near the deck, who happened to be from Sierra Vista, we sped back to the houseboat where Mom and Bill were waiting. They had just come back themselves from a long kayak, exploring the Bay’s alcoves.

“Who wants to go back with me to Rainbow Bridge?” asked Mom. No one volunteered as we were all tired. And soon thereafter Mom and Bill were in the speedboat as we drove back west toward Wahweap to anker closer nearby.

They found a nice sandy beach near Padre Bay, the best beach so far.

There were plenty of other houseboats ankered at the same beach as us. This was a nice, sandy beach. The boys got off the boat to build a fire pit, burning the last of the firewood we had brought along. Kevin made the rest of the hamburgers and hotdogs and we had a nice meal by the fire pit after dark as we admired the night sky.

The Milky Way beamed in when the last of the sunrays set behind the mountain. Matt and I saw a few falling stars, and Matt pointed out a few satellites.

“There goes a polar satellite” he said as he pointed to one distant moving light.
“How do you know that?” I asked.
“It’s moving toward Polaris.”
Oh.

Jason gave me the idea to photograph the night sky, but with my Rebel xTi it wasn’t easy as there is no manual mode for the shutter speed.

We were on the beach until 8:30pm. The sand never got cold and the breeze stayed warm. It was quite a delight being on shore like this, all together.

“Jason, have I ever told you I loved you?” I asked him as I looked over him.
“Yes, you have, but it’s been a while. I love you too, Connie.”