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Road Trip Northern Arizona: JTree ::: Sedona ::: Navajo Bridge ::: Vermilion Cliffs ::: Lees Ferry ::: Colorado River ::: Schultz Pass ::: Grand Canyon


Navajo Bridge, April 2019
Over the Colorado River at Marble Canyon: A Photographic Log
12 April 2019, 16 miles

With my ace support crew down in the colorful depths of the Grand Canyon for four days, I had several ideas for bike rides to keep me busy until I needed to pick her up. I completed a very introductory exploration of trails around Sedona yesterday. I also planned a couple of rides closer to Flagstaff, but the weather prognosticators predicted snow showers and rain around Flagstaff all day, so the heck with that. Also rain forecast in Sedona; not riding those trails while wet.

Cruising some weather sites led me to believe I could best avoid foul conditions by driving north for about two hours to the Colorado River, where it also looked like I could find some places to explore on two wheels in relatively warm and dry territory. That meant a little more driving than desired, but motoring north and back seemed preferable to pedaling in cold rain.

Driving north turned out to be a splendid idea. With so much time in the Forester, I didn't accomplish much in the way of bicycle mileage, but I pedaled some magnificent landscapes and visited some interesting historical sites aboard the Ogre. And I took so many pictures that I divided the ride into four photo essays, of which this is the first, covering both the beginning and the end.


After driving up from Flagstaff, I parked at the convenient lot by Navajo Bridge and its Interpretive Center, where I'd start pedaling.

The Interpretive Center has great walls of the kind the Ogre always likes to rub against, which delayed me a bit.


While the Ogre was leaning and rubbing, a plaque caught my eye.


Gilbert "became part of the river he loved...."


"Navajo Bridge" nowadays refers to side-by-side bridges over the Colorado River at Marble Canyon.

The old bridge opened in 1929. Before that time, the only way across the Colorado River into northern Arizona was by ferry.

The new bridge, on the western side of the old one, was opened in 1995.

Now the old bridge is only accessible to pedestrians and bikes, while the new one carries motorized traffic.


Although built more than sixty years apart, the new bridge looks almost identical to the old one, but it's wider with a heavier weight limit, and meets modern highway standards.


Even the girders and arch look almost the same.


Looking north (upriver).

At approximately 470 feet above the river, Navajo Bridge is the ninth highest in the US.


Because there was no safety rigging, a worker fell to his death during construction of the old bridge in 1928.

Apparently he's also now a part of the river.


Here's the river without the bridge in the way.


It looks serene, but it's a powerful river and it's moving right along.


Boulders and huge slabs of rock fall from Marble Canyon into the river.


Looking east toward the Echo Cliffs.

Threatening clouds in the distance, but I think I've out-distanced the precipitation.

On the other hand, my ace support crew might be getting rained on in the Grand Canyon.


Looking west toward the Vermilion Cliffs.

A little more sunshine in that direction. I'll head that way in a minute, then turn around and pedal back here to the waiting Forester.


After pedaling along the Vermilion Cliffs, down to Lees Ferry, and back along the Colorado River (see the next three parts of this ride), I encountered two riders coming in as I was riding back to the Forester at Navajo Bridge.

I shot this one-handed with my iPhone while we were both moving.


Here's the other rider I saw as I was heading back to Navajo Bridge. She looks kind of pink.


On the way back to the Forester at the bridge, I stopped to get a photo at Marble Canyon Lodge.

Clouds still building up.


While I was taking a photo of the lodge, this crew pulled in for a pit stop. I wandered over to chat with them.

They assured me they could could convince my non-cycling ace support crew to join a bike tour, and she would have an enjoyable experience, but I wouldn't be able to tag along. Ladies only.

Check out WomanTours.


Back at the bridge, as I was loading the Ogre into the Forester I decided I needed to pick up a gift for my ace support crew.

I could surreptitiously sign her up for a bike expedition with WomanTours, or I could buy her a mug at the Interpretive Center. Hmmm....

(Follow the links below for the rest of the ride between the beginning and end at Navajo Bridge.)



Road Trip Northern Arizona: JTree ::: Sedona ::: Navajo Bridge ::: Vermilion Cliffs ::: Lees Ferry ::: Colorado River ::: Schultz Pass ::: Grand Canyon



Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.


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