Map of the planned Day 12 route from Bryce Canyon through Kanab to Page

5575 Miles · Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Day 12: From Bryce to Page

The original plan for the day was to spend the morning in Bryce Canyon, have lunch in one of the restaurants near the entrance of the park, and then drive to Page, AZ, in the afternoon, following the route mapped above. But since we had already had very good photo opportunities at all the viewpoints of the park, both at sunrise and at sunset, we decided instead to leave Bryce right after breakfast.

Our first stop was Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. The sand comes from Navajo sandstone from the geologic period called the Middle Jurassic. The same iron oxides and minerals that give us spectacular red rock country are responsible for this landscape of coral pink sand.

A dune of coral pink sand topped with flowering shrubs under a deep blue sky

Pines casting long shadows over the coral pink dunes

As you can see from these pictures, this park is also a very popular destination for ATV riders. About 90% of the dunes are open for riding, while all of the dunes are open for hiking and just playing in the sand.

A figure in a red shirt among the sagebrush on the dunes

A white evening primrose against the pink sand

Yellow wildflowers covering a slope at the edge of the dunes

A silvery desert shrub growing from the sand

Sunflowers in front of the dunes and ponderosa pines

ATV tracks on the dunes seen through dark pines

The temperature that bright sunny morning had already risen to almost 100 degrees, so we didn't spend too much time in this park. Right after leaving, while crossing the small town of Kanab, we noticed a sign indicating that we were not too far from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It wasn't in our plans to visit the northern side of the canyon, but since we had time to spare, we took the detour and drove south along Hwy 89A instead of following Hwy 89 west.

Hwy 89A running through a burnt forest under a blue sky

From Kanab, at 4,800 ft, Hwy 89A slowly climbs to 6,000 ft across the plains. Then, crossing first miles of burnt forest and then some really gorgeous meadows filled with wildflowers, we kept climbing all the way to 8,800 ft (2,600 m) before descending to the North Rim Visitor Center at 8,200 ft.

The road winding through the meadows toward the North Rim

A meadow of yellow wildflowers below a dark forest edge

A small cabin in a wide meadow under an overcast sky

The North Rim is not as popular with tourists as the South Rim, mainly because it's farther away from Las Vegas and because it offers only a couple of viewpoints.

We parked and took the brief walk that leads from the parking lot all the way to a balcony overlooking the Grand Canyon. The time of day when we got there and the overcast sky didn't help with the photography. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the view, and we especially loved the drive through those spectacular meadows.

The Grand Canyon from the North Rim under grey light

Layered canyon walls beyond pale limestone boulders

The canyon framed by lichen-covered rocks

A weathered snag reaching over the canyon

Red and grey cliffs deep inside the canyon

Layers of the canyon fading into the distance

While the sky wasn't particularly interesting on the North Rim, by the time we reached the Vermilion Cliffs on Route 89A, it had turned into a beautiful palette of grays at first, followed by an array of shades of pink and gold.

The road winding down toward the Vermilion Cliffs under storm clouds

Desert scrub and the long line of the Vermilion Cliffs

A distant mesa under a soft pink and grey sky

Taking a picture on the roadside with the cliffs behind

A balanced rock silhouetted against rays of light

Storm clouds over the plain and the cliffs

A dirt track crossing the red desert toward the cliffs

The Vermilion Cliffs glowing pink above an eroded plain

Red desert and the distant cliffs under a dark sky

Once we reached Marble Canyon, where Hwy 89A crosses the Colorado River, the colors became really intense. A few minutes later, right after we had reached Hwy 89 heading north towards Page, the sun peeked through the dark clouds, treating us to a truly breathtaking view of the canyon.

Sunlit cliffs above the road near Marble Canyon

A truck passing below the glowing cliffs

Long shadows of a fence across the sand near the cliffs

The sun breaking through dark clouds over a silhouetted mesa

A couple of miles south of Page, there is a small parking lot on the side of the road, the starting point of the hike to the famous Horseshoe Bend, a breathtaking (and incredibly scary) viewpoint over the Colorado River.

It should really be photographed in the morning, but we stopped anyway and walked all the way to the viewpoint. With no protection of any sort, and not being a big fan of heights, I literally had to lie down on the ground, mount my camera on the tripod and extend it over the ledge to capture this image.

Horseshoe Bend seen from the edge, with the Colorado River far below