Comments on: Guest Post: Lee’s Ferry and the Little Colorado – A Pictorial

By: Amy T

Amy T — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 14:30:04 +0000

What a lovely post to see when returning from a trip out of town. Now, what can I possibly say. It's a lonely spot, but a historical one, and there are few other places like it in the United States for star gazing. For some reason I thought my dad had a picture of Lee's Ferry on 360Cities, but I can't find one. Here's a nearby spot (House Rock) and if you look further down on the page, there are pictures of surrounding canyons which show, pretty clearly in most cases, why they ended up crossing the river at this wretched spot. (Not to mention the Grand Canyon, the existence of which pretty much goes without saying...) And, harsh or not, this area has some of the most spectacular vistas and scenery anywhere. Here's a colorful panorama of Canyon de Chelly (that last word is said "shay") and the Grand Canyon is pretty much always photogenic. Oh boy. I just looked at too many of those pictures and now I'm feeling homesick. But thanks for the post anyway, Kevin. : )

By: Grant

Grant — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 06:23:47 +0000

Thanks, Kevin. I especially liked the old photo of Moencopi. I’ve been to several of the Hopi villages, including Moencopi, as part of my water law work with the Department of the Interior. Of course that picture must be in our files somewhere.

By: Julia

Julia — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 20:53:18 +0000

I love hiking and backing, but deserts always make me very leery. This sounds like something I might hike with ten friends, as long as at least 3 or 4 have done it before. (I say that laying in bed unable to move because my spinal cord is swollen again. Lol. So I guess I should say, in the past or when I am recovered from all my spinal surgeries I would…..)

I think it is growing up in western Oregon, although I loved the high desert area around Bend, but I can’t imagine choosing to live in an area that hot with so little green. I would visit, but wide skies wouldn’t be enough to tempt me. I definitely would have had to receive I calling to go there to live.

Thanks for the great pictures, history and information!

By: kevinf

kevinf — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:50:53 +0000

Mark,

Going up that in the dark would be absolutely terrifying. I’d love to hear that if you ever find it.

Thanks all for your comments. The first bridge on US 89 at Marble Canyon was built in 1927, same year as the Mesa Temple was opened, so it became easier to get across the Colorado at the same time that all those folks who had used the Honeymoon Trail no longer needed it. That first bridge is still there, closed to all but foot traffic, and a newer bridge built right next to it. You can see the bridge in the first picture.

By: lindberg

lindberg — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 18:46:31 +0000

Wow, great article. I too am amazed at what the pioneers accomplished. I don’t think I could talk my family into walking up just one of those hills now, even with our good modern hiking shoes. Or camping overnight in that terrain, even with modern tents, sleeping bags, and pads. I can’t fathom how they did what they did with the resources they had.

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:25:10 +0000

I understand that there are places where the ends of the wagon axles scraped the rocks on the side of the trail as drivers kept as far from the edge of the cliff as possible. And somewhere in the family lore is a story of driving up that road in the dark–I’ll have to go dig that up someday soon, before my memory is completely gone.

By: Jeannine L.

Jeannine L. — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:10:19 +0000

My husband’s direct ancestor was Warren Marshall Johnson, who ran Lee’s ferry for a while. About 4 weeks ago, we traveled down that way. That is a ridiculously hard and forbidding area to travel. I can’t believe that people did that over and over again until the bridge was built in 1927.
Now Lee’s Ferry is where you put in your raft to float down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. THAT I’ll do, because a guided river rafting tourist is the kind of pioneer I am.

By: Mina

Mina — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:57:10 +0000

Thanks so much for these photos and your commentary.

By: john willis

john willis — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:50:56 +0000

As you probably know before the Arizona Temple was built in 1927 LDS Couples had to travel by wagon train to St. George to be sealed in the temple. This was a two month round trip and later became known as the Honeymoon Trail.

My great grandfather Willis and his bride made that trip in 1890. When they got to Lee’s Ferry my great grandmother was very scared of crossing the river. The only way she would do it was if my great grandfather held her in his arms.

After the crossing was completed the ferryman told them that after they had been married a few years this wouldn’t seem so bad.

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:46:48 +0000

Great post, and great pictures, Kevin.