Lees ferry

Located near the famed Vermilion Cliffs...



... is Lees Ferry, named for John Doyle Lee, the Mormon settler who established and ran the ferry across the Colorado River from 1873 to 1927, thus making possible the colonization of Arizona. It s now famous as the starting point for all raft trips through the Grand Canyon, and this photo shows some private rafts being rigged for the journey...



Below is the river, and though the cliffs seem to tower above the water here, they will grow to over 5000 feet before the rafters' journey is over at Lake Mead.



Here is Ellen, dwarfed by this balancing rock (click to enlarge photo)...