Monday, the day after Father's Day, Pop picked me up at 4:30 am. We loaded my gear, said a prayer for a safe trip and safety for our wives and left. By 5:40, we were at the top of Cajon Pass. It was a bit foggy, but it cleared in time for sunrise to be nice. Just after 6 am, we stopped in Barstow for breakfast (don't stop at the McDonalds near the tracks - IT'S NASTY!). We hung a right on Hwy 40 and headed towards Arizona. Once in Arizona, we stopped in Seligman for gas and a pee. The wind was fierce. Shortly after that, we started up the grade to Flagstaff. The scenery changed from desert to nice pines. Lunch in Flagstaff and headed to Hwy 89 north. Hwy 89 would take us out of Flagstaff and down into the desert again. Hot, dry and windy most of the way. About an hour out of Lee's Ferry, the scenery got a bit better. Closer still and the cliffs got more dramatic and the views more breath-taking.
About 3 pm, we crossed over the Colorado River. It was roughly 500 feet below us. We decided to check in at the hotel and fly shop and get situated, then come back and take pictures. Heading south from the river, there were magnificent cliffs on the right and flat desert on the left. Checked in at the hotel, they gave us directions to get to the launch ramp the next morning. We drove that to find out how long it would take and to make sure we could get there easily the next morning. Although the guide would wait, we didn't want to be late for our first day of fishing!
Lee's Ferry Road took us past the balancing rocks and down to the launch ramp. The views were really spectacular; little did we know it would be even better Tuesday morning. After several pictures here and on the way back, we went over to the bridge. There are two bridges there - the driving bridge and Navajo Bridge, the walking bridge. We took several pics there and finally headed back to the hotel for a nice evening of relaxing.
Dinner was out on the patio of the restaurant. It was cool and out of the wind. It was so pleasant, we ended up sitting out there just talking until 7:30. Back to the room for some desert of Double Stuff Oreos and some TV - American Ninja Warrior (the only channel that was clear enough to watch) and bed. Tuesday would be a new and exciting day for us.