“Please stop, Pete,” I said. “I want to get out and walk from here.” We had just driven sixty-plus miles of dirt road to the edge of paradise, the last three miles especially challenging, even for the 4-wheel drive pickup of friend Pete Smit. We were on the edge of the Grand Canyon at Toroweap, an entry explored by few. The spectacular North Rim of the Grand Canyon gets only 10 percent of the tourists compared to the South Rim, and I suppose Toroweap visits would be measured as just a minuscule grain of sand when all visits are considered for this Natural Wonder. With camera in hand and a bottle of water in my back-pocket, I slipped out while Pete and our new friend Samantha (Sam) Cullinane continued to the designated parking area. A red flowering cactus first caught my attention. After photographing it, I worked my way to the canyon’s edge. I knew that my first view of this magnificent chasm would be awesome, but I wasn’t prepared for ‘beyond awesome.’ It literally took my breath away, and nearly made me dizzy as I peered 3,000 feet below and caught my first glimpse of the mighty Colorado River.

Kanab: The Center for Adventuring

Kanab, Utah, is clearly the hub for exploring this fascinating country of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. Pete and I went there to visit my youngest sister Brenda Turner Walden who was managing the well-known Rocking V Cafe. Pete parked his trailer and I my camper at her place, trekking from there. She introduced us to Sam (an author and Ted Talk presenter) who accompanied us on several adventures from Kanab.

Kanab advertises itself as Magically Unspoiled (www.visitsouthernutah.com). It is a simple town of wide streets, surrounded by red rock, with plenty of lodging accommodations and restaurants worthy of patronage. Back in its heyday, it was known as ‘Little Hollywood’ with an impressive resume of more than 300 movies and TV shows filmed in and around Kanab. A good place to check out the film history is the Little Hollywood Museum (www.littlehollywoodmuseum.org). Historical plaques with photographs of famous stars and their Kanab stories are on display throughout downtown Kanab. The famous celebrities often stayed at the historic Parry Lodge.

Within easy adventuring distance from Kanab are five national monuments, three national parks, two national forests and the renowned Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Kanab has a plethora of guides and outfitters for exploring these areas. Our guides were two local friends: Sam and Ron. Famous explorer John Wesley Powell had his headquarters in Kanab when he explored and mapped the Grand Canyon.

Adventures from Kanab

White Pocket

However, Sam and Patty mentioned that they prefer a place called White Pocket. “We like it even better because it is larger, more stunning, and it requires no permit,” exclaimed Patty one evening over dinner at their place. A few days later, we made the trek to White Pocket over challenging dirt, gravel and sandy tormented roads. It was worth it though. Well worth it! I’ll let my photos do the talking!

En route, we also stopped at the Condor Viewing Site and for the first time in my life, I was able to view these magnificent birds in flight and in repose.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Paria Toadstool Hoodoos

Brenda’s friend Joe Porto from Ashland, Oregon, had booked a striped bass fishing trip on Lake Powell, Arizona, for the two of them. He had another two open spots so Pete and I said yes. We made arrangements to stay two nights at the wonderful Lake Powell Resort, Wahweap, outside Page. En route, Sam guided us to a new slot canyon beside Highway 89, along with a hike into the enthralling Paria Toadstool Hoodoos. Next, we made a visit to famous Horseshoe Bend near Page where the Colorado River makes a 270-degree curve around a sandstone pillar. There we saw the biggest crowd of tourists that we had seen since the beginning of our respective journeys, but this geologic wonder is worth sharing with others.

Lake Powell has a mind-boggling 2,000 miles of shoreline and 90 major canyons accessed only by watercraft. Our four-to-five-hour fishing excursion from Antelope Marina was very productive with ample striped bass caught. The scenery was amazing and our captain, 26-year-old Danny, was overflowing with knowledge about the lake and landscape. That evening, we had a scrumptious dinner at the resort’s Rainbow Room Restaurant while enjoying evocative views of Lake Powell.

The following day, I wrote in my dairy: ‘Our morning view is enchanting from the veranda. Pete and I are having coffee, looking out to a flat, calm Lake Powell, framed by an eroded landscape of ancient limestone, creating fascinating pillars, columns, dinosaur-like desert mountains, framed by plateaus. Red, a variety of browns, sandstone, white and tints of green color the rock. Lake Powell is aqua green and blue. Our second-story room affords a perfect view of the landscape. We have died and gone to heaven once again on this old and new Earth.

Larry Turner is a regional, national and international photographer/writer. His work has appeared in countless magazines and books, including National Geographic Traveler, Travel and Leisure, and Sunset. He is the co-author of the book Mount Shasta Reflections, and his photographs have appeared on many covers. He is an active skier, gardener, fly fisherman,  and adventurer.