Day 7: Marble Canyon/Lonely Dell Ranch

Farming at Lonely Dell Ranch was sustained through irrigation ditches such as these, which brought water in from the nearby Paria River.

The drive from Kanab to Marble Canyon is a not-so-subtle reminder of how the American landscape can change abruptly. Leaving behind the Arizona Strip (the area cut off from the rest of Arizona by the Grand Canyon) we find ourselves climbing to an elevation of 7925ft, before rolling downhill through the Kaibab National Forest. We visit the cliff dweller remains, and the remoteness of the region is highlighted by the story of the woman who just decided to leave her car there after it broke down. Marble Canyon really is cut off from civilisation, as the lack of phone service and wifi makes even more apparent. Unusual measures are needed for those who venture here, such as a personal airstrip beside the road. This is another, hardier American lifestyle where self-reliance is more than a phrase. Later, we visit Lonely Dell Ranch, the residence of Mormon pioneer John D. Lee, who ran the nearby Lee’s Ferry with his family. 'Lonely' is certainly appropriate, given that it would have been even more inaccessible in the later 1800s and early 1900s. People seldom, if ever left, it seems, judging by its graveyard. As we take leave of the Ranch and head towards the banks of the Colorado River, we see further evidence of the pioneer life, in the form of the remains of a boiler that was used to power steam engines for gold mining, as well as an unused fort to guard against potential attacks from the resident Navajos. Out here in the American West, the memory of the “frontier” still lives, a world away from the safety and security of the East.