The Vermillion Cliffs
I call this the Vermillion Cliffs because that's what you see when you sweep down from the plateau on Alt Route 89. It's actual location is Marble Canyon. To the left of shot the Colorado river runs through a 300ft deep gorge on it's way South to the Grand Canyon. To the right are the cliffs that lead up to the Paria Plateau.
When this picture was taken, I was on the verge of looking for my first 'non booked' motel. For someone who two years before had walked off of the street into a travel agency in Manchester and booked a week in Falaraki, this carried an exciting sense of adventure.
I managed to get a room at the Cliff Dwellers Lodge which is about a mile further down the road from where this picture was taken. The night was silent except for the insects, the night sky was alive with millions of stars.... incredible.
My wife liked to embarrass me for a while about how I absurdly went up into the rocks in the dead of night on the 2005 trip and recorded the sounds at this place with a mixer and a mic that I'd thrown into the luggage at the last minute. I brought her out here two years later... she's not taken the mickey since.
This is truly a stunning place to spend the night. I can see myself coming back here many times.
Location: Marble Canyon Arizona
Photographer: Christopher Hartford
Buy this print online: