“That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion”

-Jeremiah 22:14

This would be quite a road trip, but our sources said that visiting the Vermilion Cliffs would be worth it. Before we begin a description of our journey, though, I beg your indulgence to poke around the word “vermilion”.

The linguistic detour started with a “Hey Marcy, is ‘Vermilion’, one ‘L’ or two?” It turns out that it is spelled both ways. The color is orange-red, about the tone of earthworms. The word and color take detours through medieval France, but we can ultimately thank the Romans for the Latin vermiculus – “little worm,” referring to the red dye obtained from the Kermes insect, which was used before the discovery of the mineral pigment.

For paintings of the 19th century, artists mixed cinnabar (mercury sulfide) to get the classic (but toxic) orange-red of the American West. But modern vermillion paints are usually “hues” created from safer, synthetic cadmium. 

This rabbit hole could go on for a while, but the scripture above refers to the prophet Jeremiah condemning King Jehoiakim of Judah for his extravagant building projects, “prioritizing personal luxury—such as a cedar palace and crimson paint—over justice and the well-being of his citizens.” – The point here is that vermilion was associated with vivid opulence.

To visit the vividly opulent Vermilion Cliffs from Kanab, Utah, we headed south along  US-89A across the flat, empty desert, and after maybe 45 minutes, we began winding up the Kaibab Plateau to an elevation of almost 8,000 feet with increasingly wonderful views and the appearance of ponderosa pines.  The area was terribly scarred from the 2025 three-month-long “Dragon Bravo” mega fire that devastated the Grand Canyon North Rim, but in areas that the fire missed, the pine forest was towering and beautiful.   We began our descent among an unburned section of the forest at Jacob’s Lake near the Grand Canyon North Rim, and down slowly until we could see the cliffs stretching before us on the other side of House Rock Valley.

The cliffs themselves are viewable along a 28-mile desolate stretch of US89A, and gave us some glorious vistas and photo opportunities.  But more than just grabbing the next great image, the combination of red-orange rock beauty set against vast plains of spring-bright sage invited contemplation and conversation and some favorite music in the background, where Marcy and I affirmed that this trip was a great idea.

We returned to a bit of civilization at the tiny settlement called Cliff Dwellers.  I had supposed it was named after ancient Native Americans, but instead, I read that cowboys named the place after the pioneer residents whose rock homes hugged the nearby cliffs.

The stretch of US89 between Cliff Dwellers, Marble Canyon, and Lee’s Ferry has preserved a 75-year-old vibe. When I pulled the rental car into the dusty lot in front of the lodge at Cliff Dwellers, it looked like nothing may have changed in the 76 years since it was built.  There was an interesting restaurant and some more opportunities for photography, but this was a 190-mile loop, and we still had some great things to see.  

We met a young couple a couple of days before the trip who mentioned that Lee’s Ferry was worth visiting, and our directions told us that it was a few miles ahead, so we drove onward, but not before scanning the sky for a glimpse of a California Condor, since they are being reintroduced into the wild at Marble Canyon.

Lee’s Ferry is part of the huge Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  This side-trip turned out to be very interesting – especially for the famous (who knew) photogenic Mushroom Rocks, as well as the drive down to the Colorado River to see the huge operation involved in launching the rafting trips down the Colorado. Alas,  I did not think to get a shot of the huge 18-wheelers backed right down to the river and the unpacking and launching of the giant rafts laded with provisions for the journey.   Maybe next trip.  

From the mid-1800’s until 1928, Lee’s Ferry was the only “safe” way to cross the Colorado River without an 800-mile detour.   The ferry was used by Mormon pioneers and others, like prospectors looking for gold in the region.  This was also part of the so-called honeymoon trail because Mormon newlyweds used the route to travel to the Temple in St. George, Utah, to seal their vows.

We ended our main sightseeing at Navajo Bridge.   This bridge replaced the Lee’s Ferry crossing route, which was not so safe.   The last run on the ferry occurred 6 months before the completion of the “Grand Canyon Bridge,” later known as the Navajo Bridge, when the small ferry boat capsized, and three people and a Model-T Ford were lost.  Navajo Bridge served US89 for almost 70 years until a new, parallel bridge was built in the mid-1990s.   The original bridge was preserved as a pedestrian sightseeing bridge.  

From Natural Bridge, we traveled south for 14 miles to the US89A-US89 Junction at Bitter Springs. On the way northeast toward Page, US 89 passes through the northern end of Marble Canyon and the surrounding Echo Cliffs with some hold-the-wheel-tight curves and spectacular views and colors, along the 35 miles down into Page.  

After passing through Page, and with 74 more miles before us, we enjoyed the easy drive to Kanab and supper, armed with many more photographs and stories than we had counted on.