Stormy skies at Marble View

The stormy skies at Marble View were a perfect match for my feelings in turmoil, yet ultimately soothed and calmed me down.

The day began with sunrise at Sunset Crater then onto the Kaibab Plateau and Marble View with a stop at the North Rim Country Store to top off fuel and say hi.  Believe it or not, I drove away without paying but had left my credit card behind.  I didn’t get far along Forest Road (FR) 611 when I realized my stupidity and turned around.  Then back again and it took about an hour from pavement to get to Marble View overlook on the Kaibab National Forest.  One of my favorite places to camp, look for fossils, storm watch, and just hang out.

After parking and leveling in the perfect spot for views I let Sierra out and she roamed a little but not too far then hid in the wheel wells for at least an hour.  She was more than ready to get out of the camper but I’m sure found all the smells and textures very different than Yarnell.

I had the place to myself for a while and only had to share with two other campers.  Storms blew from west to east yet mostly stayed to the north of me.  I love watching and feeling the power of monsoon storms.  It only rained on me a bit yet I heard that Flagstaff was hit with both hail and rain so I left there in time.

Clouds were too heavy for much of a sunset however rays struck out just before sinking below the horizon to shine on the valley and outline a bit of the walls of Marble Canyon where the Colorado River flows.

The morning started off only partly cloudy then continued to build throughout the day.

While only a light rain fell on and off throughout the day thunder and lightning kept my attention as the storms wrapped around the point to the north and south.  House Rock Valley got hit hard causing flash flooding according to the Flagstaff weather reports.  I like being high and relatively dry at Marble View.

Sierra only went out briefly first thing in the morning then stayed in the rest of the day.  All that thunder booming might have had something to do with that.  Then when it was almost time to go to bed, windy and slightly raining when I went outside to unplug my electric, and she slips out on my return.  Of course she doesn’t come when called and I decide to go to bed.  When I woke up at 2am and opened the door she was happy to come inside.

Friday morning again begins with only a few clouds and I get out for a walk.  At the point the view takes in north to south.  Marble Canyon is seen below.  Far off to the left the Vermilion Cliffs rise up and due east is Navajo Mountain about 100 miles away.

The far wall of North Canyon clearly reveals the East Kaibab Monocline.  The east-dipping fold developed between 80-50 million years ago during the uplift of the Kaibab Plateau.

There is very little soil on this 270 million year old Kaibab limestone making it easy to search for marine fossils.  What flowers grow are stunted almost like being on a tundra.  The wind can be fierce and the trees are twisted and gnarled on this ancient landscape.

Late in the afternoon storms again rolled from the west.  The last slash of light created a glow to the east.

I was inside processing sunset photos when the phone call I’ve been waiting for not to happen came through.  Berta passed away peacefully in her sleep.  I posted the above photo on Facebook dedicated to the most amazing woman I’ve known so far.  Then I shut down the whole social media thing knowing there would be a huge response I was not ready to deal with yet.

It was understandably a rough night.  I am so sad for the loss of my best friend, yet I am happy she is gone.  Her family did everything possible to make her comfortable to the end.  And now it is time to grieve and recover.  We will carry her memory to the end of our days.

In the morning I let Sierra out and she went wandering down the forest road.  I wondered if I’d ever see her again.  Then about 20 minutes later she returned and curled up on the hood.  I know I need to quit worrying about her, but I do.  I’ve tipped her world upside down.

More heavy storms this time dropping hail briefly followed by a steady rain.  Heavy wind picked up from the northwest and the temperature dropped radically.  I spent most of the day indoors and took a few phone shots through the window.

My last day was mostly clear with some big fluffy clouds to create light and shadow play across the valley below.  I started to make arrangements for the next move, into the park.  I am feeling some mixed emotions about being on the North Rim.

I could just live right here enjoying the scene through storms, sunshine, or rainbows. Well at least until the snow came.  But it’s time to move into the park and visit the canyon and friends.