After Cashton and Sherry went back home, we packed up and moved to Page, Arizona. Page used to be a part of the Navajo Nation but as it grew to a town during the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, the land was traded for another parcel. Page is only 50 years old!
*** Note: Driving through the Navajo Nation on the way to Page, I was shocked
and sad. There were shacks everywhere. No trees. All rocks and dirt. How did
they survive??? Imagine what they felt after being dumped-forced here with
nothing.
This is a long post! I had to include a story about a murder and one about an unsolved disappearance! Pass them by if you want but I thought they were interesting...ad had to keep digging!
Monday
June 17, 2024
Moved from Williams to Page, AZ. Set up Mona and set out to
explore. Went to the Glen Canyon Dam Carl Hayden Visitor Center
Here is a quick video to get you started!
The Glen Canyon Dam Bridge
Tuesday June 18, 2024
Went to Horseshoe Bend and hiked the 1.5 mile trail to the viewing platform.
Wednesday
June 19, 2024
Al liked Waterhole Canyon with a guide. I had a headache and stayed back.
Thursday
June 20, 2024
Went for a scenic drive. Marley came along. We went to
Navajo Bridge, Cathedral Rock, Lee’s Ferry and Beach in Marble Canyon. Al
walked down the Lonely Dell Historic District where Lee and his wife hid-out after the1857 Mount Meadows Massacre.
The Vermillion Cliffs, underwhelming to me, but if you see the whole map of the Staircase, it is quite impressive. They are part of the Escalante Staircase region...notice the reddish strip in the cliffs...they call that vermillion.
NAVAJO BRIDGE
Marley thought it was time for kisses!
Navajo Bridge
Lee's Ferry
In the 1880's, Mormons followed ancient trails down Paria Canyon to this crossing of the Colorado River. John Lee and two of his wives, including Emma, settled here. They ran a ferry business and Lonely Dell Ranch. Trails follow the Colorado and Paria Rivers past artifacts from their lives. John Lee was a Mormon and had 19 wives and 67 children. The Federal Government outlawed multiple wives in the 1882.
Al walked out into the Colorado River again!
Lee’s Ferry
is the very start of the Grand Canyon, where adventurous river runners launch
their boats for trips down the canyon.
Lees Ferry
is the only place within Glen Canyon where visitors can drive to the Colorado
River in over 700 miles of canyon country, right up to the first rapid in the
Grand Canyon.
Orchards on the Lonely Dell Ranch
Mountain
Meadows Massacre which occurred in September 1857, involved a group of emigrants known as the
Fancher Party (most from Arkansas) who were camped at Mountain Meadows in
southern Utah preparing for their final push across the Mohave Desert to
California when they were attacked by a group of Mormon Militia disguised as
Native Americans.
The reason
for the attack is unclear. It was a time of great tension between Mormons and
the rest of the United States, but what the militia hoped to accomplish by this
attack is unknown. Historians attribute the massacre to a combination of
factors, including war hysteria about a possible invasion of Mormon territory
and Mormon teachings against outsiders, which were part of the Mormon
Reformation period.
After an
initial siege, Lee approached the emigrants saying he’d negotiated safe passage
for them with protection from their supposed Native American attackers if they
surrendered their weapons. The group agreed, whereupon the militia and their
Paiute allies proceeded to kill all but the children under 8 years of age. The
young children were then cared for by Mormons until they were returned to
relatives in Arkansas. One hundred and twenty men, women and children died that
day.
Lee was
exiled by the Mormons to the canyonlands of northern Arizona. He settled his many families in
various communities throughout southern Utah, visiting them as often as he
could. As one of his daughters declared, “He was one of the best men that ever
lived. So kind hearted to his children.”
An acquaintance described him as a caring man who “never passed up
anyone in need.” Apparently, not all of
his wives agreed with these statements, however, as eleven of them left him at
one time or another. He settled with two
of his wives, Rachael and Emma, at the confluence of the Colorado and Paria
Rivers. Lee and his wives established a ferry service along the Colorado River
(Lees Ferry). To shelter and sustain the two families, log cabins were built,
fields were cleared, and an irrigation system was dug as part of a ranch
(Lonely Dell Ranch) to make the harsh conditions of the canyon more habitable.
For almost
two decades, the incident was covered up, but in 1874, Lee was brought to
trial. On March 23, 1877, he was taken to the Mountain Meadows Massacre site
and was executed by firing squad. Never denying his complicity in the massacre,
Lee did insist he was acting on orders from high up in the church.
The Lees
Ferry and Lonely Dell Ranch Historic District is located at the confluence of
the Colorado and Paria Rivers in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Lees
Ferry was one of the few points of crossing the Colorado in the 19th century.
It served as the starting point for John Wesley Powell’s expedition through the
Grand Canyon and continues to be a critical boat launch area for boaters and
rafters today. The ranch contains cabins, irrigation ditches, fields, orchards,
a family cemetery, and several artifacts related to the occupation of the site.
The
completion of the Navajo Bridge several miles downstream in 1929 rendered the
ferry obsolete. The post became a ghost town by the early 1940s. Today, it’s a
historic site maintained by the National Park Service.
Lees Ferry
is the only place within Glen Canyon where visitors can drive to the Colorado
River in over 700 miles of canyon country, right up to the first rapid in the
Grand Canyon. Today, operated by the National Park Service, Lees ferry is
enjoyed by fisherman, hikers and kayakers, and as we observed the day we were
there, people get baptized there!
Friday June 21, 2024
Glen & Bessie Hyde disappeared on their honeymoon trip down the Colorado in 1928. Georgie White became a well-known Colorado River Rafter. According to the Museum guide, who knew her, she was quite crazy and eccentric. Some people think that Bessie killed Glen and after disappearing for a few years, came back as Georgie White. When Georgie died, she had in her possession the marriage certificate for Glen and Bessie and also a pistol. Bessie and Georgie were similar in age and stature. We may never know.
Went to Walmart and ate at Big John’s Texas BBQ, named for
John Wayne. It was good. I keep expecting this awesome, mind-blowing BBQ…and it
never is…but it was good.
Watched 10 Who Dared movie about John W Powell going down
the Colorado River n wooden boats.
POWELL MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES
Al hiked
Hanging Gardens and Chains Trails. We went to the Powell Museum and Archives.
There was a very interesting guide who grew up there.
He told us
many things! Church Row is a street with 9 churches, all different
denominations right next to each other. When trying to get the town growing,
letters were sent out to different churches telling them they would be provided
free land for their church if they came to Page.
John Wesley
Powell’s wooden boat, named for his wife, EMMA DEAN, whom he married in 1862.
This is the boat he used to navigate the Colorado River in 1871.
The Powell
Expedition, led by American naturalist John Wesley Powell, was the first cartographic and scientific investigation of long segments of the
Green and Colorado rivers, including the
first recorded passage of white men through the entirety of the Grand Canyon. The
expedition began its journey in Green River City in Wyoming on May
24, 1869. Assembled there were the crew, the boats and all of the supplies
necessary for a three-month trip down the Green and Colorado Rivers and through
the then unknown depths of the Grand Canyon.
Despite a series of hardships, including losses of boats and supplies, near-drownings, and the eventual departures of several crew members, the voyage produced the first detailed descriptions of much of the previously unexplored canyon country of the Colorado Plateau
We watched "10 Who Dared" movie about John W. Powell going down the Colorado River in wooden boats. Very interesting story.
Relief
Map of Lake Powell
During the
construction of Glen Canyon Dam, The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation commissioned a
scale model relief map of what would be Lake Powell and the surrounding area.
Model map builder Robert Miller used information from topographic maps and
overflights of the area to carve the model in his basement with dental tools.
It took over a year to complete. He cut the map into seven pieces to be
transported to the opening of the Glen Canyon Visitor Center.
In 2017,
during the installation of new exhibits at Carl Hayden Visitor Center, the
relief map was cut into the original seven pieces and removed from the
building. Two years later, park partners Glen Canyon Conservancy retrieved the
pieces and reassembled the map at their Flagship office and retail store for
the public to once again enjoy.
Year Constructed: 1967
Cost at the time: $24,000
Total Work Time: 2,921 hours
Area Shown: 10,000 square miles
Major Features of the Map
National Parks: Grand Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands
National Monuments: Rainbow Bridge, Natural Bridges, Grand Staircase-Escalante,
Navajo Tribal Parks: Monument Valley, Lake Powell (Antelope Canyon [Upper, Lower], Waterholes Canyon)
Rivers: Colorado, Green, Escalante, San Juan, Paria
Bonus secret: Bob Miller created the map with such accuracy, he included
12 natural bridges and arches in the topography. How many can you find?
We had a
discussion about Glen & Bessie Hyde, who disappeared on their
honeymoon trip down the Colorado. Georgie White became a well-known Colorado
River Rafter. According to the Museum guide, who knew her, she was quite crazy
and eccentric.
Here is
Glen & Bessie’s story in a nutshell…
Newlyweds
Glen and Bessie Hyde were on the Colorado River in 1928 as part of their
honeymoon adventure trip. The couple set off on October 20, 1928 from Green River,
Utah, with plans to run the rapids and travel to Needles, Arizona. Glen wanted
to break the speed record for traveling through the Grand Canyon and make
Bessie the first woman to be documented doing so. They also hoped to emulate
the tales of adventure in the 1920s tabloids and start a career of fame and
fortune.
The Hydes
stopped for supplies in the Grand Canyon, hiked up Bright Angel Trail and met
Emery Kolb (another interesting biography), a renowned photographer who owned a
studio on the southern rim of the canyon. Kolb was also an experienced boat
rider familiar with the river’s temperamental nature, and he noted the couple’s
lack of lifejackets. Glen brushed him off with a laugh. They were already
halfway through their journey, and it hadn’t been a problem for them so far.
According to
later reports, Kolb also noticed concerning behavior from Bessie. She seemed
hesitant to return to the water, either due to exhaustion from the trip up to
that point or fear of the rapids waiting for them. Her new husband may have
pushed her to continue. They had come so far, after all, and no one wanted to
hear about a couple who ended their Grand Canyon boat ride before reaching the
finish line. Glen and Bessie Hyde left
Emery Kolb's house near the Bright Angel Trail of the Grand Canyon on November
18th, 1928, and began walking back towards the Colorado River. Before leaving
the Kolb's, young Bessie looked back at Emery Kolb's youngest daughter and
admired her adorable outfit, saying aloud, "I wonder if I shall ever wear
pretty shoes again." With that, Bessie and Glen turned the corner and
headed back to the Colorado River.
Glen and
Bessie Hyde arrived at Hermit Camp on November 18 in the company of a man named
Adolph Sutro. Sutro, a friend of Kolb’s and a wealthy tourist from California,
had met the Hydes at the landing below Grand Canyon Village on November 17 and
asked to join them on their journey as far as Hermit Rapids. The Hydes agreed.
For the rest of that day, the group encountered some of the Colorado River’s
worst waters at Horn Creek Rapids and Granite Falls.
Glen,
Bessie, and Sutro arrived at Hermit Camp during the
off-season, so only the station’s caretakers Mr. and Mrs. Pifer, and one guest
were there. After hiking about 1.5 miles from the river to the camp, the Hydes
signed their names into the guestbook and sat down with Sutro to eat lunch.
After lunch, Sutro snapped a few photographs of the couple before they parted
ways with the tourist and headed back down to the boat. They were roughly 375
miles into their epic trek but had another 430 miles in front of them.
They were
never seen again and an extensive search began.
Emery and
Ellsworth Kolb found Bessie and Glen’s boat December 19, a month after they’d
last been seen. It was in working order, still floating in the river, with no
one aboard and no signs of foul play. The boat was not battered by the rocky
shoreline and showed no evidence of having flipped over - a clear indication
that the young couple hadn't encountered dangerous waters in recent days. All
their food and personal possessions were still aboard including Glen’s gun, a Kodak
camera. There was no indication the Hydes had abandoned their vessel, and there
was no sign of them on the nearby riverbank. The Kolbs found Bessie’s journal
packed away carefully to stay dry. The journal recovered from the boat had
entries dated up to November 30, revealing that the Hydes had spent another 12
days on the water at least. According to Bessie’s account, they had actually
been ahead of schedule and made it as far as Diamond Creek a dozen miles from
where the abandoned boat was ultimately found. Nothing in her diary hinted at
the trip being cut short. Her entries documented their last days, but gave no
hint of tragedy. She wrote simply of the rapids passed, their camps, and the
surrounding scenery. Bessie and Glen had disappeared. The most common theory is
they fell overboard in a rapid at Mile 232 and were drowned. Remember, they did not have
life jackets.
The bowline from the Hyde's boat was caught on something below the surface, which had kept it in place for an unknown length of time. For reasons unknown, Emery Kolb cut the bowline and freed the boat, something for which he was greatly criticized later.
Searchers backtracked from Mile 237 to Diamond Creek to search for the couple. They spent more than a month combing the canyons around Diamond Creek, but found nothing. The Hydes were gone.
This is where the story of the Hydes disappearance and urban legend intersect. With no satisfactory conclusion to Glenn and Bessie's disappearance, local rumors began to flourish.
Had the
Hydes been murdered? Or were they simply victims of big water and bad luck?
It was true
that Emery Kolb had begged the Hyde's to take life jackets when they left his
home on November 18th. He'd discovered Glenn didn't have any aboard, and
despite asking him to take some of his own for the remainder of the trip, Glen
had laughed off his concerns.
Had there
been a lover's quarrel between the newlyweds? Had Bessie's unhappiness about
the trip boiled over and she lashed out at Glen? Had Glen become disenchanted
with his wife's faltering enthusiasm for his adventure?
No one knows and the rumors reached such a fever pitch.
Another
shocking detail emerged after the passing of legendary Grand Canyon River guide
Georgie Clarke in 1992. Some friends of Georgie speculate that she was Bessie
Hyde. Conversations about Clark’s connections to Bessie started when friends
were perusing her personal items following her death in 1992. People who had
known her for decades had never been invited inside her home. Upon looking at
Clark’s personal effects, her friends learned that her birth certificate
indicated that her real name was Bessie DeRoss, not Georgie. Clark or Georgie
White (which was another surname she sometimes used). The latter two were the
last names of husbands she had divorced.
Her friends’
curiosity was further peaked when they found the marriage license of Glen and
Bessie Hyde at her home, and a pistol in her lingerie drawer. Was she in fact
Bessie Hyde? To have the Hyde's marriage certificate was beyond strange, but
despite the discovery local authorities did not reopen the case.
Colorado
River historian Brad Dimock – whose book, “Sunk Without a Sound – The Tragic
Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde,” investigates the couple’s
story and the subsequent theories – looked at the items from Clark’s home and
concluded from photographs that Clark and Bessie Hyde were not the same person.
***I have this book if anyone is interested to read it.
Richard
Westwood, who wrote a biography about Clark, has also said that there is little
proof to substantiate the theory that Clark was actually Bessie Hyde.
In the 1970s, two additional stories surfaced regarding Bessie Hyde. In 1971, an elderly woman on a commercial boat tour spoke up when the story of Glen and Bessie Hyde was told by a guide during a campfire dinner. The woman claimed that she was Bessie and that, after she had enough of her husband’s abusive behavior during the trip, she snapped, stabbed him, left him for dead and she'd hiked out to Peach Springs, Arizona and started a new life.
When tracked down by reporters, the woman, named Elizabeth Cutler, denied ever having made the statement to her tripmates despite several statements claiming that she did.
The guide
reported the woman’s claims, and researchers looked into the story. They
determined that, though the woman resembled Bessie with her features and her
height, she was a retired psychologist who liked to tell tales. Though it could
not be proven that, without a doubt, the woman was not Bessie Hyde, her claim
was discounted, keeping the legend of what happened to the Hydes alive.
But the most
intriguing detail to emerge since the Hyde's disappearance came from Emery Kolb
himself. After his passing in late 1976, Kolb's garage was cleared out by his
estate in early 1977. Inside they found a human skull with an obvious bullet
hole. An initial examination determined that the skull belonged to a man in his
20's who was roughly the same height and build as Glen. This sent the rumor
mill ablaze. It wasn't until 2008 when a forensic analysis determined it was
not the skull of Glen Hyde. The investigation found that the skeleton belonged
to a man no older than 22 who died no earlier than 1972, which ruled out Glen
Hyde. Furthermore, some detective work uncovered that Kolb had served as a
county coroner jury representative for Grand Canyon and had likely kept the
skull from a different case after its inquest. It’s still unclear why he stored
them in his garage up to his death, but whatever the reason, the Hydes weren’t
involved.
Yet another legend is that Bessie Hyde killed her abusive husband and hiked out alone to start a new life, but was never seen again.
So, what
became of Glen and Bessie? And what became of their boat, the Rain-in-the-Face?
The remains or Glen & Bessie Hyde have never been found, nor has any new
evidence emerged that might suggest their whereabouts or what occurred on that
fateful day in November 1928. As for their boat, by all accounts after Emery
Kolb cut it loose near Mile 237, it floated downriver until the waterway
swallowed it. Who knows what evidence might have remained onboard, and
questions still persist as to why Kolb felt it necessary to cut the boat free.
The legend
of the Hyde's boat still persists among those who live around Diamond Creek.
4 comments:
Ohhhh, interesting story! I think Bessie became Georgie White.
I agree! Why else would she have all those items...the gun, the marriage license, and the birth certificate with the first name Bessie?
I absolutely agree! I saw this story once on Unsolved Mysteries....They did an hour on it. I never forgot it!
19 wives and 67 children?!?!?! And think of how many children those 67 had...
Love the picture of Al carrying the rock ;-)
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