Horseshoe Bend

My timing was a little bit off today. Apparently I just missed, by a matter of minutes, the opportunity to photograph a California Condor perched on the edge of the gorge at Horseshoe Bend. As I walked the trail to the edge of the gorge, I met another photographer who was heading back to his car. He noticed I was carrying a tripod and he stopped to tell me about the condor. He said there was a condor that had been sitting on a rock right on the edge of the gorge for close to half an hour. He pulled out his camera and showed me the images that he had just taken. They were unbelievable. Condors aren't exactly the prettiest birds, but they are big and very rare. This guy had some great shots of the bird, but did not have a website to share where the shots could be seen.

I may have missed the chance to photograph the unique bird, but I still had a great time at Horseshoe Bend. The bend is just a few miles south of Page, Arizona on the Colorado River. It is very easy to get to via a relatively short (although sandy) trail from the highway. During my visit there were about 50 other people there at the same time. The little parking lot at the trailhead was almost full, and included one tour bus, which apparently was filled with French people. Which brings me to one oddity of this trip... at times it seems as though I have heard more French than English being spoken as I visit some of these areas in the southwest. Today I felt like I was back in France as the people from the tour bus were spread out along the trail and I could hear French being spoken almost the whole time I was at Horseshoe Bend. I guess the southwest has become quite popular with European travelers!