Under the Rainbow (Bridge)

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I have wanted to see Rainbow Bridge ever since I read Zane Grey's novel The Rainbow Trail as a kid. Getting to it became a lot easier after Glen Canyon Dam backed a reservoir right up to its base, but it also brought a plague of tourists in power boats and jetskis.

I finally made it in June, 2006, taking the all-day boat tour from Wahweap Marina. We only had 50 minutes actually at the bridge, barely enough time for a few panoramas, and I was part of a crowd of 80 people who arrived together. This shot was taken after most had hurried back to the boat for lunch. A few of us stayed in the shade of the bridge itself, gratefully sheltering from the strong Utah sun and 95° heat.

Rainbow Bridge is the world's largest natural stone bridge. At 290 feet high and 275 feet wide it could span the Capitol building in Washington DC. It has been protected since 1910 as a National Monument, and is surrounded by the Navajo Indian Reservation.