It has been in the lower 90s everyday and almost every evening there has been thunderstorms rolling through. It's noon now and the thunderstorms have already arrived. They don't last long, we get torrential rains and then they move out. The grass loves it though because everything is very green.
The place is almost full but not as full as I expected for Labor Day Weekend. I'm use to campgrounds bursting at the seams with campers on these major holidays. I do miss our usual Labor Day camp out with Wayne, Joann, Pete, Judy, Don, and Joni. We always had such a great time - beer, food, campfires, and good friends. I guess everything moves on.
Well, it's time to continue on with where I left off with our travels.
On Sunday August 18th we headed for the Wahweap Marina at the Lake Powell Resort for a cruise around Lake Powell. It's really the only way to see Glen Canyon because it is filled with water from Lake Powell.
The lake is about 186 miles long and has 1,960 miles of shoreline, which is longer than the entire west coast of the continental United States. There are 96 major canyons to explore though you need a water craft for the majority of them since access is limited because there are few roads. Needless to say we will not explore them all. We took a general cruise that lasted about 3 hours.
The depth of water at the dam when full is 560 feet although it is about 125 feet low now. Lake Powell gets most of its water from the snow melt up North and is highest in the spring. Throughout the year it slowly drops until the next spring. There has been a drought in the area so it hasn't been as high as it could be. The highest was in 1988 when the water was licking over the top of the dam. The Lake started filling on March 13th, 1963 when Lake Powell Dam was completed and took 17 years to June 22, 1980 to fill to the planned level of 3,700 feet above sea level.
I guess that's enough talk its time to see the photos of our cruise. This is a view of the marina from the Lake Powell Resort where we purchased out tickets for the cruise.
That is Castle Rock in the distance.
Bev is sitting with the flowers waiting for our cruise to start.
Sorry Bev, I know you don't like me to post your picture but it is such a great shot I had to.
This is the view from the upper deck of the boat.
There are a load of houseboats on Lake Powell.
That would be a lot of fun, renting out a houseboat and touring the Lake & canyons. It would take a year or so to check out all the major canyons.
We passed Glen Canyon Dam
You can see by the white canyon walls where the height of the water use to be.
After we passed the dam we headed up Antelope Canyon which is over 10 miles long and very narrow. We viewed approximately 4 miles of the canyon before it got to narrow for the boat.
Now this is the way to check out the canyon, up close and personal with their kayaks.
The Captain did a great job navigating up the canyon. We could almost reach out at touch the canyon walls on both sides it was so narrow.
We turned around at a wide spot and headed back down Antelope Canyon to continued our trek up the lake. Here you can see the towering Navajo Sandstone geologic formations with stunning red and burnt orange rocks. Navajo Canyon's walls are 600 feet above the water; you can see desert varnish also known as Navajo Tapestry on the sand stone walls.
It almost looks like someone painted the design on the walls.
That was it, we started heading back to the marina.
It was a great trip and we saw a lot if only a small fraction of Glen Canyon. Like I said it could take you a year or so to see it all touring the canyon in a houseboat.
There is also a cruise to Rainbow Bridge but it is a long 50 mile cruise and very expensive so we opted out of that. The cruise gets you most of the way there and you hike the rest of the way. There are no roads to Rainbow Bridge so you must get there by boat.
Rainbow Bridge is the world's largest known stone bridge. The bridge extends 290 feet into the sky and 275 feet across Bridge Canyon. The bridge is a testament to the power of wind and water in their role that sculpted this remarkable landscape. (I stole the picture from the Internet.)
August 19th we continued our trek around the area. Here is a campground on the shore of Lake Powell. No hookups but a great place to camp. We didn't camp there though because we want hookups especially air conditioning.
We drove up Highway 89 to Big Water Visitor Center and headed down a dirt road to the start of a small canyon. This is a creek entering the canyon.
Stopped at a high view point of Lake Powell.
We viewed the dam from the east side of the canyon.
We wanted to check out Navajo Bridge which is South of Glen Canyon, below the dam, on Highway 89 but Highway 89 is closed because of a rock slide. We followed it south anyway to the end which you can see here. Anyone traveling from Page to Flagstaff must take a long detour.
The steel-arch double Navajo Bridge at Marble Canyon is another great site but we could only see them from the picture I stole from the Internet. I'm sure the views are spectacular but for some other day. In the spring and fall California Condors can be seen from here.
These two bridges, one historic and one new, represent one of only seven land crossings of the Colorado River for 750 miles.
Since the area was accessible and was a natural corridor between Utah and Arizona, a ferry was established there in 1873. Named after the first ferry operator, John D. Lee, Lees Ferry became an important route for pioneers settlers and local traffic. In the 1920's, automobiles began using the ferry as a means to cross the Colorado River. It was recognized that it was time to find a safer, more reliable way for vehicles to Cross. Construction of the bridge began in June of 1927.
We turned around and headed back up Highway 89 where I stopped to view Horseshoe Bend. Horseshoe Bend is just South of the Glen Canyon Dam and the overlook is at the end of a 3/4 mile hike up and down a hill. The trail is quite steep and, as you can see, covered with loose sand like you would find at the beach.
Here are some brave people hiking up the rock.
There are no railing at the viewpoint. It is a 1000 foot drop to the river below and the rocks are not always stable. It was sure worth the hike.
On the way back to the camper we passed a sign to the Hanging Garden saying that a free Ranger Guided Tour will start at 6:00 pm. Bev wants to see anything to do with a garden so we showed up at 6:00 and followed the Ranger out to the Hanging Garden. It was a short 1 mile round trip out to the garden. Along the way she discussed the scenery, wildlife, and plants in the area.
There is an overhanging cliff that protects the plants. Water from the rains follow the cracks and crevices in the rocks providing moisture to the plants. The overhanging cliff shades and keeps the plants cool during the heat of the day.
That was enough touring for the day so it was time to head back to the barn and relax. Of course you know we had to dine out before he headed home.
The next blog will continue with our travels in Glen Canyon and a tour of the Glen Canyon Dam. Oh, what an exciting life.
No comments:
Post a Comment