Since we only had about a 2.5 hour drive today, we took our time but still managed to get away from the campground by 8:15. Sure looks lonely with all of us gone our separate ways now! :(
We headed out of Hurricane, Utah, on Hwy 59 with most of it going through reservation land.
When we reached Fredonia, Arizona, we began heading north on 89A for a few miles. We passed by these what I call "Fluffy Fir" trees in Fredonia because their evergreen branches look kind of fluffy. :)
After we turned south on Hwy 89, we began encountering more of the red rock and white rock formations as we traveled through the area known as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
We reached this sharp turn in the road where off to the right was House Rock Valley Road, which, after driving 8+ miles down this dirt road, takes you to the trailhead for The Wave, a place I would like to hike to sometime. :)
As we continued along Hwy 89 through Grand Staircase. the rock formations began to remind us of The Badlands.
After passing through the town of Big Water,
we passed by some larger rock formations on the west.
Then, we began to see glimpses of Lake Powell in the distance.
We crossed back into Arizona and before we knew it we were crossing over the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge...
...where we could see the top of Glen Canyon Dam to the east...
...and the Colorado River way down below (and from the passenger seat of a motorhome it looks way, way, way down)!
We arrived at Page Lake Powell Campground within about 15 minutes. We were a little concerned about whether we would be able to get our site because we gained an hour coming from Hurricane, Utah, and it was just 9:30 Arizona time. Luckily, our site was empty and we had the motorhome all set up within about 30-min.
After lunch, we decided to drive back to Glen Canyon Dam and some of the overlooks. We stopped at the Carl Hayden Visitor Center first which serves as a visitor center for both Glen Canyon Dam and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
The visitor center is perched on a rock above the dam...
...which gives you remarkable views of both the Glen Canyon Dam Bridge...
...and the Glen Canyon Dam.
The Glen Canyon Dam was built between 1956 and 1966 and is 710 feet high which is only 16 feet shorter than Hoover Dam. The dam created Lake Powell. The depth of the water at the dam when full is 560 feet. Lake Powell began filling March 13, 1963 and did not fill completely until June 27, 1980.
Glen Canyon Dam Bridge was built before the dam between 1957 and 1959 to facilitate the transportation of materials for building Glen Canyon Dam. The bridge rises over 700 feet above the river and was the highest arch bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1959.
After we left the visitor center, we walked across the bridge to get a better look at both the dam...
...and the Colorado River below.
We could see the blue boats at the base of the dam on the river side...
...that are part of Colorado River Discovery tours. They offer river trips down the Colorado River. Looks like it would be lots of fun.
We only walked about halfway across the bridge and then turned around and walked back to behnd the visitor center so we could better see Lake Powell...
...and get another look at the dam from the lake side.
After leaving the visitor center, we drove a couple of miles north on Hwy 89 to the Wahweap Overlook. We could see the dam from the overlook...
...as well as Lake Powell.
Unfortunately, it was overcast and sprinkling rain. I imagine on a sunny day the rocks and canyons along Lake Powell are beautiful!
After leaving Wahweap Overlook, we drove back to Page and stopped at another scenic overlook on the Colorado River side of Glen Canyon Dam. We parked the car and walked down over red sandstone layers frozen in time.
I didn't wear the right kind of hiking shoes today but there was a railing all the way down to the scenic overlook which was good because the sand on top of the sandstone made it slippery sandstone.
We reached the overlook and could see further down the Colorado River.
From a different overlook, we had a much better view of the Glen Canyon Dam and Bridge.
We walked back to the scenic overlook to get the necessary selfie. :)
After leaving the scenic overlook, we drove to Wal-Mart to get stocked up on a few groceries and then back to the campground.
We sure do miss our nightly card games with Ken and Bonnie as well as sharing our adventures together! :( We found out later that day that a rock from a passing truck flew up and hit their windshield as they were driving further down Hwy 89 on their way back to I-40 and started a little crack that spread to about a 24 inch crack. Thankfully, it's not in Ken's line of vision for driving. They are hoping that the crack doesn't spread any further so they can wait and get it fixed when they get back home in Pennsylvania. Safe travels, Ken and Bonnie! We miss you!
Wish we were there with you. Great pictures. Life sure is different without Chuck and Miss Melissa. Travel safe..thanks for the amazing memories..and most of all the friendship.
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