PAGE, ARIZONA

We had a beautiful ride from Tropic, Utah over to Page. The area around Kanab, Utah is spectacular and most of the rest of the journey runs parallel to the Vermilion Cliffs, which are just simply an endless sea of color. Our first stop was lunch (these boys have appetites). We then hiked down a short distance to a site overlooking the Glen Canyon Dam, pictured below. For those of you who like numbers: the dam is around 700 feet high: what you see above the river below is about 580 feet high. The top of the dam is 1560 feet across. Take note of the little white dot in the water.

There is a location at the foot of the dam where you can be rafted five miles down river (it used to be eight miles to Lees Ferry but the collapse of US Highway 89 messed that up). We took this picture from the viewing point about 750 feet above the water of a bunch of folks rafting down stream. Looks like fun.

Our next stop was a very scary temptation, the Horseshoe Bend in the Colorado River. You park your car and hike what seemed like a difficult mile to the edge of the canyon. At this location the river has created a sweeping horseshoe. The gorge side where the visitors are has no railings and is sandstone, so walk at your own risk. The river is 1000 feet below, the peninsula is too big to capture without a wide angle lens, and my stomach didn't let me get close enough to the rim. So, here are two pictures. The first is as much of the left side of the horseshoe as I could handle and the second is the same for the right side.

Fortunately I have a son who is fearless, not afraid of heights, and a little, well, you know. Anyhow, Craig took the camera, leaned out a little, and got this view of the entire bend. By the way, this is not where Thelma and Louise did their thing.

Now with reference to my previous remarks about Bryce Canyon, we toured the dam and rode the elevator down close to the bottom. The generating room was quite interesting but surprisingly the purpose of the dam was not to generate electricity. Its purpose was to control water and water flow, prevent flooding, create recreation, and to destroy 180 miles of white river canyons. (I had to throw that in). The eight generators can provide a lot of electric power for the area.

A bridge was constructed to cross the Colorado River as work on building the dam started. This would allow workers to cross from one side to the other: the option was a 200 mile ride. Interestingly enough, the bridge was built in California in two pieces, and each half was trucked to one side or the other of the river. This view of the bridge was taken from the top of the dam, on our tour.

We took a ride back into the Lake Powell Recreation Area. There is a huge marina, campground, large beach, and stunning views of the area surrounding the lake. Makes you want to get a boat, fill the gas tank, and do some major exploring.

And last, but not least, the dam has two sides. This picture shows a lot: the dam, the bridge, the Visitor's Center, and a part of the town of Page. What is really disturbing about this picture is the white area on the cliff sides immediately over the water line. That area is 104 feet high and represents the height of the water when the dam was finally finished and the lake filled. Today, water levels are down 104 feet. This drought has created most of this. Very sad.

Tomorrow we visit the north rim of the Grand Canyon.