Lake Powell, Page, AZ

SUN., OCT 30, 2022 thru SUN., NOV 6, 2022

On Sunday we left Kanab, Utah and traveled 68 miles on 90 South going through Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument which spans 1.87 million acres of public lands in southern Utah. Hard to fathom that much space! We arrived at Wahweap Campground & RV Park located on Lake Powell in Page, AZ. We kept going in and out of time zones along the drive as Arizona doesn’t abide by Daylight Savings Time and Utah does. Very confusing!

Lake Powell is the second largest “artificial” reservoir in the US behind Lake Mead. Wahweap Campground is within the Glen Canyon National Rec Area. Absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately Lake Powell is down to approx. 24% capacity. Scary low! It would take 8 to 10 winters of good snowmelt to get levels back up to where they should be.

There are some beautiful overlooks in the Rec Area leading to our campground. We stopped for pictures several times during our stay. We were also treated to several spectacular sunsets during our time here and some very nice Happy Hour campfires. Mother Nature and God get the credit for the spectacular sunsets and Joe gets credit for the campfires!

On Monday, October 31st, Cheryl & I were able to book four seats on the final rafting trip of the season. We started our rafting adventure at Glen Canyon Dam. It’s the second highest concrete arch dam in the U.S. Second only to Hoover Dam. 

We enjoyed a 15-mile easy ride down the smooth Colorado River to Petroglyph Beach and Horseshoe Bend in Marble Canyon with about 20 other passengers. Very glad we didn’t miss out on this opportunity. So fun and we had a great guide.

The canyon walls were 700 ft above us at the start of our ride and doubled to 1400 ft by the end of our trip down the river. The canyon walls are black in some places. This is known as Desert Varnish and is made up of manganese and iron oxide. The canyon walls are made of sandstone, but where the sandstone is exposed to a lot of thawing and freezing, it can become brittle. Shallow pieces can fall out creating shapes on the remaining canyon wall. So interesting. 

A 360-degree view from our rafting adventure down the Colorado River.

On Wednesday, Nov. 2nd, the ‘pod’ visited Upper Antelope Canyon. It’s the most-visited slot canyon in the American Southwest and the most photographed in the world! Named Antelope Canyon because of the herds of pronghorn antelope that once roamed the area. The canyon is about the length of a ball field and spectacularly gorgeous! Sandstone cliffs tower 124 ft above you on either side with dramatic colors, textures and striations. Every turn in the canyon and every look skyward reveals something different. Incredibly humbling to be in a space as beautiful as this. 

Our Navajo tour guide Leo was awesome. He even helped with picture taking… suggesting what settings to use on our iPhones and taking some photos for us. You can only enter the canyon with a Navajo guide as this is on their land. During monsoon season the canyon can flood quickly. Another reason why it’s necessary to enter only with a guide as they closely monitor the water flow. For the Navajo, entering this space is like entering a cathedral. I can see why…

Friday, Nov. 4th, the pod visited Glen Canyon Dam Visitors Center then walked across the Glen Canyon Bridge… well most of us walked across the bridge. Cheryl opted to pass on that. It bears repeating… Glen Canyon Dam is the second highest concrete arch dam in the U.S. Second only to Hoover Dam. 

While on the bridge, we were able to look down and spot the rafting boats tied up. This is where we had boarded our raft on Monday. The canyon walls appeared much higher to me from up here than when we were in the water looking up! 

When the Glen Canyon Bridge was built in 1959 it was the highest steel arch bridge in the world! FYI… in case you’re wondering, Glen Canyon got its name from John Wesley Powell who discovered the canyon. He thought it had “deep, beautiful glens” or side canyons… thus the name.

After spending time at the Visitors Center and walking across the bridge, we headed to Horseshoe Bend Overlook for a hike. It’s a famous horseshoe-shaped bend in the Colorado River. We rafted on it a few days ago so it was fun to look down from the 1,000 ft overlook… plus the rock formations were beautiful. 

We stopped on the way back to the campground to enjoy some more fabulous views of Lake Powell from various overlooks. 

Late in the afternoon we enjoyed a campfire at the Hannafords. Joe had invited some camping neighbors to join us so it was great fun chatting with everyone about their travels!

A short video of Horseshoe Bend Overlook, a horseshoe-shaped section of the Colorado River where we had rafted down on Monday. A different perspective from the 1,000 ft. overlook where this video was shot from.

The weekend of Nov. 5th was Page, Arizona’s 19th Annual Balloon Regatta. Pure luck that we happened to be here while it was going on. The pod didn’t get up at the crack of dawn to see the 60 balloons lift off (having just done that not too long ago in Angel Fire, NM) but we did head into town Saturday night for the Balloon Glow. What a treat! 21 balloons were lined up in the street. Periodically they do an “All Burn” which is when they fire their burners at the same time and the balloons light up in unison. Or they do a “Twinkle Burn” where they have the burners go on and off so the balloons have twinkle lights. So cool!

The pilot told us to put our I-phones on “slo mo video” then proceeded to give us a show!

An example of a “Twinkle Burn.” Gary was in the midst of this one.

On Sunday, Nov. 6th, we rented a 19-ft boat to tour Lake Powell for the day. So much fun! The lake is beyond gorgeous! Because the water level is so low (at 24% capacity), which is so sad, it makes for spectacular colors on the canyon walls. Gary piloted us first to a close-up view of the Glen Canyon Dam then up to Navajo Canyon. In places the water was so still it was like floating on glass. The reflections of the canyon walls on the water was magical. Like nothing I’d ever seen before. Hardly anyone on the lake. In the summertime it’s busy with recreational boaters and people renting house boats. We could see the houseboats all lined up at the marinas. We killed the engine in the middle of Navajo Canyon and enjoyed lunch. Gary did all the piloting. He did great… not being a sailor! We did have a bit of a bumpy landing at the end, but all good. No damage done! Another banner day with the Hannafords! We keep adding to our stock pile of amazingly special days!

Sunday night after our boat ride, I went for one final walk to enjoy sunset at Lake Powell before we leave on Monday. I walked down to the marina/beach area and just marveled at the beauty of this area and was treated to an almost full moon. 

We’ve had a wonderful stay at this amazing location… As with many of our stays, we’d come back in a heartbeat! But tomorrow, we head to the Grand Canyon… 

Gary did a 360 while on Lake Powell