Page, Arizona Adventures

Yes we are back and forth to different areas of Arizona! The time changes are really messing me up. ⏰😆 So we arrived at Page Lake Powell Campground at 11am from Kanab. Set up and decided to check out the area but being a Sunday a lot was closed. We went to Glen Canyon Dam, walked around and then drove to Lake Powell Recreation area then over to Wahweap Recreation area. Locals said the lake was down 70 ft! We were amazed at the size of the boats…..yachts there. Crazy big like at home! 😱 Page is at 4300 elevation and founded in 1957. What a gorgeous view of the valley and mountains that surround it. And it has a McDonald’s so you know that’s a daily stop! 🥤🤦🏻‍♀️ We used this area as a hub so we could go back and forth to Utah for more adventures in this corner. Every chance we could, we stopped at a visitor center to check out hikes and get permits. We took a 8.3 mile 4WD road to Wire Pass trailhead. Hiked Wire Pass Trail to Buckskin Gulch (which is one of the longest slot canyons in the world). which was OMG what a spectacular slot canyon with the amazing rock formations and smoothly, rising and falling form of sandstone walls. The beginning followed an open wash then we encountered giant boulder obstacles and even a 10 ft drop that we had to use a ladder at one point to climb down further into the slot canyon. We did 4 miles of this trail for the rain clouds were coming and we know nothing about the flash floods out here. Next we hiked Toadstools trail. We felt we were transformed to another planet. Natural wonders of balancing rocks, hoodoos with their unique colors and shapes! A Toadstool is a formation which has a boulder perched on a rock of a smaller diameter like a mushroom or toadstool. Out of the blue they appeared with massive sandstone rock formations around them. This was only a 2 mile hike but it was 54* and windy! Brrrr. Another day we decided to go the other direction and not do as much hiking so it was a driving day (151 miles). Of course it started with a Diet Coke then to Horseshoe Bend right outside Page. A hike to the edge where a horseshoe shaped incised meander of the Colorado River is . It’s a 1000 ft drop into the canyon. Then off to the Navajo Bridge. 2 identical steel arch bridges span the canyon across the Colorado River. Built in 1929, construction started in 1927. The first is a very narrow bridge that is now used as a pedestrian bridge now to view the river, and if you’re lucky see condors. We didn’t see any at that time. Then traveled to Lee’s Ferry on the Colorado River where in the 19th century was the site of a ferry operated by John Doyle Lee for whom its named after. It’s the only place in hundreds of miles which has easy access from both sides. The boat service continued for 55 years till a suspension bridge was built in early 20th century. There is also a military fort and his ranch there which we toured and walked through the peach orchard. Then drove down to the Vermillion Cliffs (3100-7100 ft) which was such a beautiful mountain range in various colors. Passed a very small town called Marble Canyon (don’t blink bc you’d miss it) and Cliff Dwellers that had massive boulders and stone houses then down along the Paris canyon to a condor viewing area. On our last full day here we decided to go to Monument Valley! Yup back into Utah and yup time change. 😂 This is in Navajo Nation and at this time with Covid, all the nation is closed which has limited us to a lot of areas we wanted to visit. Since the 1930’s director John Ford used this location for a number of his best known films. It’s 5 square miles that we all know as the American West! Tim loves westerns and John Wayne so this was a bucket list place to visit along with mile marker 13 on Route 163 near the Arizona-Utah border to stand in the street where Forrest Gump ended his cross-country run in the movie. 🎥 One last stop for the day….Goosenecks State Park. Here it was amazing to see the San Juan River 1100 ft below twisting below us. This park is remote and I mean a remote location in the middle of the Colorado Plateau, To end our last night it was time to washed the truck, filled it up and then stocked up on water and supplies for the next week and get caught up on editing! 308 miles today…. we’re ready for Happy Hour! 🍷 Tomorrow we’re off to Bryce Canyon for 3 days. ♥️