I often have many pictures in our blog posts but this post might have just a few more than normal simply because there were so many incredibly scenic spots in the Page Arizona vicinity. I'll start with one of my favorites from Horseshoe Bend.
Horseshoe Bend from 1000' Up
Page is an easy drive from Flagstaff. It is mostly a desolate area but with some great views along the way. The drive up through Antelope Pass just south of town was particularly scenic with all the cuts made to allow a road to snake through. The video below is sped up by 8X.
We start to see what may be the most common vehicle up in these parts. No not the Ford F-150, not the Toyota Camry, but the Cruise America rental motor home. They seem to be everywhere. I suspect that all of them are being rented by people visiting the nearby Grand Canyon. Believe it or not we have been to Page before, even spent the night here. We were on our cross country tandem bicycle trip in July of 1991 and this was one of our stops. I'll admit it doesn't look familiar except for the bridge over the Colorado River just before entering town from the west. About all we really remember was the fact that the ride from Kanab Utah to Page was through Indian reservation land and we had a 73 mile stretch without any services.
These Rental RVs are Everywhere!
We had called the Page Elks Lodge the day before coming up to see how busy they were. Sounded like some people were here but it wasn't full. Plus they have a large gravel lot that may be used for boondocking for only $5 a night. Their electric and water sites are $20. I had read a review of the parking area and somebody mentioned that at least one of the spots actually had 50 amp service rather than the 30 amp at all the other spots. When we pulled in, there were a couple rigs in spots and about 5 in the boondocking lot. I checked the remaining spots and discovered one with 50 amp (I later determined it is the only 50 amp spot). So we picked this spot and got partway setup. We had gotten in before the bar opened and since the bartender is the guy to pay for camping, we decided to wait before we completely setup in case there was some issue. We walked around the neighborhood a bit and discovered that we must be smack in the middle of the church district of Page. There are easily 10 churches within a half mile radius of our spot. You pick a denomination and I bet we could find you a church here. There are the standard ones: Catholic, Episcopal, Baptist, Lutheran and even some we don't run across much like the Seventh-day Adventist and a Mormon church. Although with us this close to Utah, the latter one might not be too surprising. By the time we got back, the bar was open and we could register and pay for our spot for 6 nights. We were informed they were having dinner at 5:30 and bingo later that night.
We decided to try out the dinner. It wasn't fancy but it was a good burger with lots of fixin's. We got the first pitcher of beer we have had in ages and it was all of $5. We might need to stop back some other night. There were a fair number of people there and they were all friendly. We chatted with one couple about some of the local things to see and do while we are in town. We decided to skip on the bingo offer but they sure drew the crowd of people. The parking lot was packed. If somebody had arrived to park their rig for the night, they would have had to wait until after 10 PM to get in.
Bingo at the Elks Lodge is the Place to Be
Just a few miles back south on Route 89 is Horseshoe Bend. We had seen the parking lot for it the day before as we pulled into town and it was packed with a large number of rental RVs. By coming earlier in the day, it was busy but not packed. Really all that is there is a big parking lot and a sandy 3/4 mile trail up and over a hill and then down a couple hundred feet to the actual overlook to a pretty incredible view of the Colorado River where it makes a strange 270 degree bend. The somewhat surprising thing is that there is no type of barrier at the edge of the cliff. Some people were much more fearless of getting up close and personal. The drop off is 1000 feet, so I suspect if you did go over, there would be no real hope for you. We wandered around with the masses of people there checking out the views from different vantage points. From what we heard, we are guessing that English was far from the only language being spoken. Many of the tourists are from other countries. Again likely doing a day trip from visiting the Grand Canyon.
As Close to the Edge as Chris Could Handle
Another View of Horseshoe Bend
Patterns in the Rock
After exploring where all the people were, we decided to do an additional mile hike over to a geocache on the far side of the horseshoe. We didn't go far before the noise of the people had faded. We saw some great views of the river below as well as a large number of flowering plants. Plus the rock formations were practically unbelievable. We were still 500 feet from the cache, but in the distance I saw a rock formation and decided that is where the cache had to be and it was.
By the time we hiked the mile back, the crowds had probably doubled. Quite possibly because there were now two tour buses sitting in the parking lot below. Being such a windy day and with all these people this close to the edge, I'm amazed somebody didn't go over.
We made our next stop Marble Canyon. It isn't that far if we could fly but it is about a 45 minute drive to get over to it. The drive however is quite nice going back through Antelope Pass. The first real stop is the Navajo Bridge that takes you over the Colorado River. There are actually 2 bridges. The original built in 1929 is now a pedestrian bridge while the one built in 1995 carries traffic. The two bridges are very similar design and style with the new one being able to handle the larger trucks of today. It's about 470 feet above the water and some of the boats traveling below looked quite small. One side of the bridge had a structure built for locals to sell their crafts to all the tourists. The other side had a visitor center, restrooms and a small gift shop.
A Long Way Down
Nearly Mirror Image
Right past the bridge is Lees Ferry Road which takes you along the river and eventually gets you down to water level. There are boat ramps and access to several hiking trails. We did a short walk but it was another windy and dusty and hot day so we cut our walk short and headed home.
Strange Hoodoos Heading to Lees Ferry
The Mighty Colorado
Remains of Building at Lees Ferry
We wanted to check out the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Center. It is one of the few things we remember about our last visit to Page, 26 years ago. On our way there we stopped to check out the Hanging Gardens Hike. It isn't a very long hike and the terrain is reasonable. Along the trail, you get good views of the Dam and the Lake. At the end of the trail is an overhanging cliff with water weeping out of the rock. All along this wet face of rock is a veritable garden. It was a pretty spot that I suspect most people miss.
Desert Blooms
Hanging Garden
Almost Blooming
Weeping Wall
We hadn't taken a dam tour when we were here last time. And we ended up skipping it this time as well since the tour didn't actually take you into the dam because of elevator maintenance. Oh well. It is still an interesting visitor center with several movies showing in the theater describing various aspects of the dam and Lake Powell.
Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell
Colorado River Just Past Dam
Just a bit north of the dam is Wahweap. It is a park run by the national park service. It includes a very large boat ramp, campgrounds and picnic area. We did a little bit of a walk before enjoying a picnic. The campground looked like one that might be worth checking out in the future.
Overlooking Wahweap
House Boats on Lake Powell
Just a bit further north, across the border into Utah, is Lone Rock Beach Primitive Camping. This was our backup plan had the Elks Lodge been full. It is also run by the national park service and cost $14 a day. There are two general areas where dispersed camping is permitted. One up the hill away from the beach which isn't huge with maybe a dozen or so rigs setup. Down by the beach are were many dozens of rigs. Several of them were as big or bigger than ours. After driving the Jeep to the beach, I'm not positive I would have felt real comfortable trying to get there in our rig. It wasn't so much that the sand was too soft but the "road" choices quite rutted. Given all that, the place was nice with great views of the Lone Rock in Lake Powell.
Lone Rock Beach
One of the main reasons to come to Page was to check out Antelope Canyon. We knew the tours are guided and run by the Navajo Nation. There are multiple companies that offer tours and they all allow you to reserve a time for a tour. When we went to book tour times about 10 days before we were here, we found the "good" times, around midday, were all taken. There are two distinct areas to visit - Lower and Upper Antelope Canyons. Not that we are experts but it appears that the Lower tours are a bit less crowded and you might be able to get on a tour without a reservation. Tours in the Upper Canyon probably will require an advance reservation.
We booked a late morning tour with "Ken's Tours" to enter Lower Antelope Canyon. Our group was split into 3 groups of eight. The entrance is within walking distance of the two tour companies located just south of town. There are a lot of steps to go up and down as you wind your way thru the slot canyon. This one is rather narrow for almost the whole length of it. Even though it was a bright sunny day, it is fairly dark once down in the slot. We took over 200 photos on the tour and there were many good shots, it was hard to pick just a few.
They have the timing of the groups choreographed fairly well so that each group has a brief time to stop at multiple places along the way for pictures and for the tour guide to tell various stories. Ours was good at helping people take pictures of various rock formations along the way and occasionally taking pictures of couples at key spots.
The formations are not like anything we have ever experienced before. Mother Nature has an interesting way of creating beauty.
This is the Canyon from Above
The next day was our tour of the Upper Antelope Canyon. This one is much further off the road so most tour companies have businesses in downtown Page and then transport people to the entrance. We went with one called Antelope Canyon Tours. Our tour wasn't until 1:30 but since the day was cloudy with a chance of rain, our missing the "perfect" light conditions at midday wasn't a real issue. We were concerned a bit about the rain. Not just because of our camera gear but we would be in a slot canyon and there could be a flash flood. Our group of 14 were loaded into the back of a modified pickup truck with bench seating. The drive to the canyon was cold and bumpy with the last several miles being over a desert "road".
Entrance into Upper Antelope Canyon
One option for tours in the Upper Canyon is called the Photographer's Tour. It is a longer tour and you are allowed to come with a tripod. It is scheduled at midday when the sunlight comes through the opening and creates unique shafts of light. Of course these spots were completely full for a couple months out. And given the lighting conditions today with the heavy cloud cover, the folks on this tour were out of luck for those special shots. We took over 200 shots here as well and have some of our favorites to share.
No comments:
Post a Comment