Christian Saris
Page, Arizona and Lake Powell
3. Oktober 2015 - gesus - Lesezeit: 5 - 6 min.
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Heavy rain accompanies us, when we drive from Monument Valley to Page, Arizona. The sky is dark and the wipers work hard. Our first stop is at Walmart in Page but we can’t cross the parking lot because a huge torrent divides it into two pieces. The loads of water coming down from heaven are very impressive. Later on we find out that the flood washed away some roads around Page. What a contrast: loads of water within the desert.
But we are lucky to have arrived after a strenuous ride. We have a reservation at a campground directly next to Lake Powell with full hookup.
At Lake Powell you can do a lot of activities. On day one we visit Glen Canyon Dam and take a guided tour through the whole building and the power plant.
On day two we go to the marina and take a short trip by boat. The guide knows every edge of the canyon and tells us a lot about its history. Glen Canyon Dam was built around 1966 and a wide area of land has been flooded just to have a water reservoir and energy source for heavily populated areas like California. This building changed a lot of things in this region and the consequences weren’t only good for all.
One highlight in that region is Antelope Canyon, a very photogenic slot canyon. There are two major entry points to take a look at the canyon: Upper Antelope Canyon and Lower Antelope Canyon. In 2013 we visited Upper Antelope Canyon. The canyon we saw was very impressive – nobody of us has seen something like that so far. But the spot is very, very crowded. You can park your car on a dusty parking lot and then you buy a ticket. With this tickets you are put into a 4WD-vehicle and the carry you to the canyon in group of approx. 20 persons.
When you arrive at the slot canyon you recognize that hundreds of people are here to see it. It is crowded and loud and your guide always emphasizes that you have only a few minutes to see each spot. It’s a hard job to ignore the stress and to concentrate on the really unique impressions you get there. The colors and the shape of the rocks are something we never saw before. You can imagine how many flash floods ran through the canyon until it has come to this shape.
This time we have another try at lower Antelope Canyon. People said that it would be less crowded and they are right. Even here you are in groups of approx. 20 persons and you are not allowed to leave the group, but it is by far more relaxed than the Upper Antelope Canyon. Our guide does his job very well and we enjoy an impressive tour through the “cave” and shot a lot of great photographs.
Our last day, we spend within Glen Canyon National Park. A one hour drive leads us to Navajo Bridge and Marble Canyon. We do a few hikes near Colorado River and enjoy the orchards of Lonely Dell Ranch – a historic ranch bought by the National Park Service. Everybody is free to harvest the fruits from the trees. And so we leave with a sizable amount of apricots and plums when we go back to our campground.
