19 April – Page – Zion Canyon - Page

Up a bit earlier this morning… hey.. 8am in the morning whilst on holidays is early J.   We had decided to head to Zion Canyon National Park tody from Page.  Being a 2.5 hr drive each way we thought we’d need to be up early to enjoy the park.  So, after getting ready, our first stop was…..Starbucks….for a coffee traveller.

The drive to Zion took us over the Glen Cameron dam and then into Utah. We passed through some lovely country side, cows grazing in grassy fields with daisies etc. This did give way to some spectacular red and white canyon outcrops.  

 We noted that there was a long section of the highway that had deer fencing on both sides with underpasses for the deer…we didn’t see any deer thoughL.

We eventually got to Zion and had to go through a mile long tunnel where anything RV sized had to go through the tunnel in the middle due to size restrictions.  Zion is quite simply stunning.  It is a bit like an oasis in a canyon, in the middle of the desert.  The canyon walls are very tall and coloured with many hues of red, white and light green.  The canyon is not large in width, but the sheer height is something else.  The canyon was originally inhabited by the indigenous who used it for farming etc. However later Mormon settlers came along to do the same.  Their success was a lot less and most ended up leaving the land very early due to drought, flood and other severe weather.

After a quick, yet satisfyingJ, lunch we went out to attack the Emerald Pools walk. The walk was only of a moderate difficulty (excellent J) and we reached the Emerald Pools without too much excursion (maybe could have done with a little more given the pancakes we had last night and previous Vegas buffets J). It was a really lovely, secluded section of the canyon that had a very small waterfalls (more like a seepage) into 3 pools at different levels.  

On the walk we also came across a ground squirrel.  Quite a cheeky little chap, for as soon as we stopped to get some photos he came up pretty close standing on his back legs looking expectantly at what we might have to offer. Seeing that we had nothing, he was gone.  We got some photos of him at least.

After finishing the walk, we caught the free park-shuttle back to the van and then headed back to Page.  We noticed that along one street of Page (Lake Powel Blvd) there were 10x churches, all of different denominations.  We figured that there must be only about 3 or 4 patrons to each on a Sunday, seeing as the majority of the town would be out boating or fishing.

We finished the day with a top little meal of salmon, followed by a shared Easter egg… or two….well…. there goes the exercise for the day LOL.

19 April – Tuba City – Page

Up this morning to get on the road again. Nothing to see around Tuba City. After uploading the blogs in the hotel lobby, we were away. The scenery was again pretty spectacular on the road to Page, Arizona. 

 Arriving at Page at around 11 o'clock we think. Its hard to tell, because daylight savings is optional in Arizona. The lady at the check in told us that Page doesn’t observe daylight savings, but the Navajo reservation a few miles away does. That explained why Tuba City was an hour ahead of the other towns we had been through in AZ.

We parked up and had a bit of a chill out for a couple of hours, then headed off to Horseshoe Bend. It is the most photographed place on the Colorado River. After a short drive and a 1.2k hike through the desert – it’s hard walking on sand! – we reached the edge of the canyon and looked 1000ft straight down to the river. The view takes your breath away. The river is green and winds its way around an enormous outcrop of rock, making a 270 degree turn through the red rock canyon. What a sight!

There were lots of people, and some getting right up to the edge and leaning over to take pics (Eddie!). We stayed for ages getting pics and just soaking up the view.

Heading back into town, we went to the Glen Canyon dam and visitor centre for a look around. Back to the RV park for a swim and a hot tub, then dinner.

18 April – Williams –Tuba City

Up early to watch the gunfight at the railway station. It was all a bit of fun, very hammed up and all the cowboys were shot by the sheriff at the end.

 

We walked into town for coffee at the local diner (and a piece of apple, peach and blueberry pie for Steve). After the coffees we did a bit of touristy sightseeing, including stopping at a Western outfitters to check out all the cowboy /cowgirl bling. Everything from saddles to boots has to have lots of diamantes and studs.

We stopped in at Safeway for some groceries, then hit the road for the Grand Canyon South Rim. On the way we passed Bedrock City so we stopped for a photo with the Flintstones.

The Grand Canyon was spectacular. We walked along the rim for a while, looking at the amazing views. Every corner revealed a new and wonderful vista to look at (and photo). We all agreed that the South Rim is the pick of the Grand Canyon. 

Quite a few little squirrels around for Eddie and Fee to see and we saw an Elk on the side of the road.

Leaving the Canyon, we drove out on a road that follows the rim. We stopped regularly at vista points for more photos and to soak up the amazing views. We stopped for a look at a tower called the Watch Tower, built in 1932 to a traditional design. The tower is made of freestone and is 4 stories high. Inside is decorated with Native American paintings and the views from the top were superb.

As we turned away from the Grand Canyon, we followed the Little Colorado River. It also had amazing views and as we descended to the valleys the views were very “Traditional Western Cowboy Movie”, we were expecting John Wayne to come galloping over a rise followed by Indians!

The soils are amazing colours. Rose pink, mauve, pale greens, greys, reds and all contrasted with bright yellow grasses. The hillsides look like Neapolitan ice-cream.

We arrived at a Navajo Nation town called Tuba City for the night. We tried out the local restaurant for some Fajitas. Yummy.

17 April – Lake Mead – Williams

We got up early-ish for a workout, then packed up and hit the road on Route 66 through Arizona. 

Over the Hoover Dam bridge and into the desert. Very odd to see golf courses all bright green in the middle of such a parched landscape. 

We stopped at a lookout over the Colorado River for some photos and a leg stretch.

We followed Route 66 to the Grand Canyon Caverns. On arrival we met Wayne the cowboy who told us some tall tales, then cantered off wobbling around…him, not the horse. We suspected he had more than soft drink in his can.

The landscape is flat so you take a lift 122 feet down to the caves. They are really interesting. Only 6% humidity, so there is nothing living down there. The caves were created when the area was under the sea, so very different cave formations to a wet limestone cave. 

In one of the caverns there is “one of the 10 most different hotel rooms in the world”, we saw a Billy Connolly show where he stayed there. Cool, but $800per night. 

The caves also contain supplies for 2000 people to stay 2 weeks underground, it was a nuclear shelter during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 60’s. The current owners keep the supplies refreshed “just in case”. Funnily though, in 1961 when they stocked the caves, they forgot to include light sources. No candles, torches or even matches!

We continued along Routes 66. It was quite sad to see how run down the towns are now that the I40 has bypassed them and Route 66 has been decommissioned. 

Finished up for the night at a great little place called Williams. It has withstood the decommissioning of 66 because it is the turnoff to the Grand Canyon South Rim. We are having tea, then a walk into town to look around. 

16 April – Vegas – Lake Mead

Up early to find that a bang and sirens that we heard last night turned out to be an RV burning out nearby. Poor people, they were not hurt, but looked like their gas cylinder may have exploded. Not much left of the RV…

We were getting ready to head off to the Hoover Dam, but when we went to bring the slide out in, it wasn’t working. We managed to override the motor and push it in manually, but it wouldn’t lock in place. Down the road was an RV repair place, and we took it there and luckily they were able to take a look. A couple of hours to kill, so we looked at new RV’s. Wow! There are certainly some “home away from homes” that are nicer than most houses.  We considered upgrading (for a mere outlay of about $50,000, for a nice second hand 40’ A Class)

On the road finally and to Boulder to the Hoover Dam Museum. Very interesting artefacts and stories about the building of the dam. A quick fuel up and we drove to the dam. We had to go through a security check to go onto the dam that included a guard checking all the storage on the RV. Finally through and we travelled over the dam, parked up and walked back. It’s a pretty amazing feat of engineering.

We spent quite a while at the dam, so headed to nearby Lake Mead RV for the night. The lake is very pretty, blue water and stark coloured cliffs and mountains behind.