May 3, 2017 - Page, AZ

It felt balmy this morning.  The sky had thin veil of clouds. 

 

We checked out of Page Lake Powell RV Park at 9 am with me driving in the Jeep and Erwin following in our Lil' Home.  We cannot check into Wahweap Campground until after 11 am. Erwin suggested to park our vehicles at Carl Hayden Visitor Center and Dam off Highway 89, take a dam tour to kill time. 

 

The Visitor Center was built in 1963, was named after Carl Trumball Hayden from Arizona.  He was a politician and served 56 years in Congress. He was instrumental in making appropriations into the annual Indian Appropriations Act that paid for the construction of Glen Canyon dam.

There is a gift shop, a theater, exhibit room that has maps, photographs, artifacts, etc.

There was a sign posted on the wall at the admission that the tour is limited to the top of the dam due to elevator maintenance. Because of that the admission fee was reduced by half.  For Seniors the regular admission fee was $4 per person, but we paid $4 for two of us.

 

Because Glen Canyon dam is federally owned you must go through the security clearance before going on a tour. Backpacks, knives, weapons, purses and foods are not allowed.  You can bring clear water bottles and cameras.

Glen Canyon Dam is the fourth tallest dam (710 feet) in the U.S..  Devon, our guide, led us to the top of the dam, explained about how the dam was built.  While we were walking along with Devon there was a security agent walking closely and watching us. 

 

 

 

Devon, our tour guide

 

 

Concrete Bucket

Turbine

Concrete Core Sample

We checked out the gift shop to see if there was anything we would want to buy.  Nothing interested us, so we left the store and went to the exhibit area.

 After leaving the Visitor Center we walked up to Navajo Bridge that spans over the Colorado River.  

On Navajo Bridge

 

Truck towing an oversized boat across the bridge

 

 

 

 

After the tour we went to Wahweap Campground Office to check in. We decided to spend two nights here.  We got site #24 in “A” Loop.  There are six loops with full hookups.  We have a partial view of Lake Powell from our site, which is really nice.  We then fixed lunch before going off again.

 

Two months ago I reserved tickets online for the tour to Upper Antelope Slot Canyon. We were advised to be at the store before 12:30 pm.  15 minutes before the tour began there was a performance.

After the performance we boarded in the back of a safari-style jeep that can hold 12 people.  The ride was not so bad until we ot to the Antelope site.  It was really really rough!

 
This lady spent time checking her smartphone
during the trip from the store to the slot canyon!

Our guide, Erwin, yes, same name as my Erwin, explained the rules before we all went inside the slot canyon.  Using flash is prohibited.  Self stickie and tripod are not allowed.  If you choose photography tour you are allowed to bring a tripod.  

The slot canyon is naturally formed by the forces of wind and water.  Once inside we were awed by the dazzling display of color.  The guide gave us tips on spots for taking pictures.  He even helped take a couple pictures for me.  The tour lasted about an hour. 

 

"Dragon"

"Cat's Eye"

Back to Antelope Slot store we bought T-shirts for both of us.  We also asked about boat tour on Lake Powell.  If we had plenty of time and not having to rush to go to Canada we would rent a pontoon and spend a whole day cruising the lake.  We chose to get on a 10:30 boat tour tomorrow, and we meet at Antelope Point Marina.

On our way back to the campground we stopped at Big Lake Trading Post to get some snacks and drinks before heading to Antelope Point.  We wanted to see what Antelope Point is like, where to park, etc. Not that hard to find.

 

On way back “home” we shopped at Safeway, and there was a sign letting shoppers know of the Senior Wednesday 10% off discount.  We saved $7.33 with the 10% discount.  We certainly picked the right day to shop there 😃

 

We took a quick tour of Old Quarter, the Street of Little Motels before heading back to Wahweap Campground to drop off groceries and to rest a bit.

Our great niece, Carmel, recommended us to eat at Big John’s Texas Barbecue at 55 S. Lake Powell Blvd in Page, AZ.  It is ranked #2 out of 46 restaurants.  It serves American, Southwest and BBQ style meals.  It has an indoor and outdoor dining.  There is a live country music. There are BBQ smokers cooking outside. We had a full rack of BBQ ribs with potato salad.  The meat just slips off the bone when you pick it up!  The potato salad was excellent.   We really enjoyed every bite of what we had. Thank you, Carmel…

 

We missed the sunset by half an hour.  We came home feeling full and content.  What a great day it was.  Now we are looking forward to our boat ride tomorrow. 

Lighted Marina at Lake Powell

~Edith