May 10 – 14
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The drive from Sedona to Page was fairly easy, other than a
major temporary road detour. Two years ago the main highway, 89, suffered a
landslide about 20 miles south of Page. The temporary road was recently paved
and was actually a good road; it just took a little more drive time. We arrived
at the Page-Lake Powell RV Park, just on the south side of town. This park is
very nice with full hookups and all the amenities that one would want. Also,
the park’s backdrop is an eroded beautiful sandstone hill with a peak at the
top. We had been in Page in 2003 and it had changed a lot.
The next morning we headed towards Lake Powell and the Glen
Canyon Dam. The Visitors Center was a must stop to get more info on the area.
We drove out to the marina and campground area on the lake. On the way back, we
hiked a trail called Hanging Gardens. This trail wrapped around the rock
formations and ended up at a small weeping spring grotto. It was a nice hike
with beautiful views of the lake and the surrounding area. After that, we drove out to the Antelope Point
Marina. There we spoke with some marina crew regarding getting our kayaks on
the lake. Since the public boat ramp was
closed due to low water, the marina would haul us, our kayaks and gear on
electric carts down to the marina docks. We were very excited about that and
made plans to do this paddle on our last day in Page. We then headed back to camp for the evening.
The next morning, we headed out to hike the Lower Antelope
Slot Canyon on the Navajo land. We paid the Navajos and they provided a guide
to take our group through the canyon. We were in the slot about an hour and 15
minutes. It was so amazing and beautiful, with eroded canyon walls that were in
so many shapes, with the sunlight creating different colors on the walls. We
took so many pictures and the young Navajo guide even changed settings on our
camera to allow for the most colorful photos. He even took some pics of us. We
were sad when the hike was over, we could have stayed in the canyon for another
hour, but now they limit the time down in the canyon. What an amazing
experience, like no other hike one would ever see.
After the slot canyon, we drove west of Page and hiked up to
the Horseshoe Bend overlook. This is where the Colorado River makes a horseshoe
shape path through the canyon. It was a spectacular site with the colorful,
high canyon walls and rock formations all around the ground level. After
heading back to camp, Kurt took the dogs up to the red rock area behind the
campground to watch sunset. The sunset was beautiful and the dogs had a great
run.
The next morning, we took some time to relax around the
camper and get some chores done. Kurt was working on his mountain bike, which
needed some repairs. We had scheduled a boat tour on Lake Powell and we headed
out to the marina around noon. We chose to take the 3 hour tour on the lake,
which traveled back into Antelope Canyon and Navajo Canyon. At the end of the
tour, the captain took us near the Glen Canyon dam to get a water side view.
The whole tour was great and we were very glad we took the time and money for
this experience.
The following morning, we had already prepared our kayaks
and gear for our paddle on Antelope Canyon.
We drove out to Antelope Marina and the crew there took us and our
kayaks down to the marina docks. From there, we put in the water and headed
toward Antelope Canyon. It was so exciting; we never dreamed we would be able
to paddle the lake side of this canyon. From the marina, we had to paddle on
the Colorado River to get to the canyon. It’s very difficult to describe in words
how amazing to be at water level and see the towering canyon walls up so close.
We were able to see so much more of the canyon than when we took the boat tour.
We paddled all the way back until the canyon narrowed and the water reached a sandy
beach. After securing our kayaks, we hiked back in the sandy bottomed canyon
for about a ¼ mile, as the canyon walls narrowed. We returned to our kayaks,
ate some lunch and began the paddle back to the marina. This was a kayak
experience that tops them all, another check off our bucket list!
Back at camp, we prepared our camper to head out the next
day for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.
