June 24, 2018 - Page/Natural Bridges/Castle Valley

When you are in Page, there are three things you have to do:  Antelope Canyon (Lower), Glen Canyon Dam, and Horseshoe Bend.  We hit Upper Cantelope Canyon yesterday afternoon so this morning we headed to Glen Canyon Dam which was only a mile from the hotel.   I had seen it four years ago but enjoyed it just as much the second time.  It was a first for Lynnette, although she has seen the Hoover Dam.  The Dam was built in 1963.  The one restriction on building the dam was that the Rainbow Bridge not be submerged.

 
   
Lake Powell is in the distance.
   
Glen Canyon Dam is almost as tall as Hoover Dam.  The base is half what Hoover Dam is but its crest is 200 feet longer.  It can produce 1,320 megawatts.  Hoover can produce 2,080.
   
The road bridge just to the south.  Page is on the other side, in the distance.
   
The visitor's center was very well-down and informative.  Before the dam created Lake Powell, there was Glen Canyon which probably was as scenic as Grand Canyon.
   
We next headed over to Horseshoe Bend which is a few miles south of Page.
   
It's a short hike from the parking lot to the rim.
   
Lynnette is not afraid of heights and walked right up to the edge.
   
One of the most photographed sites in the world.
   
The Colorado River coming in from the north.
   
And heading off to the south.
   
Quite a few people were here enjoying the view.  There are no rails.  I would not bring little kids here.
   
 
   
Our final destination for today was Moab, Utah.  We would be swinging around the east side of Lake Powell.  Navigation was pretty easy; there aren't a lot of highways out here.
 
Highway 68 took us southeast, then east through remote desert with almost no traffic.  Like an airplane, you use the top half of your fuel tank in your car.  Gas stations are few and far between.  Our big rental SUV had a big gas tank which was nice.   We turned northeast on Highway 160, then north on Highway 163 which took us right by Monument Valley!
   
It's always good to see Monument Valley, if only a drive-by.
   
Our mighty rental Chevy Tahoe.  Brand new, with all the bells and whistles.
   
Mexican Hat.  Interesting.
   
We stopped by the Goosenecks State Park overlook.  That's the San Juan River, which eventually runs into Lake Powell.
   
Goosenecks was mildly interesting but there was no color.  The rocks were uniformly grey and dead-looking.
   
 
   
We were off the beaten path now, on Route 261 heading north towards Natural Bridges National Monument.   We did not realize we would have to drive up the "Moki Dugway" to get there!
   
Passing by an unusual rock formation.
   
Then we encountered this sign.  What?
   
Lynnette was driving at the time.
   
Uh oh.
   
OK, here we go.
   
We're going vertical!
   
The Moki Dugway was constructed in 1958 by Texas Zinc, a mining company, to transport uranium ore from the "Happy Jack" mine in Fry Canyon to the processing mill in Mexican Hat.
   
The view to the east was spectacular.  I didn't really care for being so close to the edge of the road/cliff though.
   
 
   
I really didn't want to think about what was three feet to my right.
   
Looking back the way we had approached the Moki Dugway.
   
On then we were on top of the plateau heading north.  I believe those are the Bear Ears up ahead.
   
In front of the Bear Ears, we turned west and soon came to Natural Bridges National Monument.
   

Natural Bridges is at the junction of White Canyon and Armstrong Canyon, and is part of the Colorado River drainage.   It features three natural bridges in the park with Hopi names of Kachina, Owachomo, and Sipapu (the largest).  A natural bridge is formed through erosion by water flowing in the stream bed of the canyon.

You can see one of the natural bridges just to the right of center.
   
I would have loved to spend the day hiking down at the bottom of the White Canyon but unfortunately we just did not have the time.
   
 
   
We did hike a short ways down into the canyon to see Sipapu, which was impressive.
   
A closer look at the Bears Ears.
   
 
   
I was struck by this miniture forest.
   
You don't see trees growing in the desert too often.
   

The remainder of the drive to Moab on Highway 191 was routine, although we passed up the east side of Canyonlands National Park.  We drove through Moab, then turned northeast on Route 128 which ran alongside our old friend the Colorado River.  We were heading to our B&B in Castle Valley, about 15 miles from Moab.  I was stunned by the beauty of the drive on 128;  if there was a road in the Grand Canyon, this is what it would be like.

Here is the view from our B&B room porch.  Not bad!
   
The B&B main building.
   
Another view from the B&B.
   
Close up.
   
There was no civilization on Route 128 between Moab and Castle Valley except for the Red Cliffs Ranch on banks of the Colorado River and backed by high cliffs.  We had a very nice dinner here sitting out on the veranda overlooking the river.
   
 
   
I was surprised to learn they filmed a lot of western movies here, including Rio Grande with John Wayne.  They had an interesting little museum about it here in the main lodge.
   
 
   
Previous
Home
Next