We really enjoyed our stay at the Grand Canyon. Karens’s health has deteriorated and we discussed returning home. Our original plans were to go to Utah next and see Zion National Park among others and work our way home via Colorado Springs. Instead we agreed to one more destination before returning. We chose to go to Page AZ which is just over 138 miles away, but more importantly two thousand feet lower in elevation to help Karen’s breathing. The most direct route to Page is through the Grand Canyon Park, so we had to set off early to beat any long lines of people trying to get into the park. I was sure to top off the cars battery the night before so we could head straight out.

We got to Page by midday, Page is one hour ahead of Grand Canyon so we did lose an hour on the journey up. It is close to where the time zone changes so the car, phones and our watches could not agree what time it was. We reserved a room at a hotel when we arrived but they were not able to accept early check-in, they said not to come back until at least 3pm.

Horseshoe Bend and Glen Canyon Dam

We examined the map and decided to look at Glen Canyon Dam. As we were driving we saw a sign for the Horseshoe Bend Overlook which is on the Colorado river. We pulled over, the overlook is on Tribal Lands so we paid a $10 entry fee. After parking we discovered the overlook was a 1 1/2 mile walk, and it was 90 F. Karen chose to remain in the car and I headed off with plenty of water and my hat.

If you look closely enough you will see at least three faces on the rock face. I can find three can you find more? This was a totally unplanned stop, I didn’t even know this is where this famous portion of the Colorado River is. Nice to come across stuff somewhat at random, it is more satisfying that way. The little white specks on the river are people floating downstream on kayaks. This overlook was a high one for sure at over 1,100 above the river.

Then we continued our way to to Dam.

The color of the water is gorgeous. We took in the dam and it was still too early to check-in into the hotel. We looked at the map in the car and saw a small town with a marina on the lake. We headed towards Wahweep.

Wahweep Marina and Lake Powell

To our surprise the Wahweep recreation Area is a National Park. We used our senior pass to get in and drove to the first overlook. Wow, just wow, the view was stunning. The blue water against the red rocks was very photogenic. Lake Powell water level is very low, about 150 feet lower than normal at 30% of capacity. This water level is considerably up from where it was this time last year.

We could see the Marina and drove down there from the overlook. You couldn’t really see the marina once you got close and we lost our interest. The overlooks were the real prize here. We didn’t realize it but we were just 1/2 mile from the Utah state line, so we didn’t quite make it to Utah. So close.

Midpoint of our trip

This point marked the end of our outward journey and from this point forward we would start our journey home.