Lazy day!

Captains Log September 17 – Our last day in Page! Such a nice small city with everything you

I've turned Melissa into a rock 
climber!

need and fantastic sights to see!

There was nothing specific on our agenda today so we headed out to check out the Glen Canyon Dam.  Behind some buildings in Page is a huge overlook with lots of rocks to climb on so we started there.  Then we crossed the bridge over the Colorado River and parked in the parking area of the dam.  We got our and walked about the dam and , boy, is it a long way down!  We could see the higher water on one side and it was really low on the other .  Surprisingly there were quite a few cars stopped there was well.

We drove on to the entrance of Glen Canyon National Park. On this side of the park it's mostly water sports you see. There were huge parking lots for everything from a jet ski to huge houseboats. We stopped at some landings and could

Love those rocks!

see the variety of boats here and there on the river. There were also several campgrounds as well. Once you leave that area, it's quite a ways to “see” more sites so we ended up turning back and heading back into Page  lunch at a BBQ place. The brisket was awesome. Bill and I ordered a pound to share and didn't begin to finish it and then ordered another pound to go. We are good for a couple of meals for sure!

We checked out a couple of shops carrying mostly native American made products. Melissa found a bracelet and Bill just got some post cards. We stopped at the trading post near our campground but they didn't have anything interesting to us.

Heading west tomorrow to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon! 

Fabulous day in the Antelope Canyons

Captains Log September 16 - Such an awesome day and words cannot describe it. We went

Stairs into the canyon

to Lower Antelope Canyon on a tour this morning and the photos I'm posting in the blog are only a few of what I took. No photo is the same as another as the slot canyon continually changes with the winds and the water. I posted a lot of photos on you can link to, hope you enjoy them.

Looking up

With Covid still being tightly monitored on the reservations, we had to mask the whole time as it's tight in the slots and they only allow 6 in a group. There are a lot of stairs to go down but they are very safe ones!

 The guide was very good and did a good job of explaining what we saw and  how they develop. Unfortunately you can't take your time as there are so many people scheduled for the tours.

Between tours we went out for lunch and had some free time before the afternoon tour of the Upper Canyon Slots. We saw a sign for an overlook at the back of Page so we drove up and they have a nice semi-circle view of the water and mountains on the other side. We took a few photos and sat for a bit, communing with nature!

The afternoon tour was run a little different. We went thru a different agency and you met there in town and were bussed to the Upper Antelope Canyon a bit out of town. There were probably 20 other tour vehicles there. We had about 10 on this group and again had to mask the whole time. We walked a little bit into the canyon and had just as good of a tour as the first one. He explained about a recent flash flood that had come through and told us all about how the tour workers have to come out and shovel out inches of sand that get washed in to the slots. He pointed out several logs that got lodged in over our heads that they just leave if they are securely in place.

Both canyons have had top photographers come in and take photos that made them very rich. Most of the guides know some “tricks” to get very unusual  photos. I hope there are some on Bill's phone as he 

   kept giving the guy his phone and he took several shots of the 3 of us.

It was a full day for sure and gorgeous as well. 

On to Page Arizona

Captains Log September 15 – Today we drove to Page, AZ which was about an hour by the time

we checked in and set up the RV. On the drive we drove thru Marble Canyon which was very colorful. We didn't leave early so we could check in when we got there and not have to park and wait for our spot.

Once we got settled in Bill, Melissa and I went to Horseshoe Bend. Once you park it's 1.5 miles to walked the trail to the overlook. There were quite a lot of people coming and going. It's downhill to the overlook and they built 2 “rest areas” along the way. You need to carry your own water as there is none available along the trail.

The view is awesome. The river is about 1,000 feet below the rim. We could see the waves made by the boats but could barely see a boat. The center is an island and you can raft, canoe or boat to it and relax or picnic. Along the view area are huge rocks you can climb on and get other angles of the bend. Great place to visit!

We took a drive around Page and it borders

Bill on the rocks along the view
point

Glen Canyon National Park. We parked and took pictures of the new bridge from Page and you can see the Dam behind it. We will plan to drive over into Glen Canyon on another day! 

Rim trip and Mule Trip

Captains Log September 14 – We left earlier than normal as it's about an hour to the North Rim

and we had several places we wanted to stop on the way. I packed a picnic lunch so we could eat before Melissa and I had to be at the stop for the mule ride down into the canyon.

Along the road to the rim we stopped at Point Imperial, Cape Royal and Bright Angel Point. Fabulous views at each location. There was no crowd so it was really nice to take your time and not work around a lot of people to get your

photos. Melissa and I ate our lunch on the way

View at Inspiration Pt.

to the rim so we wouldn't be late for the mule ride.

We checked in at the lodge and were told all the rules and where to wait for the bus to the mule corral. The group was divided into 2 with a wrangler leading each one. Our group was first and the other was about 20 minutes behind. I will say my mule Joe was great. Melissa was on Homer who was kinda big bellied. She was

right in front of me. The going down was rather brutal. A lot of the trail is deep steps and you landed hard each step down. Going back up was much more comfortable!

You go down to Supai Tunnel where there is a water fountain and they “park” the mules while you get  water and bathroom break. The second group arrived while we rested and there

Melissa on Homer

were quite a few hikers there as well.

The ride back up was much easier on the body than the one down. It was beautiful in the canyon and we had some laughs and education also. The guide would take breaks so we could all catch back up and he told us about the mules, the trees and plants, and other things on our
stops.

My mule Joe and I made it back alive!

It was a fun and informative trip but it felt great to get off the mule.  

We hunted around for Bill at the lodge and couldn't find him and he was at the truck. So after 3 hours on a mule it was good to sit in a truck even and head back to the RV.

Kaibab National Forest

Captains Log September 13 – Today we packed up and headed to the Kaibab Camper RV

Greeter at our campground

Village about an hour from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Bill and I went years ago before Rving became our mode of travel. I wasn't thrilled with our spot as it was a bit short and uneven but they were full and we had to go with what they gave us.

On the drive there we passed acres and acres of burnt pine trees. It was not the sight you expect to see at that elevation and all around the national park. When we arrived at the campground we saw some burn there as well. There is a small lake, Jacob's Lake, that is currently dry as 2 summers ago they took all the water from it to save the campground and then there wasn't enough snow fall or rain to refill it.

Once we settled in Bill took a nap while Melissa and I went on a bit of a walk along the gravel road that accesses the campground and on around the back side. Nothing exciting on the way but we did end up back at Jacob's Lake which was dry as a bone. Across from it is the the original ranger house from 1910 and we could look in the windows and see the period or original furnishings. It looked like it was set up for 2 rangers. The have a barn in back as they only had horses to get to and from the park and it was a day long ride to another ranger cabin. They were spaced a day's ride apart by the park service.

We stopped to chat with the hosts and a couple from Alaska that flew down and rented a Cruise America with a Florida plate.

Tomorrow is The Mule Ride! 

Zion National Park

Captains Log September 12 – Today's adventure was a trip to Zion National Park. Kanab is on

On our way to Zion

the east side so that was our entry point. We drove along the Zion-Mount Carmel Highway following a bus. Due to the size of one of the tunnels they have to stop traffic from the other side to let the bus go through so we got to follow it. Traffic was a bit on the heavy side and it takes a while to make the trip to the bottom of the  switchback road weaving it's way down. We did get to pull off a few times for photos.

The formations were awesome and again there were different colors to experience. There is only one road you can drive unless you go on unpaved roads or take the shuttle. We stopped

at the visitor center but that is also where people park to take the shuttle and the parking was full. They have rangers on duty keeping people from parking along a road or in the areas for employees and large vehicles. Bill stayed in the truck and kept circling while Melissa and I went to the VC and restroom, then we traded.

We drove thru the south park entrance to the town of

Springdale as it is surrounded by the park. We found a bar restaurant and luckily got a table right away. The food and service was very good and we all enjoyed our lunch.

We went back thru the south entrance and stopped a few times for photos as we headed back to the east entrance. One place we stopped was a great spot to get out and climb some formations and have Bill take Melissa's and my pictures. Never pass up a boulder you can climb!

We had dinner in Kanab at the Mexican place just down the road from our RV park. They were slammed so there was a short wait but the food was worth it. Very good spot!

Super fun day!!!

Captains Log September 11 – A day we will never forget!

Since we didn’t have to leave the RV site until 12 or so and it was only about a 90 minute

drive to Kanab, UT, we started our day by the 3 of us going to the Discovery Dinosaur Museum in St. George/Washington.    It was land owned by a Dr. who discovered dinosaur tracks on it and turned it into a tourist site.  Now they have a big building over the site with lots of information and manmade skeletons of some of the prehistoric animals that  were there, in addition to the tracks.  It was very interesting and well laid out. 

One of many prints

 

Back at the RV we put everything away and closed her up and headed on down the road to Kanab.  It’s not a very big town but very well known for its history as a filming location for Western movies.  We were there years ago and stayed in the little motel that names each room after a movie star.  When we stayed there we were in the John Wayne room at Bill’s request!

We had a GREAT afternoon there!  We visited the Moqui Cave which is

prehistoric.  There are petroglyphs on the ceiling and they have dinosaur tracks along with a huge collection of rocks from states all over that when under black light produce a wide variety of colors in the rocks.

Bill at the bar

The man who bought it turned this 3 room cave into local bar!  The one room is still set up exactly like it was 3 generations ago.  The middle cave holds the rock collection and the smallest is currently the gift shop. 

It took him some time back in the day to clean out the caves and

Rocks under black light

paint the opening inside and then block in the cave opening so it had door closing. 

Next we looked for and found the Belly of the Dragon Cave. It's not a big cave and we could see it down on a ledge but were not sure about getting down to it. There were a few “steps” going down the side but Bill didn't think we could get in and went back to the truck. Well, Melissa and I are persistent as well as “risk” takers. She went down first and had no problem. I was more concerned about getting back up! A group of Asians came in so we let them venture on further back as we did not bring headlamps or flash lights. Nice little side stop!

Melissa waiting on me 

Melissa from the
inside Belly

On the main road on the way to Moqui, we saw several cave openings up along a ridge and there were people in the caves, so I knew there was a way up. I told Bill I wanted to go there! So on the way back Melissa said she'd go with me. That's the great thing about her, she would probably not do these things normally but she was more than willing to give it a try. We watched other people and saw the “trail” they took up and over so we had an idea of where to go. The distance across was over 200 yards. The going was the slow half as we had to get a feel
for the rocks and angles of the rock sides. Bill waited patiently in the truck and got out and took a few pictures of

The caves we climbed to

us scaling the rocks. I have to say, that was one of the more invigorating things I've done. The caves were awesome and for a while we were the only ones in there. There are multiple openings facing the road that open off of a more central room and there was one tunnel back into the mountain that we walked in bit but again, with no flashlights or head lamps we didn't venture too far. Here we were, 2 women in our late 60's, doing what much younger people were doing. I can't tell you how it felt, just awesome!

The trip back across was pretty easy til the going down and we had to be more careful as there

View out one entrance

were not really any footholds. I'd do it again in a heartbeat! That is something I know Kam would have enjoyed as well.

I forgot to mention that the campground is a bit “ghetto”. When Bill checked in we had reserved 2 nights in a full hook up pull thru. They asked him if we would take a back in with full hook up paying for only 1 night. Bill asked me and I said sure, half price is a great deal. The first 2 sites I was not comfortable trying to get into so we “gently” backed into the 3^rd one and we felt like we were the ham between the bread! We didn't do much but sleep and eat some there as we were gone more than we were there so, it was a good deal!