The trip from Moab to Page, Arizona takes about five hours, not including scenic stops along the way. Traveling along south on US 191 and then onto US 160 west, you pass two of the most iconic landmarks in the West.
Monument Valley is perhaps the most photographed stops, not only for the sheer magnificence of the tall rock formations in the distance, but because of the movie Forrest Gump, travelers now want to stop along the highway and jump out in front of the middle of the road and take their picture. The scene in the movie is when Forrest is running towards Monument Valley and decides to stop and return home. Not only is this scene a turning point in the movie, but the scene captures the vastness of the West and the timelessness of the rock monuments that lay ahead. Aren’t we all running towards something that’s just out of reach? Don’t we all at times feel as if our pursuits are pointless or that we’ve perhaps spent too much time chasing something when what we really desire is waiting for us back home?
A fitting metaphor for a timeless movie.
Horseshoe Bend is another iconic stop that truly reflects the grandeur of the Colorado River. Located in Glen Canyon National Rec Area, the bend is shaped like a horseshoe along a 1,000-foot rock which drops down into the river below. To view this sight, you park in a parking lot, pay $10.00 and hike ¾ of a mile into the viewing area, where you are instantly treated to gazing at the stunning green and blue waters and faunas set against the red rock. Most of the Colorado appears a milky brown color, but here, the river is a bright blue and green which reminded me of the swirls of a gemstone or hand-crafted jewelry.
On the day of our short hike, the temperature was a balmy 105 degrees, so the fact that I, along with numerous other folks, had to seek shelter and rest to walk a tiny distance was quite disconcerting. But worth it in the end.
Page, Arizona, is a quirky little town, filled with dozens of motels and hotels, from tiny one story, historic mom and pop set-ups to fancier, larger chain hotels, the requisite fast-food places to a truly delicious and nice restaurant oddly named Bonkers.
The reason we stayed here was to knock off another bucket list activity of mine. I have always wanted to boat in Lake Powell, to meander through the white and red rock canyon walls and swim in the cool blue waters of this long, fingered lake.
Our day was amazing as Gary drove the rented “tank” of a deck boat we were given. Our favorite spot had to be the Navajo Canyon section of the lake. A narrow, winding trip through a canyon that seemed to go on forever.
Lake Powell is the second largest artificial reservoir in the USA situated right on the boarder of Utah and Arizona. We kept passing through the two states along our day trip! The lake was formed in 1963 with the creation of the Glen Canyon Dam which impounded the Colorado River here.
Due to historic droughts and overuse of its waters for both agriculture, tourism, and expanding populations, the river sits critically at 23% capacity. In fact, we were told that two years ago, due to a strong winter snow melt, the lake was 75 feet higher than it is today. The reduced depth of the lake has exposed more and more layers of rock formations and long-submerged rock canyons, forever changing the shape and flow of the lake. The marina where we set out from, Antelope Canyon, has had to modify how and where they can launch boats and how people can access the water, since the original docks lay almost 100 feet in the air above the water level!
Fingers are crossed that this situation can naturally repair itself, as once before, and the threat of hydroelectric power to the area being in jeopardy is contained. This is not only a recreational landmark, but a life-source for an entire area.
The other cool activity that we experienced, long on Gary’s bucket list, was a visit to the Slot Canyons on the Navajo lands. These inspiring, natural formations truly take your breath away. Rising 30 to 100 feet above, as you meander thru the rock “hallways”, the sunlight beams down upon the red-sandy floor and casts shadows on the swirly rocks.
The entire day would have been even better had we been on a different tour. Our tour guide was horrible! No sense of imparting any history of these canyons, the native stories behind the caves, or any sense of enhancing our viewing pleasure. We specifically selected the Navajo Canyon Tours hoping to get the authentic spiel, but instead we got some fat dude who was either on his phone or in the bathroom. We should have gone with Ken’s Tours.
The one downside to our time in Page was the hotter than hell temperature. The dogs hated it. There was no grass except for the artificial grass at each RV site, but that was too hot, hotter than the asphalt roadways and their tiny paws kept burning with each step. Luckily, they held their poop until the evening hours!
All in all, a must-see stop if you are in this part of our gorgeous country.