11* @ 7am; 22* in Page, AZ
We
were up by 7 am and after saying goodbye to Terry & Glenda, we were on the
road by 9 am. We headed north on Val
Vista to 202 E then 101 N & W and eventually I 17 N. That allowed us to circumvent Phoenix and
Scottsdale. We began climbing almost
right away; the scenery went from desert to low shrubs to pine and oak trees. We stopped for fuel in Camp Verde @ $4.09/gal
then we went as high as over 7000 feet and finally reached Flagstaff where we
had lunch in a Shopping Centre east of Flagstaff city centre. We continued on Hwy 89 N and climbed to almost
7500 feet before beginning going lower.
We were almost surrounded by high snowcapped mountains and lots of
forest but just as quickly, the scenery changed to low shrubs and high prairie
grass. The temperature here was showing
18*C on our thermostat. The landscape
once again changed to colorful sandstone rocks.
We eventually reached the Junction called GAP where I took on more fuel
@ $3.87/Gal, and here, we had to turn right on Hwy 20 as 89 collapsed further
north and is still under construction and no one can get by. That added an extra 20 miles to our route but
we eventually made to Page without further incidents. This road took us directly to our campground,
PAGE-LAKE POWELL CAMPGROUND, Site #
60. We paid $24.30/night + tax. We have full hook-up including cable. This is a very nice campground with lots of amenities
and WIFI! We have a fantastic view of a
red sandstone rock face. I am looking
forward to tomorrow and the Antelope Canyon.
We had left over chicken for dinner then watched a couple movies in the
evening.
We travelled 298 Miles in
5.5 hrs @ 53 MPH
N 36* 54.085’W 111* 27.143’
Alt: 4231 ft
10*C @ 7am; 25*C in pm
After
a lazy early morning and my power walk, we showered and went into town to pay
for our tour at 1:30 pm. Afterwards, we
went to Walmart and bought some necessary groceries. From here, we did a couple Geo-Caches before
going home and putting the groceries away.
The town of PAGE has grown some since the last time we drove through
here and it has become a very clean and neat town with lots to see. There is even a whole street especially for
churches, over 20 and all on the same street.
WOW!!! Anyway, we drove to the
tour office by 1 pm and waiting for our turn to be loaded in the back of a
truck with comfortable seats and by 1:35 pm, we headed for the Canyon. It was about 20 minutes from here on Navajo
Land. We drove on the bed of a sandy dry
river bed and arrived at the entrance.
Our guide took us in and we walked the whole canyon, about a quarter
mile long. And what a FANTASTIC and
SPIRITUAL place it was! I took lots of
pictures and most of them turned out.
Our guide knew which pose to take and how to take it which made for some
interesting pictures. The whole
experience was worth every penny we paid and I will post the pictures
soon. Words cannot describe the beauty
of that place. It used to be wide open
but due to vandalism, the Navajo Band stopped all access then eventually
re-opened it but under the use of a guide.
Ours was definitely interesting and fun.
We came away in awe. After
returning to the office, we went to a pub next door and had a beer and chicken wings
then we drove to the “BEND CANYON”. This
was another interesting area just outside of town. We had to walk up to the ridge then down the “look-out”
overview of the horse-shoe created by the Colorado River. It was an interesting area and again we took
lots of pictures. It was a hell of a walk
back up to the ridge. Another very
interesting and awesome area! We came
home, had a drink together then dinner.
It was to bed early after such a busy day!
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