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Published: March 20th 2020
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Tuesday March 17, 2020 we left Camp Verde, AZ and drove north to Page, AZ. Page is a small town in northern Arizona on the Utah border. Here we wanted to see Antelope Canyon however due to the Corona Virus tours were halted. We did see the other sites we wanted to see.
The drive north was GORGEOUS! As I mentioned in the Sedona post, the landscape changed so much toward Flagstaff becoming more forested with tall pines. All along the route of I-17 from Camp Verde to Flagstaff is part of the Coconino National Forest. We were only about 5 miles north of Flagstaff where we picked up US route 89 North when we were out of the dense forest and back into grass lands and then quickly desert like with sand dunes and then the large monumental type formations you see at the Grand Canyon, and along other routes in AZ, NM, and I am assuming UT. I can't remember exactly where each photo was taken along the route but have put them here for you to see. We climbed as high as 7300 in elevation before getting back down into the 4000s here in Page.
We
arrived in Page in the early afternoon so we decided to "back-track" to the mountain pass we drove through to get some pictures at the scenic overlook. The parking lot was full when we drove over the mountain and the drive did not allow much viewing for Mike in the RV. It was beyond words. The map labels that area Marble Canyon. I never saw any signs but did label my pictures as that. You could see for miles and in the middle of the flat land you could see the ridges of the canyon, like the flat lands just opened up. The Colorado River runs through here on it's way to the Grand Canyon south of here. We drove down the mountain and picked up US route 89A that took us over to Navajo Bridge. It crosses the Colorado. We were able to walk across the original bridge built in the late 1920 opening in 1929. Prior to this there was an area north of the bridge (Lees Ferry) that ferried people and for a short time automobiles across the river. At the time it was built it was the highest steel arch bridge in the world. It is
one of only 7 bridges that cross the 750 miles of the Colorado River. In 1995 the new bridge opened to accommodate the heavier vehicles and 2 way traffic.
We then headed back to Page and walked into the Horseshoe Bend Overlook for Sunset. It was beautiful there. The high ridge was all red rock and even the dirt. It was more like beach sand but reddish brown. The pictures of the bend were tough with the sun angle and really didn't show the true colors. It was much more red that it shows. We really enjoyed seeing the colors change as the sun angle moved. There were lots of people coming and going and we did get nervous with some people getting really close to the edges. A wedding even took place while we were there! At the curve of the bend along the river we could see a couple of tents and some kayaks on the shore. Looking in the distance from the overlook was just as gorgeous more flat lands and towering mountain formations. The diversity of the rocks were also impressive. Many here reminded me of the layers of a Pillsbury Biscuit😊
Yesterday we
?Marble Canyon
From Scenic Mountain Pass drove over to the Navajo National Monument. It is about 80 miles east of Page. This whole area is the Navajo Nation, Native American land. Again we saw amazing landscapes. At the Monument there is a canyon and cliff dwellings to view. There are several trails. This time of year the guided hikes down into the canyon to see the dwellings up close are closed. We were able to take a short walk to an overlook point to see the Betatakin(Navajo for Ledge House) dwelling. There are 2 others in the canyon and they are believed to date back to the 1200-1300s.. This was a variable weather day and we got rain, sleet, and snow on the drive over. When we parked at the Monument we were in a snow squall. By the time we looked through the museum the sun came out and we had a gorgeous walk down the path to see the dwellings. The pictures do not do it justice. Through binoculars the dwellings look like more like small 1 room houses rather than rooms. Archeologists documented 135 rooms and think 100-125 people lived there at one time.
Once we left we didn't get 2 miles
Horseshoe Bend
Colorado River Page, AZ down the road and another squall moved in! We got lucky!
Today is our last day in Page. We continued to have off and on showers but were able to explore the town a little bit more and found another overlook just off the main road through town. This looks over the Colorado River at Glen Canyon Dam. The building of the dam brought workers and established the town of Page. It is upriver from horseshoe bend. The dam created Lake Powell a 186 mile long lake. Like when we visited Lake Havasu city, there are boats everywhere here. And they are HUGE! They are house boats. They make a Maine lake Pontoon look like a dingy. Summer time here is very busy.
We have been in Arizona since the end of January. We have enjoyed the winter weather and are amazed with the diversity of the landscape in this state. There is very little development in between the major cities. There is a lot of open space. There is so much to do for all interests. We have enjoyed ourselves very much. We are excited though to on the move again. Tomorrow we will drive to Glendale,
UT where we plan to spend a week exploring Zion and Bryce National Parks. So, Stay Tuned😊
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Dancing Dave
David Hooper
Page, Arizona
"Page is a small town in northern Arizona on the Utah border. Here we wanted to see Antelope Canyon however due to the Corona Virus tours were halted." These words stopped me in my tracks. Here we are in Australia about to somehow cancel an RV we have booked and paid for as Bluesfest has been cancelled in April, and it hits me hard that of course the confined spaces of the exquisite Antelope Canyon in SW USA is closed due to unacceptable risk of infection. We had the most wonderful self-drive through Utah and Arizona 5 years ago in a polar vortex. It saddens me that in these pandemic fear times, the stunning scenery would be the same but our mixing with the locals could not be approached as carefree as it was back then. Other than that one hopes the superb expanses are smiling and as long as one stays safe, there is probably no better area to be in right now.