Days 14-15 Page Lake Powell Campground, Page, AZ

Days 15-16

April 19- April 21

What a beautiful morning we had heading out of Winslow. We had to say goodbye to our old trusted I-40, and at times stressful route 66 ‘Mother Road’ to begin our journey north up to Page Arizona. The two lane state country roads were a very welcome and relaxing change from the heavily traveled interstate. Along the way, we had a beautiful view of the San Francisco Range with Humphrey’s snow-capped peak. As we started getting closer to the Grand Canyon, we enjoyed the spectacular views of the Vermillion Cliffs and the lands of the Navajo Nation. About an hour south of Page, we decided to get off route 89 and travel the Navajo Coppermine road into the Page Lake Powell campground. We are so glad we did. The views of the mesas, buttes and desert floor were gorgeous.

We arrived at Page Lake Powell around 12pm. What a beautiful location for a campground. Our site was located just below the mesa wall with the 10 mile Page Rim Trail above. Of course after we set up, we headed over to the office for some tourist scoop on the Rim Trail and local attractions. After we grabbed our brochures and maps, we ran into ‘two broke college kids,’ according to the young couple from Chicago, that were on a road trip across the US with a ‘Help Us Buy Gas’ and a Venmo account posted on the back of their jeep. So of course I had to stop and ask them, ‘What’s up with that?”. They said that they saw it on Instagram and thought they would give it a try. In 3 days, people donated $120 to their cause. Pretty impressive and ingenious we thought!

As luck would have it, one of the Page Rim Trail entrances was right outside the campground. We grabbed some lunch, checked the Alltrails App to see which direction would give us the best ride and off we went. Within 10 minutes we were on top of the Rim looking down at our trailer in the campground and taking in the distant views into Utah. We were super excited to get going on this adventure. We began heading counter-clockwise, starting our journey on the east side of Page. Much of the trail was cut exhilaratingly close to the edge of the rim, which added to the excitement of the experience. Along the 10 mile trail, we took in the spectacular views of the surrounding desert, Navajo Mountain, Castle Rock, Tower butte and Lake Powell. This ranks in at one of our top riding adventures for us. The pictures can barely do it justice.

When we return to camp, we relaxed and got caught up on things needed to get done. We cleaned up the bikes and discovered Rich’s front tire went completely flat, so that ended our ride fun for the next day as the local bike shop was closed until Wednesday. We got our shopping and food prep done. Both of us were super tired with all the time zone changes. We’ve gained 3 hours in the past 3 days and our bodies were feeling it.

We took our time getting started the following morning. We decided to head down the 4 miles to check out Horseshoe Bend. Tucker joined us on the 3/4 mile walk down to the viewing platform and surrounding steep cliff (at your own risk) viewing spots. When we arrived and looked down, the view took our breaths away. Simply stunning. What Mother Nature can accomplish in a short 5 million years is truly impressively spectacular. We snapped some selfies and photos and decided we would return later in the day to catch the setting sun cast beautiful colors on the cliff walls.

Before lunch, we had time to head across the Glenn Canyon Dam to explore the Wahweap Overlook and National Park. We stopped at the Visitors Center at the Dam, took in the views and recalled our Honeymoon trip that included a Colorado River rafting adventure that left from the Dam. We discussed how we must have rafted through Horseshoe Bend just 7 miles below, but neither of us could recall passing through the iconic bend. Good thing we are keeping a Blog for this trip! When we arrived at Wahweap Overlook, we decided to hike down to the Colorado River. There were no trails, but we had a destination in mind. We meandered our way out to one of the points that we saw out in the distance. It was a fun hike down and Tucker enjoyed the freedom of being off leash. After taking in the sights and testing the cold Colorado River, we made our way back up to the truck and we didn’t even get lost!

Back at the campground, we relaxed and had a late lunch. We were looking forward to experiencing Horseshoe Bend at sunset and began to get disappointed when the clouds started rolling in and the skies became pretty overcast. We weren’t sure whether we should head back over or not. I was thinking photography is like finding a bathroom stop on the road; you never want to miss taking advantage of an opportunity that presents itself, so off we went and we were so glad we did! Taking in the view during early evening was a whole different experience from earlier in the day. The colors and textures of the res and oranges of the cliff walls and the varied green colors of the vegetation in the riverbed below were incredible. It was a perfect ending to our stay in Page Lake Powell. We are off to Zion! And super excited for the ‘Big 5’ National Parks in Utah!

Destination- Page Lake Powell Campground, AZ

A beautiful snowcapped view of Humphrey's Peak, Arizona's highest summit, on our way up to Page.

Such varied and beautiful landscapes across the Navajo territory of northern Arizona.

I think we should give this a try! Venmo me @Alison-Edwards-30. Help us buy gas! It's $3.40 a gallon.

Perfect campground for adventuring. We are so excited to ride the 10 mile Rim Trail above us.

Mind blowing! Navajo Mountain off in the distance to the left. We are so excited for this adventure.

Heading up the east side to the north rim. What an amazing trail around the top of Page Mesa with outstanding views of the desert floor below.

Stopping every now and then to look back and take in the magnificent views.

Two happy mountain bikers!

Uhm... Wow! View of Antelope Island in the midground with Castle Rock standing majestically off to the right in the background.

Rich planning an Evil Knievel jump across the Colorado River.

Our brains were on visual overload with every twist and turn of the trail. Nature's artistry in the making for over 70 million years.

Glenn Canyon Dam peaking in on the left side of the image.

Heading off the west side of the Rim Trail from Hanging Garden. This was an adventure we won't soon forget.

2 million visitors arrive each year to this epic overlook.

We made it to Horseshoe Bend!

Unbelievable views! Oh, and the rocks are cool too.

A whole different perspective looking down at the Colorado River from a thousand feet above. Hard to believe we were down there 14 years ago.

Absolutely stunning visual experience.

Glenn Canyon Dam. Competed in 1966 and forms Lake Powell, one of the largest reservoirs in the United States.

This arch Dam stands 710 feet and is a major hydro-electric plant that serves most of the western states.

Heading up to Wahweap National Park just north of the Dam.

From the overlook, we got the grand idea to hike down to that point off in the distance.

Again, simply breathtaking with every step.

I can't imagine how amazing it would be to camp on the banks of this river and star gaze at night.

Taking in the views on the way. There are actually campers way down there in the distance.

We're getting closer!

We made it!

There's that cute guy and his adorable pup again!

The water is 100 feet deep in many places.

Definitely pretty chilly.

Wahweap Marina and Castle Rock in the distance.

Even without the sunset, the colors are richer and more brilliant.

Look way down at the bottom and you can see teeny tiny little people setting up camp for the night. How cool would that be!

Yep! More WOW. 270 degree turn of awesomeness..

And that's a wrap! We are off to Zion tomorrow. Looking forward to spending the next couple weeks in the National Parks.

You may also like