We were on the move around 9:30am in the rain. First stop was the visitors centre at the Glen Canyon Dam which was just up the road. This Dam looks a lot like the Hoover Dam except it about 30ft shorter(710ft high) and it also dams the Colorado river - Lake Powell was created when Glen Canyon was dammed in the 1950's. The rain was seriously bucketing down and we didn't have a jacket for Rohan - we have no idea where it has gone or even if it was packed!
Next stop was the Walmart Superstore just outside of Page. Imagine trying to find a raincoat in Arizona - thankfully we found something that would work. We left to find the rain had stopped and the clouds were clearing - it was worth the $15 for the jacket!
We drove a few more miles down the road to Horseshoe Bend where we parked next to a huge puddle which took up most of the car park. It was a little climb up a hill and then a steep downhill to the magnificent view of Horseshoe Bend. There were no guardrails, so we had Rohan in the backpack and Julian's hand was always in mine. I think we were the only ones without selfie sticks! The climb back nearly floored Julian but it was worth all the whinging.
Back at the RV, we had lunch. We had bought some bakery buns at Walmart and they tasted like bread - hoorah! We had also bought some "Butterbread" bread which Julian liked - it tastes like brioche. Thankfully Rohan was happy to get into his car seat and it wasn't long before he was asleep.
The guy at the Campground recommended Lees Ferry which was near Vermillon Cliffs which I wanted to see, so we drove the 50km down the river, over another 5000ft climb to get there. Vermillon Cliffs turned out to be a motel with a view, so we turned back to Lee's Ferry. Once again there were amazing red rock mountains towering over us and some other crazy rock formations beside the road.
The ferry was at one of the few spots you could get down to the Colorado river on both sides, and it operated for 55 years from the 1860's.
Both boys wanted to test the waters, so they had a slash whilst Steve and I watched a tour group setting up a number of yellow rafts for an expedition down the river. Julian was keen to give it a go but I said that he needed to know how to swim first!
We left there to back track to the campground and stopped at the balancing rock formations. These were pretty impressive and it really did look like a Mars landscape. The earth was red and soft and got all over us!
To cross back over the Colorado river, you go across the Navajo bridge. There was a separate pedestrian bridge next to it, so we walked across that. There was a couple with multiple HUGE canon cameras and lenses with tripods on the bridge, so we asked them what they were photographing. Apparently there were 3 Californian black Condors under the bridge - there are only 300 of these in the wild. We ended up seeing 2 out of the 3 soaring around. They were very graceful flying but ungainly on the ground.
Julian and Rohan had fun running up and down the bridge stomping in every puddle. They washed off all the red mud and were just trenched instead :)
On the return to the campground we were treated to awesome views of Lake Powell with spectacular light. There is what we think is another Power station with 3 very tall stacks which blights the landscape a bit.
Dinner tonight was the last Kantong Chicken with(out) Cashews. It was devoured by all and followed up with the last of the yummy strawberries. Tonight we are both feeling very tired, so we skipped the chaos of the shower and read Roald Dahl's The Witches to the boys instead. Both boys were asleep by 7:45pm.
The red mountains here are really awesome but unfortunately it is difficult to get up close to them. Lee's ferry was really good as we were able to experience their grandeur up close.
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