Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Coming down from the Grand Canyon to Page (an altitude drop from around 7600 to 4300 feet), you are still filled with the landscape awesomeness you experienced a few hours ago. So, at first sight, Lake Powell and Glen Canyon seem very discreet, almost shying away. And yet…

We are now very close to the State of Utah, and both States (Utah and Arizona) share the beautifully elongated Lake Powell (186 miles!). Water is high along its shores thanks to a concrete-arch dam built 15 miles upstream from Lees Ferry. It is a 710 feet impressive construction, together with a steel bridge across the canyon. The dam serves as a water storage for the Upper Colorado River Basin, especially during times of drought, and generates hydroelectric power for the Southwest. The Carl Hayden Visitor Centre provides an in-depth exhibition of this landmark, with videos and tours. It was an interesting visit and for the most part, we were alone in the auditorium!

And then, there was the famous Horseshoe Bend, an awesome and tranquil bend in the Colorado River. A short sandy trail takes you to the edge of an extraordinary view. You have to be very careful, though, because there are no guard rails to protect visitors against deadly falls. I was unaware that Raymond was taking some risky steps to capture the bottom of the bend (!!!) while I was meandering along the flat sandstone layer, which I found mostly interesting. Very rugged indeed…

For once, I also paid attention to people, especially to a younger oriental crowd freshly out of a tourist bus. Some were jumping from one rock to another, some were striking yoga poses or even having a hysteric meltdown… quite amusing! One older lady even offered to take a picture of me in front of some rocks…

The entertainment of the evening was provided by a dinner at Big John’s Texas BBQ, rated #2 on TripAdvisor. Any expectations close to “fancy” flew out of the window after we sat down at our table (which we could pick ourselves after being handed a laminated menu)! Let me describe this “no frills” approach. You will: 1) Help yourself from a metal bucket full of peanuts and use a white plastic bowl to discard the shells. 2) Drink your beer directly from the bottle and sip your iced tea with a straw inserted in the plastic cover of your paper cup. 3) Eat your food served in a paper/plastic plate, using plastic cutlery. 3) Clean your mouth and/or hands using the roll of paper towel kindly provided on each table. 5) Eat your ice cream from a paper cup and your peach cobbler in a paper boat, using a plastic spoon. 6) Pay the bill at your convenience. 7) Leave the premises knowing that someone is anxiously waiting to take your seats because… the place is BUSY and the food is very TASTY! We had a fun time!

Tomorrow will be day 2 out of 3 in Page. Stay tuned.

The view from our hotel room.