River Lake

We didn’t make it to the water in the Grand Canyon, but when we reached Page, AZ, we headed straight for the water.

Lake Powell is the body of water created by the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. The lake extends over 136 miles up stream from the dam. The barren yet colorful sandstone formations surrounding the lake create an endless maze of waterways and islands.

The weather was about 80 and sunny, and I took a quick dip in the 60+ degrees water while Mary sat in the sun on our first day. In the summer, temperatures soar over 110 degrees and the water surface (first 10 feet) can get up over 80 degrees. The water is clear and clean. Ideal time would be early fall, still warm air and warm water without the scorching heat of summer. House boating seems very popular here.

Our second day was spent motor rafting on the Colorado River from the base of Glen Canyon Dam downstream to Lee’s Ferry (about 15 miles). The river is pretty smooth here (no rapids). The water is cold (47) as it comes from the bottom of Lake Powell. The river is encased in sheer rock walls that rise 700’ from the river at the base of the dam to over 1400’ just before you reach Lee’s Ferry. The raft is quite large and stable, but we still got spray from the wind blown chop as we headed into an unusually strong wind coming up stream. We stopped at a sand bar area where there are ancient petroglyphs in the rock wall just a quick walk up from the beach.

Our third day, we took a guided tour to Antelope Canyon (it’s the only way you can go there). Antelope canyon is the amazing orange striped slot canyon that you see in pictures with a sun beam streaming down from above. That phenomena happens midday with strong sun but we were there in the morning so we did not see the full show. Slot canyons are winding sandstone corridors with surprisingly clean sandy floors and smooth convoluted walls. They are open at the top but because of the convolutions you usually cannot see the sky, and sometimes you have to turn sideways to get through the small openings. We have experienced them in many places in the southwest. It feels a little like going into a cave, but we didn’t experience the claustrophobia that small openings in a cave situation can create. Hiking in a slot canyon can really feel like exploring. In Antelope Canyon we were with a group of people, but we have discovered slot canyons in Borrego Springs, Southern Arizona and Zion is absolutely filled with them.