Page, Arizona

Good morning, my friends. We find ourselves nearly 300 miles down the road and in a brand new state...not new to us, of course, but new to this trip. Leaving Moab, we drove through deep rocky and red canyons.

Not too far down the road, we came to Wilson's Arch. It has a span of 91 feet (28 m) and height of 46 feet (14 m).

About an hour into our journey, we passed through the small town of Blanding. There isn't much to say about Blanding. However, Wikipedia tells us:

On the morning of June 10, 2009, sixteen Blanding residents were arrested in more than a dozen raids performed by federal agents and indicted as part of an undercover investigation of violations of the Archeological Resources Protection Act. Eight others around the Four Corners region were also indicted. The raid was the largest undercover sting of its kind in the country. The raid was the conclusion of a two-year investigation by FBI and BLM agents code-named "Cerberus Action" in which an undercover agent was able to purchase 256 artifacts for $335,685. 

 

Not too far down the road, we passed through the tiny town of Bluff.

It's named for the huge bluffs all around, including these pinnacles known as the Navajo Twins. They were carved by wind and water erosion of the soft siltstone, which was capped by the more resistant sandstone of the Bluff formation.

Just down the road, we passed by the Bluff Fort.

Here's what Wikipedia tells us about Bluff Fort:

It was a small, fenced settlement from the 19th century in southeast Utah in the United States, an area that was uninhabited until that time. The settlement [came] at the end of the 6-month San Juan Expedition. The route that these American pioneers took on their way to establish the settlement is called the Hole in the Rock Trail. The journey and the route are an integral part of the act of settling in Bluff Fort. 

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In a corner of the fort, the Bluff pioneers established a cooperative trading post. The cooperative sold goods and supplies to the people of the settlement and traded with the Navajo. Soon the store began to declare dividends. The pioneers bought wool from the Navajos, leathers and blankets and transported these goods to Durango, Colorado for sale. On the return trip from Durango, they brought in other cargoes which were sold at Bluff Port, thus making a nice profit. The profits from the co-op provided the means for the pioneers to stay on site and helped to start the thriving cattle business years later.

When the settlement was founded, there were 258 people in Bluff Fort: 43 men over 19; 29 women over the same age; 120 children under 19, including babies. They lived in 66 huts, owned 83 carriages, about 200 head of cattle and about 1,800 other animals.

Continuing on, we crossed the border into Arizona. 

I'd thought we'd be traveling the same road we traveled through Monument Valley and past Goosenecks State Park, but our navigation unit had other ideas. In any case, you can read my post about Monument Valley here. And, if you haven't had enough already, you can read about Goosenecks State Park right here.

We were traveling through the Navajo Nation for much of yesterday's journey. There were areas where the landscape was solid rock...

On both sides of the road.

We were traveling a road we've not traveled before. Here, we saw hoodoos very much like what one would see in Bryce Canyon National Park.

And there goes the road.

There were interesting rocky outcroppings all along the way.

We passed through the small town of Kayenta and stopped for lunch here.

Here's what Wikipedia tells us about Kayenta:

Kayenta (in Navajo: Tó Dínéeshzheeʼ meaning "Fingers of Water" because of how water runs down the rocks when it rains) is a U.S. town which is part of the Navajo Nation and is in Navajo County, Arizona, United States. Established November 13, 1986, the Kayenta Township is unique in being the only "township" existing under the laws of the Navajo Nation.

We passed through 15 miles where we were warned to watch out for wild horses on the road. Free range, in other words. We often see signs warning of free range cattle. Being warned about horses was something new. Indeed, we saw a few as we drove along. 

Many miles down the road we turned north toward our final destination in Page, Arizona.

Here the landscape became more green right away.

We were traveling a scenic byway. I tried to follow along to identify the names of the rock monuments we saw along the way, but I couldn't keep it all straight. You'll have to enjoy them without knowing their names.

Eventually, we rounded a bend and caught our first glimpse of Lake Powell. Here's what Wikipedia tells us about Page, Arizona:

Page was founded in 1957 as a housing community for workers and their families during the construction of nearby Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. Its 17-square-mile (44 km2) site was obtained in a land exchange with the Navajo Nation. The city is perched atop Manson Mesa at an elevation of 4,300 feet (1,300 m) above sea level and 600 feet (180 m) above Lake Powell.

The city was originally called Government Camp, but was later named for John C. Page, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, 1936–1943.

After the dam was completed in 1966, Page officially incorporated as a town on March 1, 1975. The city grew steadily to today's population over 7,000. Because of the new roads and bridge built for use during construction, it has become the gateway to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Lake Powell, attracting more than 3 million visitors per year. 

We crossed over the bridge here.

The bridge is fenced, but you can see the dam and the lake. (We'll be able to get better pictures today.)

On the far side of the bridge, the views of the lake were beautiful.

And here we are. Yay!!

Passing through the gate, we got free admission with our national parks "geezer pass." Flags were at half staff honoring the memory of 9/11.

We saw even prettier views of the lake after passing through the gate.

Here you can see a marina.

And here is the view from our campsite. Not bad at all.

Smitty watched anxiously while Mike hung the catio.

It was hot for kitties. Eventually, he had to cool his tummy furs.

Sadie cooled her tummy furs in the draft of the air-conditioner.

And that brings us to this morning. We had a bit of a scare after we arrived when our air-conditioner stopped working. It was 95°F. outside, and too hot to be here without A/C. It turned out to be just a loose connection and all is well now. The plan for today is to visit the dam, take some better photos, and take the dam tour. We toured Hoover Dam a few years back, and it was fascinating. This dam is smaller, but it will still be interesting to hear its story and see how the two compare.

Tomorrow will be our last day here, and we have plan to take a short hike out to the "goosenecks" of the Colorado River. I've seen photos that take my breath away, and I'm excited to see it with my own eyes. Tomorrow will be the coolest day, and so we'll get an early start and try to beat the heat.

And now we're caught up. Time to get on with our day. Stay safe, my friends, in the path of the hurricane. We're keeping good thoughts for you.