Page - Arizona ---- Kanab - Utah 2014

5-5-14

I left Flagstaff at 5:30 AM and arrived in Page at 8:00 AM. The weather forecast indicated that there would be a lot of wind. I missed the wind on the road but in the afternoon the fine sand was coming through the closed windows of the motorhome. I am not vacuuming now; I will wait until I get out of here or the wind stops.

We are parked at the Lone Rock camping area, at Lake Powell. The scenery is breath taking. I talked already with German and French tourists. Whenever I see a rented motorhome I talk to the people. Most of them come from Germany.

5-6-14

We are now seventeen trailers and motorhomes. Three people stayed up on the hill. They get the same wind but no sand in their rigs.

I went to the library in the morning. On my way home I stopped at a scenic overlook. The Glen Canyon Dam and the Colorado River are in full view from there. 

My next stop was the trailhead to the Hanging Garden. The trail is about one mile one way to the place where ferns grow on the side of a canyon wall. 

When I walked back to the trailhead the wind started to increase in speed and power. Back at the beach the sand was blowing again. All afternoon I stayed inside. At 5:00 PM, when I went to the circle meeting, it had improved a little bit. When I looked out of the window, because of the flying sand, I hardly could see Lone Rock. 

5-7-14

On my morning walk I saw Ursel and Dieter’s German motorhome. I thought it was them and investigated it. They came here Sunday and visited already the lower and upper Antelope Canyons. 

Our group went today to the lower canyon. I did not go because the sun did not shine and I want to take some good pictures. On my way to the library I stopped at the Wahweap Marina Overlook.

The rain clouds were slowly coming to the Glen Canyon Recreation Area.

From the library I went grocery shopping. When I got back to the motorhome the weather turned nasty again. The wind was shaking my rig. Just before 5:00 PM it got a little bit better. I went to the circle meeting and we were freezing. It was a short meeting because it started to rain.

The people who went to the lower canyon enjoyed their visit.

5-8-14

This was a glorious day. When I woke up the sky was blue. There were no clouds. Last evening it was a beautiful sight but the wetter was terrible.

On my morning walk I could see our little village by the lake and near Lone Rock from up the hill. 

Since the weather was perfect I went to the Upper Antelope Canyon. The canyon is on Navajo land and the tours are given by members of the tribe. On our truck were twelve people. I think I was the only English speaking person. There were six black French people, and five Japanese and I.

The young Navajo lady was an exceptional good guide. She changed the settings on my camera and told all of us where and how to take the pictures. Of course most of her charges just looked at her when she tried to give us instructions. The canyon was found by a twelve year old Navajo girl in 1931, when half of her goat herd disappeared. She followed the tracks and ended up in the canyon.

The entrance of the canyon is difficult to see. One has to be right in front of it.

First impressions are important. This was my first impression. Wow. 

Guides threw sand in the air to magnify the light beam. 

I was able to stay in the beam. This was quite a task for our guide to arrange this. We came on five trucks and there were people from other Navajo tour companies. It was quite hectic inside the canyon. 

Pictures cannot relay the beauty of what we saw. It was spectacular.

We made it to the other end and then walked back. 

The trucks are four wheel drive and the guides go fast through the sandy wash. 

I believe everybody on our truck enjoyed the canyon very much.

Back at the motorhome I also enjoy the view. This is what I see through my front window. From the side windows I see Lone Rock and the lake.

At 5:00 PM we had a fast meeting and then had a Pot Luck Dinner. We bought broiled chicken and everybody brought a side dish or dessert. It was a very good meal. 

Chuck had taken a small group on a hike. He came back with beautiful pictures of sandstone formations. Water and wind had formed them.

After dinner Ursel and Heinz came by to say good bye. I might never see them again since we are heading west and they have to go slowly east toward Halifax from where they will ship their motorhome back to Germany. In the last seven months I met them in four different places.

5-9-14

This was another exciting day. After Hugs and Mugs a large group went kayaking. I drove to the Lower Antelope Canyon and signed up for the 10:15 AM tour. Since they have a tour every fifteen minutes I had to wait only ten minutes. The guide explained to canyon rules to us.

And then we went down, into the canyon. What looked like a crack in the earth was actually the entrance. We had to climb down on several narrow ladders. 

This canyon is different from the Upper Canyon. It is very narrow on the bottom at many places. The top is open and because of all the light I could not take many good pictures. 

This is the Rocky Mountain Sunset. 

People liked what they saw. 

This was a one way canyon. We came out at another place. 

When I came back to the camping area most of the kayakers were back. The lake was too low where they had planned to put the kayaks in the water and the Navajos wanted $ 23.00 per person to let them use their launching facility, so all but two came back. They went to the marina and were able to put their kayaks in the water.

In the evening we went dancing at John’s Texas BBQ. They had a three piece band and we danced outside, at the patio. Two German bikers joined us. They are touring this part of the country on rented motorcycles. 

5-10-14

The weekend campers with their toys are at Lone Rock.

Four WINs and my two German neighbors, Sylvia and Derik, hiked part of the Wiregrass Canyon today. Chuck was nice enough to come with us for a while and show us where the trailhead was and how we could get into the canyon. He, Donna B, and Joanne went then on another trail. They did Wiregrass Canyon several days ago.

The canyon is deep at some areas and we had to go up and down steep slopes.

We found a natural bridge.

Sylvia and Dirk are here with a rented motorhome.

The canyon has some beautiful stone formations.

5-11-14

This morning started with a bang. While lining up for going to eat breakfast at the Elks Lodge, the car in front of me backed up and put a hole in the front, plastic bumper cover of the Saturn.

The men had actually planned to cook breakfast for Mother’s Day. Since the weather turned really bad we had to abandon that idea and took the women to the Elks Lodge where all mothers got a free breakfast and some champagne. This was a good deal for everybody. The breakfast was good and we spent some time in the lodge.

We also celebrated Bagpipe Bob’s birthday. Bob likes his harem.

Later we took pictures of the whole group.

I have to get the bumper fixed when I stay for a while near a big city.

Our next stop was a bowling alley where we spent several hours throwing that heavy ball in the gutter, of course not every time. We had a good time though.

From the bowling alley we went to Strombolli’s Pizza Restaurant and tried to get our strength back. Most of us ordered pizza. Bob bought a birthday cake and we celebrated some more.

 The bad weather day turned out pretty good, The damaged bumper put a little dent in it but that can be fixed.

5-12-14

The weather had changed again. Until 3:00 PM it was just perfect, then the wind started howling.

I went on my own today. I started out with laundry. By 9:00 AM I was finished. At the Laundromat I had a wonderful conversation with three German ladies. This was the first time they did laundry at a commercial establishment.

My next stop was the Horseshoe Bend Overlook.

The trail is sandy, three quarter mile long, and goes down towards the river. There were many people and the sight is spectacular. Unfortunately I do not have a wide angle lens and I did not dare to go all the way to the edge. Therefore I cannot show the complete bend. 

Since the library is closed on Sundays and Mondays I went today to McDonalds to do my E mail. After I was done I went across the street to Walmart. From there I went to the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Center and watched one of their three movies.

When I came back to the motorhome I was ready for a nap. Chuck woke me up. He wanted to know whether I have already an estimate for the damage on the Saturn. He just got his fifth wheel fixed.

One of our WINs had run into his trailer, did some damage, and also damaged the bicycle which was attached to the back of the fifth wheel trailer. He was able to get everything fixed in Page.

Chuck is heading for home. We will not see him all summer.

Eight members of the group had planned to rent an eight passenger power boat tomorrow and take a ride on Lake Powell. The initial estimate was $ 40.00 per person. With all the additional costs like insurance, gasoline, tax, and a couple of other items it was a lot more. Also, we cannot depend on the weather, so that plan fell on the wayside. 
 
5-13-14

Most of us had enough of the weather in Page. This morning rigs started to leave. I had planned to stay one more day, but got ready for an early start tomorrow morning.

After picking up my mail at the post office I went to the library. Then I drove one more time around the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

This region has the lake and the beautiful mountains. There something to do for everybody.

The Lone Rock camping area is one of our favorite places on the lake. 

When I came back to the motorhome I hooked up the car and drove to the upper part of the camping area to empty the holding tanks, and park there. Tom and Mary Jane were at the dump station with their rigs to get fresh water and to empty their holding tanks. They were leaving for Kanab. After I was done at the dump station I decided to leave too. Normally I do not travel in the afternoon. The eighty miles to Kanab are on scenic road 89 and were an easy drive.

We are parked in a gravel storage area in Mt. Carmel Junction, which is located 17 miles north of Kanab and not very far from the east entrance of Zion National Park. The place belongs to the Utah Highway Department. There are six WINs here and four more in a campground in Kanab.

5-14-14

I woke up at 3:00 AM and had to get the heavy blanket out of the cabinet and put it on top of the comforter. When I got up it was 34 degrees F in the motorhome.  We are at an altitude of about 6000 feet. During the day the weather could have not been better. We had a blue sky and about 70 degrees F in the shade.

In Kanab they have this week the Amazing Earthfest, a seven day festival of land and life on the Colorado Plateau. Every hour is something going on. We went for the Labyrinthwalk at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Co-founder and resident artist Cyrus Mejia was the leader of the walk.

We walked to the labyrinth and walked it. It is not a maze. It is something spiritual. 

From top of the mesa one has a fantastic view of Angel Canyon. 

After the walk we had a vegetarian buffet lunch at the Angel Village Restaurant. The food was very good. They never serve meat. 

The best seats are on the terrace. 

From the restaurant I went to the Visitor Center and was lucky and got a ticket for the tour of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Most visitors have reservations. 

While waiting for the tour to start I watched the hummingbirds fight for the best spot on the feeder.

Best Friends is the largest animal sanctuary in the US. They have 1,700 animals on their very large property. The tours are on twelve passenger vans or small buses. The dogs are housed in eight sided buildings. A caretaker can see in all eight rooms at the same time. During the day natural light is used in the building.

The dog headquarters has also a clinic. Five veterinarians and ten assistants work in the main clinic. There are over 500 dogs. Some dogs need training or medical attention before they can be offered for adoption. 

The sanctuary has also over 500 cats. They live in houses, about ten per house. They can climb up in the rafters of the building. Volunteers play with them and clean up after them. The cats can also go outside. 

Each cat has a sheet with its name and history and photo on a cork board. 

Besides cats and dogs there are horses, pigs, exotic birds and other animals at the sanctuary. This is a big operation. No animals get killed. If they cannot get adopted they will live the rest of their lives at the sanctuary.

I spent almost all day at Best Friends. I had planned to go to the library in town, but was too tired. I went back to the motorhome and took a long nap. Later I cooked dinner and at 5:30 PM went to town and met the WINs. We took dancing lessons, another item on the program of the Amazing Earthfest. If we would not have been there the poor teacher would have been almost alone. 

5-15-14

The actual outing in Kanab starts Monday. Since we changed our plans and will go to Bishop, California for Mule Days, we have to leave here tomorrow. WINs who do not go to Bishop will have their outing here.

This morning I went to town and stayed at the library for a while, got the spare propane bottle filled, and went grocery shopping. I saw Joanne and Donna B go into Wendy’s and I turned the car around and joined them for lunch. They had asked Wendy’s for permission to stay at their parking lot for a night. The rest of the day I took it easy. Tom and Mary Jane went to Zion National Park for a day.