Jun 18 2014

Page Lake Powell Campground, Glen Canyon Dam, Upper Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Lake Powell in Page, AZ.

The drive to Page was interesting, for a few reasons…
1.) The scenery was actually quite nice regardless of being told otherwise.
2.) There were roughly a million tumble weeds on the side of the roads.
3.) I saw a roadrunner for the first time in my life, not including tv, and in my head a voice went “meep meep!”
4.) We drove through a sand storm, for a second I thought we would crash into something before we could see in front of us again…It was wicked and we are still alive, don’t worry.
5.) We stopped in a grocery store parking lot to make lunch in the camper, it is a tradition. Jacob hooks up the generator for the micro and toaster and we have a wonderful warm lunch in the privacy of our little camper. Well in Arizona this we put to a end. While Jacob was hooking up the generator a man walked up asking for money, it scared the Ba-Jeezus out of him!. You’re thinking that happens everywhere, I’m from the city I know this but this was different. There were no random guys anywhere, this guy popped up and then BAM it looked like Home Depot/Lowe’s after Katrina. They were just waiting for us under a tree to say “y’all come on, get in” it was crazy…where the hell did they come from? I think a car dropped them off as soon as we pulled up. Needless to say we got the hell outta Dodge.

While in Page, AZ don’t expect to have service if you have AT&T, p.o.s. actually, if you have them then you already don’t expect much. But really Page has been the worst, something to do with the Indian Reservation. Page is beautiful! We planned to tour the Glen Canyon Dam, hike to horseshoe bend, tour Antelope Canyon, and boat on Lake Powell. Time is so confusing here, different places around town get to choose “Arizona time” or “Utah time.” In “Arizona time” they follow the time on Indian reservations, Mountain time without daylight savings. The confusing part is that you don’t who’s on what and what the time is where you are might not be the same as where you’re going.

Page Lake Powell Campground was really nice for only $21, not including 10% discount for GoodSam. There are no fire rings, but it’s so windy I wouldn’t suggest making a fire. They have a big laundry with at least 8 washers and dryers, I didn’t count. They have an indoor swimming pool and hot tub. They have clean restroom with great water pressure. Then even have a workout room with treadmill, elliptical, bike, and weights. Roux didn’t appreciate the cacti everywhere, he didn’t learn a lesson the first time he sniffed one.

The Glen Canyon Dam tour was $5 per person and 45 minutes. We loved it, I remembered an episode of Modern Marvels that features this dam and I was so happy to see it for myself. Concrete for the dam and power-plant was poured around the clock for over 3 years, that’s crazy! The dam’s crest is 1,560 feet long and is 710 feet above the bedrock and 583 feet above the original river channel. At it’s full pool elevation of 3,700 feet the lake is 560 feet deep at the dam. Today it is only 49% full, you can see the full line where the rock is white. It took the lake 17 years to fill! Lake Powell is a storage reservoir and it is the largest by surface area in the country, yet only comprises 13% of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Horseshoe Bend hike is rated as a moderate hike of 1.5 miles averaging a minimum of 1 hour. It is a sandy hill changing into uneven rocky ground. Walking up hill in soft sand is exhausting but it’s worth the beautiful view.

Antelope Canyon is located on the Navajo Reservation so you need to book a tour to get access. We thought it was beautiful, and got some great pictures. The best times to schedule a tour is between 10am and 2pm because the angle of the sun shining into the canyon. It is a slot canyon created by water and wind. Upper Antelope is recommended for an easy and more comfortable walking experience, while Lower Antelope is narrower and a more strenuous walk. We chose Upper Antelope because it had better reviews on tripadviser

Boating in Lake Powell was a wonderful experience. The weather was perfect for boating, low 80’s with a light brees. Before hitching up the rental boat I took a hundred pictures of the boat because it had a lot of damage and we wanted to document everything. They charged us $500 as a security deposit and I wanted to make sure we got that back. After everything checked out, we headed for the launch. The launches here are ridiculously long, like a 1 mile slope. We explored the lake from the dam to the 50 mile marker. There were so many beautiful sites, pictures don’t even do it justice. The water was a crystal blue-green, like the Caribbean, and the cliffs above were pinks and oranges. We had a wonderful time.
Until the shade top on the boat ripped from it’s hinges, flapping in the wind. Both of us instinctively tried to grab it. Failing to take hold of it, the metal poles cracked in half swinging wildly in the wind. I hit the deck protecting Roux and my head as a pole hit me in the arm. I arose to discover Jacob’s head bleeding. All of this occurred in about 5 seconds. We couldn’t have a nice day without incident, Jeeze Louise! This happened at the end of the day when we were heading back in anyway. We were pretty worried that we would have to pay for the damages after rereading all the documents we signed with the rental. Thankfully the rental company was understanding that these things break all the time with natural wear and this one was quite old and ratty. They were so sorry that this had happened to us, poor Jacob had a bloody cut above his eye…no stitches required!

Jacob’s BBQ

I missed my daddy for Father’s Day but I found this awesome photo of him on my camera, I’m sure he’ll like it when he sees it!!!

Jun 12 2014

Ron’s Pack Creek Campground and Arches National Park in Moab, UT

This was another gorgeous drive. It was crazy to see the landscape change so much the past few days. We are in red rock desert lands now with canyons surrounding us. We drove in on Scenic Byway Highway 128, which follows the Colorado River into Moab. It was so beautiful and we felt so small looking up at the canyon walls while driving along side of the river.

Once we got into Utah the rocks turned a deeper shade of red. The Colorado River looks like cherry flavored chocolate milk, that sounds good chocolate covered cherry milk! It’s moving a ton of sediment, it’s tick-tick!
Roux was loving it, hanging out the window watching the scenery go by.

The campground was nice, but no T.V. channels if your into that, but the wifi was good enough to stream netflix. The sites were covered in soft powdery pink sand. No shoes required, my feet loved it!

It was chilly at night and hot-hot during the day. The morning was nice and cool so headed to Arches early to see as much as we could before we couldn’t bare the heat any longer.

It didn’t actually turn unbearably hot, it was slightly windy and in the shade it was wonderful. There was a nice shaded picnic area inside the park that we stopped to have a quick bite.

After wandering around the park, we went back to the camper for a nappy-nap. Then we walked around town that evening. The visitors center in Moab is very nice with loads of information, history, a movie, and even books for purchase. As we walked around town we mostly window shopped and popped in and out of various shops. We popped into a book store and wouldn’t ya know they were playing Cajun music! So far from home, it’s nice to hear others appreciate our music. Jacob talked to the owner about the music. She reminisced of nights spent dancing at Whiskey River in Henderson and Rock-N-Bowl in New Orleans.

The town was cute, a bit touristy, but lovely. We really enjoyed our walk around.
Back at the campground, we finally had a chance to make a fire. So we feasted on hotdogs. I saw on Buzzfeed that roasting Starburst are delicious. Curiosity got the best of me so I gave it a go. It is extremely dangerous, not something I would tell children to do, it’s like molten lava on a stick. Aside from the danger, if you stick it directly in the flame, cooking it quickly, the outside forms a crunchy outer crust like a thin jolly rancher shell with a ooey gooey center. I freaking loved it!

We’ll be driving to Page, AZ in the a.m. TTFN (means Ta Ta For Now, Tigger says it on Winnie the Pooh) Jacob had to be schooled.

Jun 11 2014

Ami Acres Campground, Hanging Lake Trail, and Whitewater rafting in Glenwood Springs, CO

Our drive from Wheatridge so absolutely gorgeous, no clouds, all view!
It was I-70 the whole way. We climbed to 11,300 ft. in elevation with spectacular views of the snowy cliffs.

Then it seemed like the whole second half of the drive was completely down hill. It was a little scary, especially when you see the oh no the brakes don’t work slope!

We arrived in Ami Acres at lunch time. We set-up, had lunch, Jacob and Roux had a nap, and I went explore. There are NO FIRES allowed, I might as well put the hotdogs in the freezer because it doesn’t seem like we’ll ever get to use them. I got some great shots of the campground.

Then we drove to Hanging Lake Trail, 10 miles from the campground. This is listed as a difficult hike and I would agree, it was like doing the stair-master at the gym inside a low O2 chamber. Getting to the lake at the end makes it totally worth every bit of trembling legs you’ll have when your done.

The next day we planned a Whitewater rafting trip down the Colorado River, which happens to pass right in front of our campground. We had time to kill before the trip so we went to Wally-World for a underwater camera. Then we stopped at a site of a man-made rapid to watch crazy people get into the freezing cold water to ride the wave.

It was very entertaining. We later found out that it was the Jackson family, owners of Jackson kayaks. They were staying at our campground, they travel the country riding rapids when they are at there peak. Not a bad life.

After watching all that craziness we headed for a little adventure of our own. On the Whitewater trip, Jacob and I were in a small boat. Half of the trip it was just us with the guide. Good golly miss molly, that water was unbelievable cold! I had a wetsuit and I was still freezing. The second half of the trip 2 guys joined us that were in a inflatable kayak. They were a hoot, part of the way I couldn’t breath I was laughing so hard. The trip was not as intense as I was expecting, I remember trips in North Carolina being more rapid filled. This river was at double it’s normal flow rate so there were rapids in places that usually wouldn’t have rapids. There was a lot of float time, in 3 hour period we hit, I would say, less than 20 rapids. The guys that joined us brought an ice chest of beer in the boat and had been drinking, so after 2 hours down river they had to potty. In order to do that they needed to jump into the water, it was freezing. One of them couldn’t do it and he was on the verge of tears, I was crying laughing, it was hilarious they were giving him such a hard time. We ended up docking for him to go in the woods.

We don’t have any rafting pictures to post yet because we used a water-proof camera and we also purchased the CD from the rafting company.

Then we went to the Hot Springs, which were highly recommended…and we’d agree, we loved it! There were two different natural spring pools, one kept at 90 degrees and the other kept at 104 degrees. They are actually the world’s largest hot springs. The springs actually contain 15 different minerals, kinda like a big Epsom Salt bath! It was nice to warm up after the cold Colorado rapids.

To cap off our amazing day we went to a burger joint, recommended by locals for it’s “real meat.” We thought that to be hilarious….what else could it be, I don’t want to know.

Colorado is a wonderful place to visit, there is something for everyone. We love this place and can’t WAIT to come back!

Allons Danser Blog

Our Adventures…

Page Lake Powell Campground, Glen Canyon Dam, Upper Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and Lake Powell in Page, AZ.

Ron’s Pack Creek Campground and Arches National Park in Moab, UT

Ami Acres Campground, Hanging Lake Trail, and Whitewater rafting in Glenwood Springs, CO