September 16, 2008

September 16, 2008

Page, AZ is the primary doorway to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. This morning we signed up for a Rainbow Bridge Cruise. Rainbow Bridge National Monument is the destination but for us just an excuse to take a cruise on Lake Powell. We spent a week on a houseboat many years ago on the upper stretches of Lake Powell and loved it. This cruise will give us a chance to relive some of those memories and see how the lower canyon compares. On our way to the boat dock we make a brief stop at the Glen Canyon Dam Overlook and the dam itself. Completed in the 60’s across the Colorado River upstream from the Grand Canyon, this dam holds back the huge Lake Powell.

It is fifty miles to Rainbow Bridge, but it goes by quickly. The scenery is otherworldly. So much so it starred as the alien planet in the original ”Planet of the Apes” movie. Like a water-filled Grand Canyon, Lake Powell consists of dark blue water, with high sheer red cliffs set against a beautiful blue sky. It is mesmerizing.

After two hours we turn into a narrow arm off the main channel and dock about a mile up. From there it is a short hike to Rainbow Bridge. This rock bridge is the Gateway Arch of the West. It is huge and almost perfectly parabola-shaped. The return trip is no less enchanting. With the setting sun the cliff colors seem to come alive. Back late, we spend another night in Page, AZ.