Page Reflections

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    Page, Arizona

    Navajo Mountain, sacred site for the Navajo

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    R ecently we took a three day trip to Page, Arizona. My wife was onbusiness so I had time to explore. It was our first time there. Page is thesite for the Glen Canyon Dam which forms 186 mile long Lake Powell

    extending far north and east into Utah. The local radio station gave acouple of interesting statistics; the lake level had fallen 23 feet in the lastfive months but was expected to rise by 30 feet in the next three months.Glen Canyon Dam is the second largest in the country. Its hydroelectricpower production is large.

    Currently, the hydro generators are being replaced because the old onesare worn out. Interestingly, the replacement generators are made in

    Brazil as we no longer apparently have the manufacturing capacity tobuild them here. They were brought in by sea to Houston and then toPage by truck. Page has no railroad service. It is a relatively new townas it was started as a construction camp for the dam in 1956. Soeverything there seems quite new and modern.

    At the Carl Hayden visitor center for the dam they have exhibits on allof the dinosaur fossils they discovered in building the dam. They also

    offer tours of the dam and the hydro generation facilities. It was therethat they could tell us of places to explore in the area. There are manyfederal monuments and national parks in close proximity. These includeThe Grand Canyon NP, Escalante Staircase NM, Vermillion Cliffs NM,Bryce Canyon NP, Zion NP. The Monument Valley of John Fordwesterns fame is also easily reached from Page. They even list MesaVerde NP as a close destination but it is in SW Colorado so further

    than the others by quite a bit. R ainbow Bridge NM is on the shore of Lake Powell but the boat excursions dont run this time of year so thatwaits for another visit.

    I hiked in the Escalante Staircase area in Utah and also south of Page inthe Glen Canyon NM to see the Horseshoe Bend in the Colorado river

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    south of the dam. The canyon is over a thousand feet deep at that pointand the bend is so big and tight in its turn that I couldnt get it with my28mm lens. You would need a fisheye to capture the whole thing. On

    the hike to the Horseshoe I encountered a whole bus load of Japanesetourists. We are all creatures of habit as they walked on the left side of the trail in their direction just as they drive cars on the left at home.

    The Escalante hike was pleasant. I hiked up a small canyon with a drybed this time of year. I could see lots of evidence of torrents of water that had washed debris up to 6 feet or more on small scrub trees alongthe bed. Some of the trees looked bedraggled but had fresh leaves

    coming out on them. It is a stark but beautiful landscape with manygeologic features exposed by the action of the water, weather and time.I started early and was coming back out when I met a group of folkswith a young lady for a guide. I figured they wouldnt make it as far as Ihad gone because there were several vertical steps in the trail tonegotiate, most about chest high and while the guide was young her charges were not. I managed by standing on tiptoe and putting both

    elbows up on the ledges and rolling up on one side getting a leg up andthen the rest of me. Coming down on most of them I just jumped intothe soft sand below but on one I sat down on the edge and dropped fromthere as it was the highest.

    Page is a town of friendly people well worth a visit.

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    Bridge built during the dam construction; Page on far side.

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    Wahweep Bay near the Wahweep Marina

    Wahweep Marina

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    Horseshoe Bend

    Needed better wide angle lens

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    Escalante Hike

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    Turtle with coal car and caboose

    What are the odds that it would fall on the small rock?

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    Pics from Airplane; Beechcraft 1900D, 19 passenger

    Blue Mesa R eservoir and Black Canyon of the Gunnison

    San Luis Valley upper right

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    Good snow melt ahead

    Twins?