Our Bucket List ~ RVing on a Budget: Lake Powell Horseshoe Bend and "The Waterhole"

We had a good night's rest & the Sun shone brightly this morning here at Page Lake Powell Campground!

We got ready for our day. Nick met someone on the campground...and invited him over for a cup of coffee! It was "Martin"

and we had noticed him the day before some distance back, parked at a coffee shop, he must of been heading the same direction to Lake Powell.
His BMW motorcycle (650cc) was in a rough looking and he had a lot of packs tied to it...so we wonder about him and his travels, when he passed us by! Now he was in the park...and Nick went to have a chat with him! It turns out that Martin (from Freiburg, Germany) has left 5 years ago on this motorcycle and has traveled Vietnam & Laos & Cambodia, Indonesia, Australia, North Africa to South Africa, South America coming up through central America into Mexico and into the US...can't remember more but here is his blog: www.auf-dem-weg.jimdo.com - it is written in German, but Martin said, but you can translate it! Quite a story - we enjoyed listening to him share! He said it all started when he had accomplished his schooling and career in carpentry with some special training in Germany, and he had heard about a opportunity to go to Ethiopia to help teach there! He thought that would be pretty interesting to experience. He ended up staying the for 9 years! Martin said he learned much from the people in those years and decided after returning to Germany for 8 months to go on a long trip! Wow! Can you believe it 5 years?

Later we headed out and decided to go to the Visitors Center to find out what we could do for a days outing? She suggested two things and so off we went! First to the Horseshoe Bend!

Wow that was neat! You always see these pictures in albums of pretty sights....but never knew it was here in Lake Powell area! Way cool!
It was a 1.5 mile hike up and down...and lots of people did the walk down to the cliff edge of the Colorado River!
Wow how cool was that!

Click here to see Horseshoe Bend!

Then we met again a "Dutch couple who we had spoken to briefly in the Grand Canyon, at the Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam Lake Powell

and they told us they did a really neat hike that morning seeing this "slot" canyon sand dunes created by water and wind! We had heard about the tour and checked it out but it was very expensive,,,like $80,- Crazy! No said Jan & Marjoen - " you must go to the Navajo Nation and get land use permit

and then go yourself and see it!!" Oh my - Nick & I left the dam and went directly to find the Navajo office.

We found it on the outskirts of town and then went on to the highway at milepost 542

and parked by a closed gate and looked around...finally saw a small entrance into this deep canyon! We looked way down into this hole and we laughed and looked

at each other and said "yes let's do it!"

So we climbed carefully rock by rock down into this deep cravat, step by step we and came to the bottom of it...oh my goodness you guys...it was so' cool! Here we were looking straight up between these gigantic rock formations...reds and oranges and we could see where the water had caused the breaking of the rock and cracking it open to cause these big amazing sculptures!

Looking up to the road above~

Here are some really neat shots we were able to take ..quite the tourist we were!"

We kept following the narrow opening going further and further...there was footprints in the sand - most likely the Dutch couple's and so many others who had found this place! We walked a short mile twisting and turning and climbing through the narrow corridor where during the rainy season, the flash floods would bring a dam of water through the narrow canyon!

We followed the path!

Where we finally found a way up!

We climbed up out of the canyon on these rocks!

Well it was either go all the way back "or" find a way up! So we did just that! We found a place to climb up the rock and got back to the top and wandered back to the where we thought the car was! We heard the highway so we knew it was "somewhere that a way!"

Wow such a neat experience we had! We loved it and we have surely walked/hiked at least 8 miles today!

On the way back into town we wanted to see the river up close. We were told about this view point - so we headed there before heading back to the campground!

Wow! It was fantastic...right up to the edge! Hold on Nick...it is windy out here!

Glen Canyon Dam & Lake Powell was just up ahead but this was a really good view of the Colorado River.

Quite a day...Nick is snoooooozing on the couch right now...Knock out! It is 9:30!

What a day we have had!

A Fabulous Day!

Back at the campground there was a new camper just driven in! This was another unique one..might be the same make as the one in the Walmart parking lot!

But this one had a top part that lifted up...most likely to make a bedroom area! My how neat these special trucks are!