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There was thunder and lightning in the distance yesterday evening but it managed to sidestep our immediate area at night and we woke up early to a beautiful sunny morning. The red sandstone cliffs around us complimented the blue skies and we cooked the rest of Wendy's sausages for breakfast before setting off to the Monument Valley park.
I had wanted to do a Navajo-guided tour of the park but their prices were very expensive - upwards of $50/person for a couple of hours AND that was to sit on the back of an open truck. So, instead, we did a "self-guided tour" of some of the rock formations through the park with Wendy reading out the information from the leaflet whilst I drove through the sandy, dusty track.
Monument Valley is an iconic landmark used as a backdrop for many old Western films starring John Wayne and Clint Eastwood (amongst others). Progress on the sandy roads was very slow and I'd stop every few minutes to take photos but as the road got progressively dustier and more difficult to access, we decided to turn back or else it would take us all day to drive the 21 mile loop road. Back at the visitor's centre, we shopped a few things and had mid-morning tea/coffee accompanied by red velvet and chocolate cakes.
Fully restocked, we headed towards Lake Powell and the town of Page. I'd seen images of the lake in a travel series on BBC called "Stephen Fry in America", where the QI host rented a luxury houseboat and toured along the beautiful, multi-coloured canyon walls. It looked so amazing, that it made a lasting impression on me and I suggested to Wendy that we go there. The road to Lake Powell was not particularly memorable - hot and dusty with the occasional Navajo jewellery stand trading on the side of the highway and which we would stop at from time to time for some chachkas. We were so relieved once we finally saw the smooth, blue waters of lake!
Page is situated a little distance away from the lake - we stopped there at the little museum to ask about a nice campsite to stay at and the lady told us about the Glen Canyon Recreational Area. As we've already purchased a National Parks Pass, we cruised through the gates FOC until we reached the Wahweap Marina and set up camp on a dry patch in the sand. We drove down to the marina to rent kayaks but it was too late so we went to the adjoining resort, instead.
By this time the sun had reached a dizzying heat. The sun in Arizona feels so hot that it seems like God is blowing a huge hot hairdryer over the land and I could barely stand 1 minute in the sun before my head felt it was going to explode. Wendy wandered off to the resort pool whilst I spent my time cooling off inside the air-conditioned bar sipping on a cactus leaf martini. I decided to take a boat trip on Lake Powell to Antelope Canyon and explore some of the surroundings. Whilst it's no houseboat, it would be a nice way to unwind as the sun set over the desert.
Onboard the tourboat, I learnt that Wahweap means "bitter water" as the creek didn't taste great in the Navaho days. Lake Powell was named after the one-armed explorer John Powell who travelled down the Colorado River. According to the boat's onboard audioguide, Lake Powell can hold enough water to last through a drought of 10 years. 24million people in the Southwest and in California rely on the dam for drinking water! I find this quite incredible to be believe but the audioguide narrator informed us that Lake Powell has more shoreline than the entire US West Coast!
Lake Powell forms the northern border of the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation, which spans 17,2million acres, but the lake is managed by the National Parks Service. For centuries the Navajo lead peaceful lives until Carson and his army decided to take the land an forced thousands of people on "the long walk" to New Mexico. In 1868, a treaty was signed, ending hostilities between the settlers and the Navajo. In 1884, the reservation was created and is almost its own state. Today, over 300000 Americans claim Navajo ancestry.
The sandstone walls are made of clear stone quartz and coloured by rust and manganese. Geological forces have created thin layers of iron oxide which form layers of red in the rocks as the particles of metal rust. The band of white is a chalk deposit which marks the highest watermark reached in 1983. It's affectionately known as the "bathtub ring" by locals and is a stark reminder of just how much the current drought in the USA has affected the water levels of Lake Powell.
As the boat progressed slowly into tue deepening Antelope Canyon we got to see the towering walls closing in on us. The flash flood is one of the most dangerous forces in a desert and has done much to carve the Antelope Canyon. A flash flood can bring mud, rocks and trees from as far as 50 miles away. As the narrator warned us, "Even in a desert, you must always be aware of the power of water." With this stark warning, we made our way back to the marina as the sun sank slowly over the desert and the dark clouds trembled with thunder and lightning in the distance.
When we returned to the tent, our trailer trash neighbours informed us that our tent had blown away like a parachute during the course of the afternoon and the guy had gone running after it on a rescue mission! It now has some new holes which, effectively, render it less than water-resistant. Sigh.
Off the topic: Woohoo, I bought a new cowboy hat at the Marina Resort! Whilst it can never fully replace the gorgeous handmade Mexican hat I lost in Fiji, it is still a nice hat. Wide brim, straw, bit of effort in the design and, most importantly, "air-conditioning" holes at the top for maximum ventilation. Only drawback is that it doesn't have the straps to keep it on in case of unexpected gusts of wind but it does have an elastic band on the inside rim. I am now a happy cowgirl with it on!
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Dora One very lucky cowgirl !