We only drove about 3 hours, but went from cool mountain weather to hot desert. Our next area to explore was around the southern end of Lake Powell, near Page Utah. Our goal was to get on the water again. We had the lake above the dam in Page and the Colorado River below.
We found a phenomenal site in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. There is not a whole lot of shade in the desert so we were happy to be able to get close to some large boulders and get some morning shade from the surrounding larger rocky areas.
We pumped up the boards and headed down to the closest put-in – Lone Rock Campground and Beach. It was a little crazy – a very large terraced beach with hundreds of RVs, trailers and tent campers everywhere. We were able to park fairly close to the water and got the boards ready to go.
There were quite a few jet skis and boats, but lots of people out on boards and kayaks too. We did a lazy paddle out to the lone rock and took advantage of the little shade it provided. Unfortunately, the water was quite low, so there were no canyons to explore, but we loved being on the water again, reading, paddling, finding bits of shade when we could, and trying to avoid the very sticky silt that we hit in the shallow areas.
We headed back toward our campsite and then decided to drive on and explore the area further into a non-watery part of Glen Canyon. Once again, pictures could not do justice to the scenery. We went from other-worldly barren landscapes of gray sand and tan rock formations with canyons falling off on the other side of the road into Grand-Staircase Escalante with cliffs of pink and green. After a while we came to a cliff face where the road seemed to disappear somewhere on it, so we headed up. The road did indeed go all the way to the top, so we continued on to see what was around the bend. We drove a while more, enjoying the ever-changing landscape, but the road went on forever, so we eventually turned around to head home for Mike’s birthday dinner of peanut and veggie noodles (but made with almond butter and tahini, of course, because of the elimination diet).
The road to nowhere 
The top of nowhere 
We decided the birthday weekend was a good time to start reintroducing foods, or in this case drinks. After four and a half weeks, we brought happy hour back. Mike had had one flare up of his eczema which was probably due to stress. Otherwise, his hands looked pretty good.
The next day we headed to possibly the busiest area we have been to on this trip so far – Horseshoe Bend. We had plans to paddle and camp on this section of the Colorado River, but I wanted to see the iconic view from the top. We walked amongst herds of people down to the viewpoint and were able to snag a pic near the edge eventually. And then we sweated and walked back to the car. It was nice, but probably not worth the $10 entrance fee.
We then made our way back to Lone Rock for some beach time. We drove around a bit trying to figure out how to get the truck down to a lesser used section of beach. We eventually spotted a crossing that also had a truck stuck in it, so decided to park a little further a way and carry stuff over on a board (all of the beach close to parking was very full). We lazed, people-watched and read under our beach umbrella. I paddled the short distance back to the truck to grab our lunch and on the way back noticed the dark clouds that had been brewing behind our back. As they goot closer, they looked like they would bring rain, so we packed up and headed back to the car… just in time. As we drove up the sand road that led to the exit, the wind kicked up and we were in the middle of a sand storm. Mike slowly drove forward, while I watched tent campers try to keep all their stuff from blowing away. As soon as we got out of the very large area full of loose sand, things quieted down.
Back at our campsite, Mike gave into the lure of the hills and tire tracks around us. We had seen quite a few Jeeps and other vehicles driving past and a few OHVs and so many places where people had clearly had fun going off-road. Very briefly, Mike tested the truck on the terrain right around us and was quite impressed by how it handled. And he just had fun.
Every day I had grand plans to get going early to beat the heat, but it never seemed to happen. Bed was more appealing and we had a weird time zone thing going on. We were parked in Utah, but as soon as we crossed the border into Arizona five miles away, we were an hour earlier. This meant that if we were doing anything in Arizona, we could get a later start and still beat the crowds… in theory.
On Memorial Day, we headed to Antelope Point to paddle into Antelope Canyon. We saw how low the water was once again as the giant public boat ramp could no longer be used by anyone trying to drop a boat into the water. The ramp ended about 20 feet above the water which was fine for anyone hauling a paddleboard or kayak in. We did not beat the crowds, but joined them as we put in, but then left them behind when I sent us upstream from the put-in while everyone else went down. Mike questioned this, but I was positive I knew where we were going… until we had paddled half a mile, came to a huge marina, and I looked at the map. The canyon I had steered us toward was Navajo Canyon. We should have indeed followed the crowd and gone downstream.
It was a bit choppy and a number of boats went by, but we paddled to the canyon along with all of the rental boards and kayaks. Once we got into the canyon, the water calmed and the paddle was easier. Unfortunately, Mike and I were both struggling with issues and not able to really appreciate our surroundings. He was dealing with a probably pinched nerve in his back that made paddling uncomfortable. I was dealing with endlessly watering eyes, which I think was a combination of allergies and sun. I paddled with my eyes closed about half the time and was very happy when we got further into the canyon weather there was more shade.
The canyon got narrower and narrower and eventually we came to a small beach filled with kayaks. End of the paddling road.
We beached the boards and headed in on foot. You can easily look online and find some amazing pictures of Antelope Canyon, but going on the normal tour was not going to happen for us. They are guided tours that run about $80/ person and it sounds like they are incredibly crowded because it is such a popular attraction. Even if we had wanted to do a tour, though, canyon was still closed to tours due to CO-VID. They are all run by the Navajo Nation and I have to admire Native Americans for being willing to just shut things down to keep people safe.
That being said, the part of Antelope Canyon that we paddled to was part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, not nearly as accessible or popular, and there were few spots in it where you had to be close to other people.
Despite the number of boats we saw at the beach, the hike through the canyon was relatively quiet. We saw people in passing, but rarely got stuck behind anyone or had to wait for others to pass from the other direction. The canyon narrowed as we went further in and we got to wiggle and scramble through a few very narrow parts. We explored and rested a bit in the shade and then turned around to go back to the boards.
By this time, we were quite warm (highs around 90) and looking forward to getting out a bit and finding a place to hop in the water. It felt soooo good, but was cold enough that neither Mike nor I could stay in more than a few minutes. We hopped back on our boards feeling pretty good – refreshed from the water, Mike’s shoulder rested, and my eyes calmed enough for me to keep them open while paddling.
As we started paddling toward the mouth of the canyon, dark clouds appeared over the cliffs and we started wondering about rain, but wind wound up being the trouble ahead. The canyon opened up as we got close to the exit to the lake and suddenly we were fighting against the wind and swells to make it out to the lake. Out on the lake, it was no better. We paddled and pushed to try to keep any forward momentum riding the swells up and down. There were quite a few other paddlers around us, most of them in/on rented gear. I felt so bad for anyone who did not have experience paddling in this kind of water. It wasn’t fun for us and we have quite a few miles under our belts.
We made it back to the ramp, both with sore backs and hoping that Mike didn’t make his back worse. We loaded up and headed back to our site, happy to be done paddling for the day. Luckily, after a little rest, it seemed like the paddling may have helped Mike’s back. Yay for not breaking him!
We didn’t do much exploration close to the campsite because it was just so hot. One night, we did scramble around the hills just above us. We slogged through ash-like gray sand, scrambled up a steep inclines following animal paths and eventually made it to a top (not the highest top). Our goal was to catch the sunset as previous ones had been hidden from us at this site. Totally worth it.
We found a much easier way down and finished cooling off before heading to bed.
Mike’s work days here were a little challenging because of the heat. We had to time our putting out of the awning, opening and closing of windows and blinds in order to preserve as much cool as possible. It still got up to 101 in the trailer, so many breaks in the shade between the big rocks behind us helped. Mike even made another animal friend – not sure why they like his feet so much!
Oh yeah, one more thing that happened in Glen Canyon: I managed to break one of our cabinet doors in half. It was the one above the sink, so I think I probably pull down on it a little every time I open the door and one time when I opened it, most of the door came off in my hand while the panel by the hinge stayed attached. Just a reminder that things on travel trailers are made to be light and may not be the sturdiest.
Luckily, Mike is handy. With a little Gorilla glue and some straps, he put it back together almost like new.
