Day 3 - Page AZ
Trip Start
Sep 19, 2007
1
3
18
Trip End
Oct 06, 2007
Page,
Arizona,
United States
Friday, September 21, 2007
Weather : Sunny , partly cloudy
Temp: 88 ºF
Accommodation: Best Western Lake Powell Hotel
Got up early,check out and on the road to Page AZ. Stopped at Mesquite NV for lunch at the Eureka Casino. Price is great , steak and eggs for $3.99. Played a few slots, lost $10.00 not a bad place.
Went thru Zion National Park had to pay $25.00 just to drive thru. It was very cool. There was a tunnel a mile long with no lights and 2 narrow lanes. After we passed the tunnel had to close one lane to let a motor home go thru. Later found out that it cost extra $12.00 for that. The view is great , not the best, but the tunnel is very different . I used my camera to take video of the drive thru the tunnel . My new Gorillapod is great. I used it to mount my camera on the dash board of the car for the video . May be someday I will invest in a camcorder.
We got to Page AZ around 4:00 pm went to Horseshoe bend before checking in the hotel to make sure we have lots of sun light still.
To take picture of the Bend you will need to be there when the sun is overhead or you will get large part of the Bend in the shade.
Zion-01
The spot to take the picture is just outside Page. There is a parking lot, the sign to turn off to the parking lot is easily missed. The walk is 3/4 miles. It was hot and sunny must be 90 ºF. First you go up the sandy path uphill about 45º incline, then down a trail of lose sand ..takes twice the effort to do in the heat and 3,800 feet above sea level. I came from Vancouver - sea level , you will need a few days to get used to the altitude, it was exhausting. Finally got to the famous edge.. A bit freaky. Good thing it wasn't too windy. Took all kinds of pictures. It is hard to get the full shot of the Horseshoe Bend. You will either need to set up your camera very high or lean over the 'edge'. I did neither.. The shot did not turn out too badly. The ideal time is between 11:00 am to 2:00 pm but it's already 4:00 pm. The sun is still overhead, one side of the bend was in the shade but still OK.
The walk back was more uphill then down, mostly lose sandy path, had to stop a few times to catch my breath and drink water .
Check into the Best Western Hotel Lake Powell around 6:00 pm . There are 2 Best Western hotels,(Lake Powell & Arizona Inn) they are located next to each other. Town is busy with no vacancy at a lot of places.
The lady at the front desk recommended a restaurant called Fiesta Mexicana . We had Margaritas' [strong] I had chipotle steak , it was awesome .
After dinner we drove to the Glen Canyon Dam (over the Colorado River) to take night pictures. The bridge was not lite up just have a few lights. So we practice night shots using tripod that was a lot of fun. Trying to figure out how to get to scenic view point, found the entrance but there was a gate closed after sunset . Will check it out tomorrow.
Got back to the room. Laid down thinking to nap for a few minutes but went to sleep instead ...must be that drink that did it.
Tips: Accommodation in Page is limited, so book ahead. We tried online but there was no vacancy. We then phoned the hotel directly and was no problem. not sure why.. So if you can't get booking on line, try phoning direct.
