Horseshoe Bend - Glen Canyon Dam

We hiked the  Horseshoe Bend trail in Page, AZ this AM (just a few miles from our campsite in UT).  The prime time for photographing this famous site on the Colorado River is early AM just after sunrise or late evening just before sunset - of course we were there at high noon on a cloudy day but the place is so photogenic that the pictures still came out pretty good. 

We intentionally waited until a weekday to go here due to the crowds - still pretty busy though - the hole in the ground at left center is where you view Horseshoe Bend

On our way back to the campground we stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Center for a little while.  The dam, which was built in the late 50's, dams the Colorado River to form Lake Powell which is 186 miles long

The dam and the Glen Canyon Bridge to Page, AZ 

This weekend there were a couple of powered para-gliders that took off and landed on the beach at the campground

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area - Utah

Friday we moved from the Grand Canyon area to Lone Rock Beach Campground in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah, just over the border from Arizona.  This is a paid campground in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area with no sewer, water, or electric hook-ups - cost with the National Senior Pass is $7./night - full price is $14.  Most everone camps on the beach but we are in the dunes area which is much more private.

Our Route From The Grand Canyon To Utah

Our Campsite

The view from our campsite

Panoramic photo of the campground (click to enlarge)

Another view of the camground

The namesake rock

Today we hiked the Hanging Gardens Trail which is just a couple miles from the campground.  The hanging gardens are a mass of vegetation, mostly ferns, growing on the vertical face of a cliff. Water seeps from the porous sandstone and is absorbed by the ferns.  The cliff has an overhang which protects the plants from the sun. It is more impressive than the pictures show - this is a little oasis in the desert.

The rest of the pictures are views from the Hanging Gardens Trail or nearby.

A small section of Lake Powell - this section is mostly in Arizona

Another view of Lake Powell

Another view from the hike

Quite a variety of landscapes in a small area - red sandstone hill on our hike

Looking South into Arizona

Not as many cacti here but this one was in bloom

View of the back side of the Glen Canyon Dam which dams the Colorado River to form Lake Powell which covers 254 sq. mi.   Tomorrow we are going to the Glen Canyon Dam visitor center and to Horseshoe Bend which is just up the road from where we are - we decided to wait until Monday hoping they both won't be so busy.