After our two tours of Antelope Canyon we headed down the road to Page, our destination for the next couple of days. Although Page is close to Antelope Canyon, the town actually only exists because of the Glen Canyon Dam, which was constructed on the nearby Colorado River in the late 1950’s, forming Lake Powell. Anyway more on this later.
Our accommodation was at Wahweap, a pleasant area on the shores of Lake Powell. Unfortunately due to Lake Powell’s popularity with Boaties and Fisherman we were unable to secure an RV Site with power, meaning no air-conditioning. At the time of booking this didn’t seem like much of an issue, but given it was over 40 degrees outside, turned out to be a nightmare! Fortunately the campsite was within walking distance of the lake, with its surprisingly cool waters, which gave us a way of cooling down, if only momentarily.
Our first day in Page we headed 30 minutes out of town to a hike to the Toadstool Hoodoos. As Trent explained in my 100th geography lesson of the trip, these hoodoos are slightly different than the hoodoos we saw at Bryce Canyon. Here the rock at the top is at least twice as large as the rest of the formation giving the hoodoo a mushroom like appearance – hence the name. When we arrived we virtually had the track all to ourselves which was nice for a change, no other tourists bombarding the place and photobombing every photo! The hike followed a dried up river bed to a plateau where we were rewarded with the sight of at least 20 toadstools in varying sizes and colours. Although it was a bit of drive to get here the toadstools were quite spectacular and, with only a 20min walk to get to them, very accessible.
After our hike we headed to Glen Canyon Dam visitor centre where there was another movie about the canyon and the Dam, these have become a ritual when we arrive in a new National Park, they are so informative and only last 20 minutes. As mentioned earlier, the dam was built in the 1950’s and was the reason for the existence of the township of Page. The Glen Canyon Dam is very similar to the Hoover Dam; both are built on the Colorado River, both were built for the purpose of water storage and power generation, and both have similar architectural design, however the Hoover Dam was built first and is therefore much more famous. Although it doesn’t have the mystic of the Hoover Dam, the Glen Canyon Dam is equally impressive in its own right, and given that the visitor centre is free of charge and not very crowded, it is was definitely worth a visit.
In need of some supplies, and any excuse to bask in glorious air-conditioning, we headed to the local Walmart. Apart from buying the necessities, we managed to pass a fair bit of time ogling at the oversized items and massive packaging that everything comes in here, and also marveling at and how cheap everything is here. I got the bargain of the day when I bought a pair of jandals for only 99c!
Page was a great place to stay, there was lots to do and see, and being by the lake was a welcome change from the dessert we had become accustomed to over the past couple of weeks.
TWO TRAVEL AS ONE 