Tag Archives: Arizona

Lake Powell

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We are scheduled to meet our friends on June 13 so that means just under a month.  As we wander like this we are many times unsure where to go next.  We knew laundry was coming up so we needed to be in a decent sized town.  I thought Page AZ which is right by Lake Powell.  It was only a 140-mile drive.  I tried to get a spot in an RV park in town but they were full.  Memorial day was coming and we had no idea where we would be which makes it hard to get reservations.

Monument Valley is right on the border of Utah and Arizona.  Our campground at Gouldings was at 37.007010 latitude which puts it just north of the border.  But to get back to Lake Powell, which is also on the border, we had to go down to Arizona.  This time of year that poses a problem of timing.  Utah is on Mountain Daylight time but Arizona is on Pacific Time (they never follow Daylight time).  To make this even odder, parts of the Navajo nation, even if in Arizona, follow Mountain Daylight time!  We rarely knew what time it was.

On our way south of Monument Valley we stopped at Kayenta to get some groceries.  Upon leaving the parking lot we saw another Airstream.  We are always looking for other ‘Streamers.  This one looked oddly different but similar.  It was a long 30’ trailer but it was being towed by a Mercedes SUV.  This sounded familiar.  When I saw a faded spot on the side of the trailer where a sticker had been I knew who it was.  It was Rich, Eleanor, and Emma Luhr!  He was pulling in for some diesel so we turned and followed.

They did not know it was us for a short moment and then realized it.  It was very nice to see them as it had been quite a few years.  We spent a few minutes catching up with each other and went our separate ways.  They were headed to get Alumapalooza going.

We were heading to Lone Rock Beach Campground.  We had heard good things about this dry camping area and wanted to give it a try.  Also it was only $14/night, $7 for us.  We stayed 2 nights:

We visited the Glen Canyon Dam visitors center and Roxie even walked out on the bridge, I commend her for that:

Here is a view of part of the lake:

This area is also on the border of Arizona and Utah so we fought the time change issue here also!

Lake Powell also brings up memories.  The first time there I went with my parents and we took a boat tour to Rainbow Bridge for a day trip.  One of the next times there we rented a Boston Whaler for our own trip and the weather turned so violent we had to ground the boat on the shore and wait it out.  It appears the marina was ready to send out a boat to look for us.  The third time with my parents and we rented a boat again and spent one night on the lake.  My parents slept on the shore but my sister and I slept on the boat seats folded flat.  I remember catching a fish with a stick, hook, and corn.

Roxie and our family went there once on a vacation.  We rented a boat and had a day on the lake.  Roxie still talks about it because the lake was so rough at times.

The campground has a dump and water fill and we took advantage of it since we were probably going to dry camp again.  We did some laundry on our way out of Page.  One other thing, the Walmart at Page must allow overnighters but I have never seen RV’s so encamped at a Walmart as there!  People were disconnected, had generators and barbeques out, etc.  It was very surprising.

Off to our next spot.

 

 

Revisiting some old memories

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You may not know this, depending on how much you have read this blog, but I grew up traveling with my parents in their Airstreams.  They had 6 of them and gave us their last one, carrying on the tradition to us.  I remember going somewhere every summer during my father’s vacation.  Additionally, we go out on weekends, maybe 1-2 a month, with the trailer.  There were many things I have been fortunate to see in these travels and I am trying to share this with Roxie so we will at times do and see things that bring back memories for me.  Durango was one such location as my father loved trains and I must have ridden that train 3-4 times prior to this time but I could share this one.

This part of the country (the 4 corners region) has a lot of memory potentials for me.  My father really loved the desert and photographic locations.  Our next stop was Monument Valley (memories) but on the way was the true Four Corners.  Many, many years ago we stopped there as I was a child and a picture was taken.  I have remembered that picture for years and vowed to recreate it.  The Four Corners monument has changed quite a bit since my first visit.  The Native Americans are currently operating it, they have invested quite a bit with upgrades and they have many vendors circling it.  There was none of this back in 1967, and no admission charge.  Here are the two photos with about 50 years difference:

I noticed that 50 years made it harder to get up off the ground!  Notice I got the Airstream in the background on the new one also!

After the short flashback stop, we continued on to Goulding’s campground at Monument Valley.  The lodge has quite a history attached to it and the valley.  This is another place I am sure we stayed at during our visits here in the past.  Here are some campground shots:

Monument Valley has also changed.  Native Americans are the caretakers of the valley.  You pay admission to get to the visitor’s center which lets you also drive the scenic route through the valley.  You can hire guides that can take you on tours to the restricted areas of the valley.  We decided to utilize our truck and drive it ourselves:

The left and right mittens.

I vaguely remember some of these views but it was all new to Roxie and she got to see the beauty of the area.  However, there is not much else to do here.  We took a short drive north and back again to get a different view of the rocks.  On the way out, on a long stretch, I noticed a lot of people on the side of the road and IN the road ahead.  I looked out my rear view mirror and noticed we were coming up to Forrest Gump Point.  I remembered it was here but forgot about it.  On the way back we got an on the road photo:

As we were leaving I recreated one other memory.  Here is another then and now shot to leave you with: