It seems the mechanical issues of the tour boat from yesterday were resolved, as the Rainbow Bridge cruise went off the next morning without a hitch. We were well prepared with food, water, items to deal with the heat, etc. The cruise was a very pleasant and relaxing all day affair. The boat started out at the Lake Powell Resort (down the street from our campground), and cruised along Lake Powell past rock formations, coves and canyons on the way to Rainbow Bridge. It took about 3 hours to get to the dock, where we then hiked about a 1.25 mile stretch to get to Rainbow Bridge.
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| yeah....on the cruise to Rainbow Bridge |
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| Lake Powell Resort...the (expensive for dinner so we didn't go) restaurant is right there at those windows...pretty nice view from there! |
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| cruising along |
When boarding, it is first come first served with the seats, and no "saving". Luckily everyone thought the seats up top in the sun were just great....so we were able to get ourselves a nice spot downstairs in the shade. I'll tell ya, the sun is just brutal. Anyway, we each were given headphones and a cassette to listen to the narrative along the way. I don't know....after about a half hour, I took it off and decided to enjoy myself visually. The rock formations and the canyons were just really spectacular. And its all about the light. Really. Depends how the light is hitting the sandstone, or the water for that matter. The colors were stunning.
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| great seats |
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| listening to the informational cassette |
There were a lot of watercraft out there on the lake. We saw many houseboats-both privately owned and rentals. We also spotted some regular motorboats, some of whom were camping overnight on the shore. Pretty cool. Its a beautiful place to do something like that. The night sky is awesome!
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| lots of houseboats |
One thing I did hear early on with the headphones was the "bathtub ring" around the canyons. It goes all around the canyons...all 1700 or so miles of canyon coastline. The white indicates where the water line was, and it was at its highest in 1983. There has been a 20 foot drop in the lake since then. Apparently, water from Lake Powell goes to support Phoenix, LA and one other place.
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| bathtub ring |
We cruised by quite a few buttes and mesas, and other rock formations. They are all so different. A lot of these formations also have interesting features to them....holes, stripes, etc.We did not have to stay in our seats during the boat ride, so we were able to go hang outside on the back deck every once in awhile.
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| butte |
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| great rock formations |
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| enjoying the views |
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| fun cruise |
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| towing a few things? |
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| neat rock fornations |
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| really enjoying this |
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| yeah...good idea! |
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| look how green the water is |
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| bathtub ring |
About a half hour before Rainbow Bridge, the cruise got really special. That is when we rode through the canyons. There was not a lot of room to navigate in some areas. The water was so green and just everything was so peaceful. What a delightful experience.
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| heading through the canyons to Rainbow Bridge |
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| awesome |
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| narrow passageway |
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| really cool! |
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| enjoying this trip immensely |
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| aren't you Tom? |
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| not much room |
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| pretty tight |
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| this is an awesome cruise |
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| another cool view |
Once the dock was in sight, I geared up for the 2.5 mile round trip to Rainbow Bridge. I think the air temp was something like 92! I made sure I had my cooling kerchief (my new favorite accessory-hahahah), hat and sunglasses. Tom was wearing his SPF50 shirt, which helped him.We decided to take it real slow and enjoy the walk and all the views. After all, we had an hour and a half, so we figured we had plenty of time. We weren't even off the dock when we had our cameras focused on the pretty large fish swimming around near the dock. Fishing anyone?
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| approaching the dock |
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| got the cooling kerchief! |
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| so many large fish |
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| ready for a hike? |
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| I think the dock was a half mile long..hahahah |
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| ready...this should be great |
The hike wasn't too bad. They describe it as flat, but it isn't. And there is some sand to walk through, which can get to you. Most of the hike was in the bright sun, but there were a couple of shady spots that were at least 20 degrees cooler. So, all in all, the hiking conditions were not too bad! The views were just great!
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| nice water in the canyon |
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| the shady part of the trail |
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| great hike so far |
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| still in the shade...yeah! |
Quite soon after starting the hike, Rainbow Bridge came into view. Well, half of it. But that was good for the folks that couldn't make the walk.
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| there it is! |
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| a bit of greenery on the hike |
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| the other shady part of the trail |
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| good spot for a water break |
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| nice! |
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| almost there |
Soon the whole bridge was in view, and some nice lady offered to take our picture. Who could refuse? There was a little shaded rest area there, and some folks didn't go any farther than that. They got their pictures and returned to the boat. I can't really blame them. It was super duper HOT! And then there were the "gamer kids". Hahahahha. We are familiar with that scene! Hahahah. Right Jess and Chris? S E G A! These kids were sitting in front of us the entire boat ride back to the marina, and they never once looked out the window. They were having a great time gaming. Hahahha.
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| aahh |
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| a little bored with the whole day! |
The path continued right up to Rainbow Bridge. Another lovely passenger offered to take our pic again! O..kay! The bridge was amazing. Its as tall as the Statue of Liberty (290 feet) and 275 feet across. The top of the arch is 42 feet thick and 33 feet wide. Rainbow Bridge is a sacred place to the Navajo and other Indian tribes. There are signs reminding visitors to be respectful when visiting the bridge, and not to walk under it or climb on it. There was a park ranger there when we were there, answering questions and making sure everyone was behaving.
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| almost there |
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| under the bridge...sort of |
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| its amazing...really |
We took a few more pics on the way back, of some of the other scenery in the vicinity. The canyon was amazing. The rock walls are very high, and have a lot of "detail" in them.
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| heading back |
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| such huge rock formations |
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| I guess that's what a canyon is! |
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| a nice splash of color |
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| isn't that awesome |
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| love the rock surface |
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| close up |
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It really was hot. So, I had another means to cool off....I also had a spray bottle of water. AAhhhhh. That really helped, along with the cooling kerchief. Along the way back, we spotted some more flowers. I thought I'd be done taking pictures of flowers by now, but they are still blooming. I like to take the pictures of the "new" to us flowers.
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| a good place to spray myself with water |
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| nice! |
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| another new one |
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| look at that |
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| nice |
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| almost back to the dock? |
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| a bit farther to go |
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| very cool |
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| awesome views |
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| the water is so green |
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| another new one |
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| there's the dock now |
Once back to the dock, we realized how hungry we were. When we got on the boat, we ate our picnic, as did everyone else as they arrived back. The boat was pretty cool-I don't think it was actually air-conditioned, but there was a fan blowing cooler air into the cabin. It was very pleasant, thankfully!
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| its so pretty here in this canyon |
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| is this the longest dock or what? |
We stood outside on the deck for the half hour or so ride through the canyon back to the main part of the lake. It was just so cool! As in awesome!!
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| cool! |
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| really enjoying this cruise! |
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| free coffee, water and lemonade! The lemonade is really good!! |
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| more awesome views in the canyon |
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Once we were back in the main area of the lake, the colors seemed to have changed dramatically from earlier in the morning. The water was a deep, cool blue, and the red rock seemed so much brighter. Its really all about the light!
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| in the main part of the lake |
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| more |
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| cool rock formations |
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| love the colors |
Oh, and I had one other trick to beat the heat. Yes, that is an ice pack from our cooler strategically placed on the pressure point behind my knee. Between that, the cooling kerchief, and the spray bottle I did A-Okay in this hot hot weather! And quite frankly, it was also very pleasant standing on the back deck, especially getting the spray from the wake! Haha. (Tom got a huge laugh because I was sitting there, as in the photo below, and I said something crazy like-hey, I handled the heat pretty well, didn't I?) I know.....but I just really can't take it! Give me winter any day..hahahhah.
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| do you think this is eccentric? |
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| great views from the back deck |
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| going back in! |
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| Oh Tom!! Ouch! |
We really enjoyed the day. A great way to see the lake, as well as Rainbow Bridge!
My hubby has a cooling kerchief and loves it! I like your spray bottle idea also. When is it going to cool off? Do you wish you were back in the mountains?
ReplyDeleteMary from Perry
Yes, after spending all summer in the mountains, we are not used to the heat. And it's relatively cool here now. Its 110 in the summer!!!
ReplyDelete