Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Grand Canyon to Lake Powell USA - September 2012



































Our Globus Canyon Tour Group
prior to cruising Lake Powell

We were up very early to catch the sunrise at the Grand Canyon before we left on our trek to Lake Powell.

The sunrise for me was a bit disappointing.  I have seen better in Australia and  the sunsets in Western Australia and at Wiepa in Queensland are hard to beat.  It was non-the-less lovely to watch the sun creep up over the edges of the rocks and gradually start to bathe the canyon in sunshine.

The one thing I was taken back with was the danger of falling off the edges on the walks along the rim of the canyon.  There are guide rails in some places and signs occasionally in the dangerous areas.  It would not have been too difficult to go just that little bit too close to get a good photo etc and there was nothing to stop a fall.  I have attached a photo of how close the walking path comes to the edge and from there it is a sheer drop down.

I was really pleased that we had a two night stay at the Grand Canyon as it gave us a good opportunity to see the canyon from various vantage points.  I would have liked even one more day so that we could have had time to do some of the walks down into the canyon.  It would have been sensational to be able to look back up from the bottom of the canyon.

On our way to Lake Powell we left via Desert View Point and made a stop at the North East Vantage point where there is a lookout which gave me some good photo opportunities.

We moved on to Lake Powell stopping for lunch at a little place called Page.  It was a popular stop off point for tourists and was very busy.

We arrived in Lake Powell in time for a cruise on the gigantic Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam which was huge. I have not been able to find any photos of the cruise and I have a vague memory that my iPad ran out of batteries right at that time.  It was a beautiful cruise which took us right through the canyon walls of the man made lake  and it was an experience I would recommend if you are visiting Lake Powell.

Our accommodation at the Lake Powell Resort was lovely but required some walking between the main foyer, swimming pool and the rooms.  Our room was not too bad and was close to the swimming pool which was handy as the weather was really hot.

I was impressed with the lake and it was a good place to spend a couple of nights.

Monday, February 11, 2013

Lake Powell to Monument Valley USA - September 2013

































It was a long haul from Lake Powell to Monument Valley but well worth the effort to get there as it is an amazing place.  We travelled by bus as part of our Globus Tour and stopped to view a typical Navajo home before arriving at the Tourist Centre where we swapped into smaller jeeps to travel on the dirt roads to Monument Valley.  It was a good experience to see how the Indians had survived over the years and how they are preserving their lands as best they can.  We travelled through a lot of Navajo country and they had gift shops where we could purchase some of their jewellery and handcrafts at various parts of the tour.