Glen Canyon National Recreation Area….Utah/Arizona.

I don’t know what I’m doing here with this blog entry,but for some reason I inadvertently downloaded the new version of Windows Live Writer and I didn’t really want to be dealing with something new at this time.Anyway I’m here in this picture above, in fact I’m the 3rd rig from the right.

On my morning exercise walk today,I thought wow! This is the place to try a panorama shot.I don’t know why it has this curvy look but that’s the way its going to have to be until I get some time to experiment….Lets try another taken a bit to the right.

 

HMMM! I cant get as much depth on this one……….Ah heck…..On with the blog. By the way,thanks to Rick for the link.

I know I was told by several in the know that I should have stayed longer at Bryce Canyon,but by the time I got to the favorite hiking trail,the Sunset/Sunrise,a storm was looming and I was pooped…..I have a lot of ground that I want to cover before the weather starts to deep six and it could happen anytime at these altitudes,so I allotted myself only one day for Bryce,and as Arnold says…….I’ll be back! The big number one visit that I’m looking forward to…Is Monument Valley and that’s next.

The trip from Panguitch to Glen Canyon was a half a days drive with a short side trip into Pink Coral Dunes State Park,where I sized it up for a stay but decided that the half full campground wasn’t to my liking and hiking the dunes wasn’t  either as I watched people at the entrance of the dunes removing plenty of pink sand from their hiking shoes and socks.

    

So I carried on through the very pretty and clean looking southwest town of Kanab Utah,to this location.

Here I am at the Glen Canyon National Rec area’s Lone Rock Campground…Its basic boondocking with a price as you have an entry fee of $15. then $10. per night to camp anywhere you want as there are no designated spots.There is water and a dump station and toilets scattered around.The first thing I noticed was that it was warmer as I was now down in the 3700ft range from 6500.Even overnight last night didn’t require any heat for the first time since leaving home.

You have to be careful driving here, as coming in I almost got stuck in some soft sand.Where I’m parked its wet and hard packed including the pound and a half that I track indoors every time I come in…..So its just me and about 15 other units strung along about 2 miles of beach.There’s a small flock of mallard ducks hanging around to visit..Every time I go to the open door,I see them waddling my way looking for handouts.

A few more shots from within the panorama view….See this telephoto shot below,well actually each rig is about 100-200 yards apart,except yesterday afternoon when you see that class C beside me?…….Well they (a young couple that couldn’t keep their hands off each other) decided to park at my doorstep…….A closer look reveals a rental from California…..probably travellers from Europe as I know from experience camping over there……..they love togetherness……….I still remember the days when someone's tent tie downs would cross mine. Anyway I hope they enjoyed my generator first thing this morning ……Hey! I’m getting to like this new format. 

I think these hills are the final southern edge of the “Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument”

I must say its all beautiful country…..I saw many scenes that I wanted to photo during Thursdays trip,but there was no place to stop.

By the way this part of the Rec. area, Lone Rock Campground, is not the only camping area,as a more fancy camping location is just over to the right by another access road along with a marina,and of course the big Glen Canyon Dam is just a few miles away also.This is called Wahweap Bay. The Arizona border cuts through the lower half of the bay,just a spitting distance away….I guess I better mention that this is Lake Powell,one of the largest man made lakes in North America,caused by the damming of the Colorado River, with a full pool elevation of 3700ft.It is 186 miles long (299km) has 1960 miles (3161km) of shoreline.The water depth at the dam is 561ft(171m).

Well its getting to be windy and showery as I write this on Fri. afternoon,so probably tomorrow I will head on over to the Navajo Nation for a visit to see the Monument Valley…Cant wait!