THE PAINTED DESERT.
Day 146 – A change of plans yet again – are we losing our minds? No, there’s just so much to see! We figured we’d go ahead and try to do it all. So after sunrise at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, we’re heading for Lake Powell on the border of AZ & UT.
157 miles
We got up at 5 a.m. It was 19 degrees out yet again. Wondering if our outdoor thermometer is stuck at 19 and won’t go any lower. The kitties were at a loss as to what we were doing, getting up when it was dark and feeding them so early, packing up and leaving camp in the dark.
No one has called us from the energy company yet to tell us the status of the furnace replacement at home, but we are assuming they finished early evening yesterday. That’s when the indoor temperature at home began rising. This morning the monitor showed it had settled at a little above 50 degrees. A good thing they finished when they did because it was supposed to get really cold again last night in NY!
Boondocking on NFS FR302, dispursed camping off of National Forest Service Fire Road 302 which is located just south of Tusayan, AZ (the city right below the south rim entrance to the Grand Canyon on Route 64 north of Williams on Interstate 40). FR302 runs from Route 64 east on a well-maintained dirt road. More information about this road, & all the dispursed camping roads in the Tusayan Ranger District in the Kaibab National Forest, is available at P.O. Box 3088, Tusayan, AZ 86023, (928) 638-2443, www.fs.usda.bov/kaibab.com or by visiting the Tusayan Ranger District Office in Tusayan, AZ on Route 64. Disbursed camping means, according to literature from the Ranger Station, “camping anywhere in the National Forest outside of a developed campground. Disbursed camping is free and, therefore, there are no services such as trash removal and there are few, if any, facilities such as tables and fire pits.” Rules & regulations vary within districts so we’ve found it’s wise to check in with the Ranger’s Station in each area to become familiar with the area & also to let them know you’ll be out there in the wild in case of an emergency. In this particular district (the Kaibab National Forest): you many camp for a maximum of 14 days within any 30-day period; you must not camp within ¼ mile of the major road or highway; if possible use existing campsites to limit resource damage; you need to be self-contained (no water & no restrooms are provided); check to see if fire restrictions are in place. We parked about a mile in from Route 64 on FR302 on the left side of the road. As you drive on FR302, after about ¼ mile you see here & there on both sides of the road, cleared pathways leading off the road to places where you can park your vehicle and camp. Usually someone has camped there previously and you will see where they built a fire. Sometimes the cleared driveway will continue on beyond a campsite on to other campsites. There are no official campsite numbers; you decide where you want to stay (although sometimes the cleared driveway does have a post with a number – presumably that’s for Forest Service use to determine where someone is located?). Our campsite was nestled in woods that weren’t too thick to prevent sunlight from warming the RV. The driveway went beyond our campsite which was off the driveway a little ways to the right. There were more possible camping opportunities deeper in, too. It was beautiful, quiet, private, and free. Also, there was an excellent cell phone & internet connection here. Only two other vehicles (that we could see from FR302) were camping between the main road and our campsite. FR302 is very close to Tusayan and the south entrance to the Grand Canyon. Very convenient. We would definitely camp here again and we’d also try disbursed camping at other sites. Very nice.
We departed a little before 6:45 and drove to catch the sunrise over Grand Canyon. Absolutely gorgeous. It was surprising how many people were up and out early to do the same thing.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
Our last picture-taking stop at Grand Canyon was at Desert View, the most eastern pull-out at the South Rim. Rob hiked off quite a distance from the place where RV’s were allowed to park; I stayed in the RV where the sun was shining warmly & studied the maps for our upcoming journey. Rob was gone about 40 minutes & while I was sitting there, a dozen mule deer strolled by in front of me on their way into the bushes, stopping many times to mill about eating breakfast in the greenery. Rob had taken both the camera and the phone with him & I could not take pictures. Bummer, but it was great just to watch them. The bushes and shrub trees in the parking lot were filled with birds flitting about; I knew when Rob got back that he’d want to take pictures of them. Meanwhile, Rob was having an adventure of his own: he was hurrying along the trail to get shots of the sunrise when he saw, right beside him, the best elk statue he’d ever seen (his own words). Wait a minute, the large bull elk raised his head & glared at Rob. Oops! Rob quickly took a picture, then got the hell out of dodge. Unfortunately, the picture wasn’t in the sun and perfectly set up, LOL, but it shows how close he was & how unhappy the elk was with his closeness. And yes, when Rob got back to the RV & he told me his story & I told him mine, we stuck around for awhile & took bird pictures before leaving for our drive to Wahweap, AZ on the Utah border.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
We drove from Desert View, Grand Canyon on Route 64 east to Highway 89 north in Cameron
through Page, a decent-sized city on Lake Powell, to the Wahweap Campground in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Along the way we stopped for gas, a snack, propane, and checked out a campground in Page. But quite a few stops were made to take pictures of some of the best, prettiest scenery that both of us had every seen – like paintings, some pastels & some brilliant oil paintings – we were blown away at every turn in the road. Route 89 was truly a scenic highway.
Little Colorado River Canyon, US-64 near Cameron, AZ
To see a whole lot more pictures of our drive,
Click Here
We arrived at Wahweap Campground on Lake Powell near the Glen Canyon Dam at noon, 58 degrees and partly cloudy. The Lake is deep blue & it’s surrounded by rock formations & cliffs of various color & brightness. The campground was huge but almost empty, most of its’ loops were closed for the season. All the campground buildings were built and colored in the standard Navajo Indian colors of clay, beige, and yellow with a bit of turquoise thrown in, even the restrooms. We picked site #99, overlooking the Lake & cliffs, no hook-ups but there was a dump station & available water. Only one other camper in this entire loop. Full hook-ups ran $52 off season per night. There were maybe 12 campers at the two open full hook-up loops. Our loop was $30 per night; we paid $27 with the senior discount. Beautiful setting, great views. We paid for 3 nights & also made reservations for a tour of Antelope Canyon by boat on Tuesday morning.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
After setting up & grabbing lunch, we checked out the area: Glen Canyon Dam, the City of Page, the Wahweap Marina (this is an area where people rent big houseboats during the summer & go out on Lake Powell), Antelope Point (longest boat launch we’ve ever seen), and Antelope Canyon.
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
Back at the RV around 3:30 p.m., 61 degrees & breezy, we sat outside and watched the sunset over the Lake. A rabbit hops around the campground not very afraid of people. Birds flit about in the bushes. We had a glass of wine and a beer, then after sunset went inside and had dinner & fed the girls (who like it here just fine). Later in the evening, the wind increased but it remained much warmer than at the Grand Canyon. Every time we shut our eyes, the reds from the cliffs and the blue of the Lake was all we saw. What a day!
Click any picture below to see a slideshow.
https://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/short-film-showcase/damnation-desert-goddess-remembers-arizonas-glen-canyon
https://www.glencanyon.org/media_center/photos Beautiful lake but it was more beautiful before. On sandstone and loses enough water to supply Califonia.