Still Catching Up...

September 7, 2008
Lake Powell/Page, AZ

We're back at Lake Powell for another week, and we've got several things scheduled over the next few days to take advantage of the slightly lower temperatures and otherwise beautiful weather.

Our drive back north on Thursday was uneventful, with fine driving weather except for strong winds. What a difference from the trip a few days before! We left Peoria's 105 degree weather around 10:30 AM and were back at the coach by mid-afternoon. After re-deploying (we'd put a lot of the outside stuff away for safe-keeping while we were away), we "cheated" for dinner with a Bertolli pasta-in-a-bag, which was decent but nowhere as good as home-made.

Friday was a "catch up" day, making sure that everything was settled and doing some shopping. We had to re-register for our space in the campground, due to National Park Service rules (the NPS controls things even though all services are outsourced to Aramark). The rules state that you can stay for 14 days at a time, with a maximum of 30 days per calendar year. If you want to stay longer than two weeks (we did; we're here for three), you can "check out" and "check in" again. I rode the bike over to the office and completed everything without ever having to move the coach. This may have been because the park really cleared out after the Labor Day weekend. About 30-40% of the "guests" are still Europeans generally arriving late in the day and staying one night, though. They remind us of how we got started, flying somewhere and trying to see as many things as possible in a 2-week vacation.

Yesterday, we took one of the boat tours offered here at the lake, this one to Rainbow Bridge National Monument, about 50 miles "up river" (the "lake" is still the Colorado River, after all). This is sort of a park-within-a-park, since it's contained within the Glen Canyon NRA (National Recreation Area). A "monument" and a "recreation area" have different rules about which part of the bureaucracy is in charge and what the rules for use are, all under the National Park Service.

We took the boat from the Lodge (a rather large, modern hotel), and the tour was about 5 hours (2 hours up, 1 hour to sight see, and 2 hours back). The Rainbow Bridge is a good-sized stone arch about 2/3 of a mile from the docking point at the current lake level. When the lake is at full capacity, the water level just about reaches the arch. The NPS has constructed a flexible floating dock that they can move and reconfigure as needed. Probably 25% of the walk from the boat to the arch is along the floating dock, with the rest climbing a moderately well-maintained trail. As expected, it was difficult to get photos without a horde of tourists in them, and it was a little disappointing to see the way people acted (this site, like many others in the southwest, is sacred ground for several Native tribes).

Dinner Friday night was a pork tenderloin done on the grill with pan-roasted red potatoes and carrots. We've been doing a much better job of cooking and eating outside since we've been here, since the evenings are warm and the bugs are few (there are more here than in Peoria, but not bad enough to keep us from enjoying the great outdoors). Last night, I grilled some chicken thighs and Geri served them with with the pre-made orzo from the other night and sauteed snow peas and tomatoes - excellent! I'd planned to make a sweet-and-sour chicken but didn't have all the ingredients, so we'll hold that recipe for a later date.

Today was another "catch up" day. Geri did some laundry and I cleaned up the bug debris on the front of the coach and Range Rover. Mundane stuff. This afternoon, I need to take the 12v cooler we keep in the car apart and see why it's making a lot of noise and not cooling like it used to. I'd prefer to avoid having to replace it but if it's needed, I'd prefer to wait until we're back in Peoria so I can order the replacement online rather than pay retail. I've done some research and there are a variety of options, at very different price points, so I'd just as soon keep this one going for a while.

Tomorrow, we're doing a river rafting trip (wow!) and Tuesday we're taking a tour on the Navajo Reservation to a "slot canyon" that should be photogenic. It's another busy week, as we'll then get ready to move on for Show Low, another part of the state we've never visited. And, I've got a backlog of pictures to process and post!