As we departed Monument Valley, we could see a big rainstorm headed our way. I wonder if they got their 6 inches of rain in this last week….
One thing that is really cool out west, you can see a rainstorm miles and miles away. And of course the views on our travel day were beautiful.
Lake Powell has to be one of the prettier campgrounds (I keep saying that about each and every one…). Our campground was located in Arizona, but Utah was not far away, needless to say, our cell phones were going crazy trying to figure out the correct time. This was our view from the campground.
Before our boat tour, we ran over to the Glen Canyon Dam to check it out. In front of the visitor center was Dinosaur Tracks, HOW COOL WAS THAT! The imprints were made by a one ton, twenty foot long, meat-eating dinosaur, Dilophosaurus. The slab of sandstone came from a nearby side canyon.
The dam itself is 710 feet above bedrock, and 583 feet above the original river channel. Work began on the dam in 1957 and completed in 1963. It took over 3 years of straight continuous pouring of concrete to build the dam.
It took 17 years for the new lake to fill completely. The lake reached full pool level in 1980, 1983 and 1984. Glen Canyon Dam provides enough electricity in a year to supply 1 million homes. Lake Powell’s meandering shoreline is 1,960 miles and is longer than the entire US western coastline. 87 percent is desert, sandstone, and canyons.
We boarded a boat, that had the inscription Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the back – CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT, for a 5 hour tour. Our destination was Rainbow Bridge National Monument, about 50 miles from the dock. What a beautiful ride.
Rainbow Bridge is the world’s largest natural bridge, arching 290 feet high and spanning 270 feet across. The top is 42 feet thick and 33 feet wide. 
The rock formation change in color as the sun sets, just like in Bryce Canyon.
The rock formation change in color as the sun sets, just like in Bryce Canyon.
And of course, the sky at sunset here was absolutely gorgeous.
Lake Powell is so beautiful, I wish we could have stayed longer.
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