We got up super early this morning. We wanted to reach Horseshoe Bend before noon supposedly for the best lighting. I was here last year with Sylvia (one of my fave road trips!) and wanted to share the experience of seeing Horseshoe Bend with Ned. It didn’t disappoint. It’s crazy how popular this spot has become. There is now a designated paved pathway with a couple of shade structures leading to the overlook. It’s no longer the primitive dirt path up and over dunes.
The other reason for getting up before dawn was to see the sunrise over the Grand Canyon. What a beautiful experience.
It was fun watching the canyon come to life from dark shadows to layers of red.
We also stopped at Glen Canyon Dam, walked across the bridge and admired the engineering of the dam. Years ago we took a tour of the visitor’s center. This year we just masked up and walked around. Still fun.
Tonight we are camped on a beach. Literally. We drove down a sand road and parked close to Lake Powell. There are no designated campsites, just park anywhere and do your thing. This beach is part of the Glen Canyon Recreation Area. As we are camped in the sand, looking out at a really surreal landscape, Ned isn’t too sure what I’ve got us into.
There are porta-potties dotted up and down the beach and flush toilets and cold showers are up the road about half a mile. Yes, I’ve made the half mile trek a couple times today.
Wolfgang is holding up well tho. (Even if he is getting blasted with fine sand).
We had a great time swimming in Lake Powell, watching the boats go by, drinking Margaritas and chilling out. Ned has now warmed up to our little beach shack.
It’s about 82 degrees, the water was a bit chilly, but it felt great. (Swimming in the lake means I don’t have to take a cold shower right?). Ned pointed out that this was supposed to be the hot springs tour so a cold dip in a lake was an added bonus.
The vibe tonight is super chill. There are a couple of fires on the beach, some good music playing in the distance and everyone just relaxing and having a good time. Really glad I went out of comfort zone and took a chance on camping here. We’ll be back, can’t wait to take Maddy and Theo.
