Page, AZ August 11, 2010

Horseshoe Bend

We left SaddleBrooke this morning at 8 am to begin our Western adventure. We stopped in Scottsdale to pick up some meds that my doctor is giving me because the mail order pharmacy goofed. We don't know whether our van is going to make it through the trip. On our first day out, a rock hit our windshield resulting in a chip and a crack. Then the wind blew the passenger door into a guard rail denting the edge of the door.We started climbing toward Flagstaff and as the elevation rose the temperatures plummeted. By the time we stopped for lunch in Flagstaff, it was a lovely 80 degrees and we had reached 7000'. The terrain had changed from cactus desert to pines and mountains. Then we started back down as we drove towards Page and the temps climbed back up into the 90's. We drove through an area that looked like the Badlands of South Dakota and then as we approached Page, red sandstone mountains appeared. We were driving through Navajo lands and encountered villages and trading posts selling rugs, pottery and jewelery. After we checked into our motel at 3:30 we drove out to the slot canyons to gather information. Much to our surprise the gates were locked tight! We found a tourist information center and discovered that Horseshoe Bend view point was just out of town. I had seen photos of this before but had no idea where they had been taken. What a bonus! We were shown other viewpoints so we kept busy until sunset. After a mexican dinner, I worked on my photos from the day.