Checking out Glen Canyon Dam--Inside and Out

We started our last day of Fall Break with sunrise at Horseshoe Bend. After a few errands in Page, we headed across the Grand Canyon and stopped at the Carl Hayden Visitor Center at Glen Canyon Dam National Recreation Area and Lake Powell.

They have some cool dinosaur tracks outside the visitor center.

The views were spectacular, and when we found they had room on the 9 am dam tour with no age restrictions, I jumped at the chance. I had been on the tour about fifteen years ago and still remembered the eerie feeling of being inside a dam that is holding back so much water (26.2 million acre-feet at full capacity).

We went through security and then took an elevator down into the cliff below the cool looking visitor center.

We walked through a tunnel out onto the dam.

The concrete for the dam was poured nonstop, every five minutes around the clock, from June 1960 to September 1963. The source of rock and sand was nearby Wahweap Creek. The cross section of polished concrete that Desert Girl is admiring shows how big some of the aggregate was.

We could look over the edge of the dam to see how curved it is. It's considered a concrete-arch dam, the second tallest in the United States.

Eight turbines can generate electricity. A retired one is on display and looks enormous.

Our guide did a nice job explaining the history of the dam. Lake Powell started filling in March 1963 and took 17 years to reach full water, in 1980. The lowest the water has been since then is about 146 feet below maximum elevation. Right now, the lake is about 93 feet below maximum elevation. The penstocks (openings for water to go to the turbines) are about 200 feet below maximum elevation.

We walked part way across the dam and took a photo of the Glen Canyon Bridge in the background.

We could also see the hydroelectric plant far below us. And some green stuff. What is it? We would soon have a closer look.

It was time to go into the dam. Our guide had us look up the elevator shaft as we got off. It was cool. And a long way up, over 500 feet if I remember right.

We walked through more tunnels and then onto a bridge connecting the dam to the hydroelectric plant. We saw that the green was Bermuda grass, which is primarily used to keep dust down. The hatches lead to the eight tunnels that allow water to reach the turbines.

Inside the hydroelectric plant, we had a glimpse of the generators. Four were on-line, which is normal for this amount of water.

Then it was time to retrace our steps. The tour used to be longer (I remember some dank and dark corridors), but due to security reasons, it's been shortened.

Below you can see the turbine on the left side of the dam, and the elevator structure in the middle. I like the shadow of the bridge on the dam!

We really enjoyed the tour. We still had a six-hour drive, but I wanted to take the time to walk out on the bridge. We had some more great views from there.

On the downstream side of the dam we could see the cold Colorado River from deep in the lake being released. We also saw little boats that a tour company uses. They drive through a two-mile long access tunnel to get to the river's level.

The bridge is well-fenced, so safe for kids.

Finally it was time to load up. We made two quick interesting stops on the way home, including the Grand-Staircase Escalante Big Water Visitor Center, which focuses on paleontology. Since Desert Girl wants to be a palentologist when she grows up (at least for now), she was fascinated.

We also did a short hike to the toadstools, which I enjoyed a lot more than the kids.

They just wanted to dig for dinosaur bones!

Overall it was a great fall break, and we enjoyed exploring some new areas.

Sunrise at Horseshoe Bend

 On Day 4 of Fall Break, my brother had to leave for a conference. We explored Flagstaff in the morning, including a trip to the Humane Society for some Halloween activities. That included riding a mule-pulled wagon. Desert Boy even got a chance to drive the mules.

 Then it was Desert Girl's turn. They both thought that was a lot of fun.

We made a quick stop by C-A-L*Ranch store, where our hay is being sold. It's beautiful isn't it? (By the way, the kids wore their Halloween costumes all day, Desert Girl was a witch and Desert Boy was a ninja).

Then we started heading home. We stopped in Page for the night (the hotel prices had dropped over one-third from the summer prices). The kids did a little trick-or-treating and were delighted. I was happy because they got less candy than usual, which was good because they ate most of it in two days.

I was amazed at how much Page has grown. It has over a dozen nice hotels, lots of restaurants (including Thai), a Wal-mart, and lots more. It has turned into a huge tourist destination, with three main activities: Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, and Horseshoe Bend. I really wanted to see the Bend. We had passed the parking lot the night before and it had over a hundred cars in it from people who wanted to see the sunset. I was hoping it wouldn't be nearly so busy for the sunrise.

We made the drive in less than ten minutes and found about ten other cars in the parking lot. We made the short, sandy hike with not too much complaining, and then we were there, at the marvelous vista. I had been warned that there are are no guardrails and it's a thousand-foot drop, so I warned the kids to stay away from the edge. 

Although I did have them go to one place I deemed safe so they could be in the photo.

Then I pointed out to them others I didn't think were being safe. In fact, it made me rather uncomfortable, so we moved away.

The kids wanted to play, they didn't want to look at the view. So I let them play in the sand.

Then I found a fun place to climb, and we headed in that direction. The sun was starting to come up and I enjoyed the different perspectives on Horseshoe Bend.

I challenged the kids to find their own way up, and they did.

We goofed around with some timer shots.

One of the things I was fascinated about was the campers down below. Quite a few kayaks were on the beach at the bend, and we could see the tiny people gather around a campfire. We also could see a school of fish in the water and a distant raven fly across the river.

Horseshoe Bend is such an amazing view, just realize you'll be sharing it with a lot of people. Fortunately there's a lot of space, and you can even make room for your own fun, like our selfie shadows doing yoga poses.

Cathedral Wash Hike, Glen Canyon/Grand Canyon

 The kids had fall break part of last week, so we went to visit one of my brothers in the Grand Canyon. It's a long drive, so we broke it up with a hike at Cathedral Wash near Lee's Ferry. We turned up the road in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area towards Lee's Ferry, and at a big turnout at mile 1.3, parked. We found the "trail" went through a large culvert under the road. Then the "trail" ended. We were on our own going down the canyon towards the Colorado River. Cathedral Wash is a non-technical canyon, but with enough obstacles to keep the kids happy.

As we proceeded down canyon, the canyon walls grew higher.

We found lots of pools of water, and it was fun finding ways to skirt them.

It got more difficult as we went downstream, but there were lots of ledges.

The canyon goes down several dry waterfalls, but there are ways around them. Sometimes we were about 30 feet above the canyon floor. I didn't worry much about the kids, they are good climbers.

The last part was the least fun, just climbing over boulders and navigating around sticky mud. (Read--lots of kid whining!) But the reward was great--we made it to the Colorado River! We were now in Grand Canyon National Park.

Well, you know how kids are with water. They can't resist. They asked if they could go in the water, and I said sure. The water is released not far upstream from the Glen Canyon Dam and is only about 45 degrees F, so it's chilly. Nonetheless, they had fun.

The nearby rapids created some waves on the beach, so they did some wave hopping.

Desert Girl in particular seemed to really enjoy the water.

The kids would have liked to stay longer, but we still had to hike back and drive a couple more hours, so it was time to put the muddy shoes back on.

The hike back went smoother, the kids were now in a better mood after their playtime in the river. I find that they often go through various moods on any hike/bike. Overall they enjoy the experience, but there is bound to be some complaining at some point.

They were singing on the way back, so they had found their hiking groove.

I was awed by the scenery. I was also grateful the weather was cooperating. Flash flood debris was much higher than we were, so this is a place to stay out of when it's raining or there's a chance of rain.

Route finding was something we practiced on this hike. Rock cairns and muddy footprints were about all that gave hints to the best travel routes.

I offered the kids another chance to swim--but they declined.

Finally we were back to our big culvert entrance/exit. I was impressed with the steps they had poured to make access easier into the wash.

It was getting late so we didn't go down to Lee's Ferry (I'm hoping I will get to go there another time, perhaps on a river trip??), but we did stop at Navajo Bridge.

Desert Boy had said he wanted to float downstream on the Colorado River from Cathedral Wash. It looked like if he had, it would have been extremely difficult to get out at the bridge and make it up to the edge. I was fascinated by the mixing water--it's green coming out of the dam, but then the muddy tributaries start changing the river color.

Here's the bridge we crossed over Marble Canyon. It certainly makes travel a lot easier!

More of our canyon adventures to come...