Lake Powell

It was a short drive from Navajo National Monument to Page.  We stopped at Walmart to load up on groceries, hit an RV dump and a gas station and tried to maintain some level of sanity in the 109 degree heat.  Yes, it's a dry heat but it sucks the life out of you.  We had been here twice before when we rented houseboats.  The dam here backed up the Colorado River and its tributaries for about 185 miles, forming Lake Powell.  The construction of the dam began in 1956 and power was first generated in 1966.  It took 14 years for it to reach full capacity!  At this point in time, it is only about 55% full.  The controversy over its construction continues to this day.  It does fulfill its purpose in providing water storage and power generation to millions of people in the Southwest but it has destroyed forever the artwork and artifacts of the Ancestral Puebloans who lived in this area.  Opponents of the dam are concerned about the effects of changing the river's ecology and changing the habitat of native fish.

It certainly is still such a beautiful sight!

We had a nice campsite at the top of the hill, overlooking the lake.
It had alot of privacy and a lovely little garden-like back yard.  Thank God
for that one little tree!

Boo and I walked down to the lake the first morning.  We
had to do it early, as the heat comes roaring in at about nine.

It was only about a 1/2 mile walk from our
campsite

Happy puppy being back at the
water.  Don't know if this video
will work.

This was the scene below our campground early in the morning.  No one else around!

The view from our campsite

The store, laundry and shower area

We decided to take the Antelope Canyon tour on this boat.

Wahweap's many houseboats

The cutest passengers

He, as usual, was the only canine passenger.

Happy baby

Making time

The damn dam

It is quite remarkable and a little scary crossing that bridge.

It is at about 50% capacity.

The colors really were otherworldly.

Love this color

After the boat trip, we were looking for a place to get lunch and were directed to the most wonderful place:  a swimming pool, a bar and a restaurant.  Even though there was a sign saying, "no pets", Boo was welcome!  We were ecstatic!  We spent the rest of the day here.

A wedding party came by and they all jumped in!

Bridesmaids

The minister and groomsman

What a view we had!

Is this one hot puppy or what?  We kept
putting water on him to keep him cooled down.
It was 114 today!  We are so out of here!

Nightime, thankfully, is much cooler-probably because of the 4,000 ft. altitude.  We sat outside and watched this lovely triangle of Jupiter, Venus and Regulus and then the moon!  A lovely goodbye to Lake Powell.  Next time it will be on a boat and in spring or fall.  Summer is unbelievable!

The next day was Father's Day.  We had a nice breakfast, presents and phone calls from all the kids.  Then we took the shuttle down to the Visitor's Center for movies and exhibits.  We snuck Boo in, though again there was a "no pets" sign.  I think people understand that you can't leave a dog in a car in this heat.  112 degrees in the shade today.   We were too hot to eat dinner and went to bed early.  Thank goodness we are at a place with full hookups-air conditioning is essential (and expensive-$40/night and worth every penny).