June 26, 2021
It was a very chilly night in Flagstaff! We traded in “sheet weather” for “blanket weather” overnight!
It was 73 degrees at 10 AM when we left Flagstaff. We drove north on Highway 89 through the Navajo Nation. Along the way we saw lots of signage/billbards about “Masking Up and Social Distancing”. We did see a few vendors set up along the road but many locations were closed. Not too many shoppers today! While Ken did the driving, I kept busy snapping photos of various rock formations and mountains.
Continuing north we saw more of the beautiful red mountains that make up the Navajo Nation.
We passed the Cameron Suspension Bridge that is no longer open to traffic. Built in 1911, the bridge formerly carried U.S. Route 89, which begins in Flagstaff and leads to the Utah border northwest of Page. The original Cameron Suspension Bridge remains Arizona’s oldest suspension bridge and only one of two in the entire state.
As we approached the Utah State Line, we saw numerous cars parked in front of the “Welcome to Utah” Sign. Tourists were congregating around the sign to get their pictures with the sign. Tourism is popular in Utah!
Further up the road, we entered the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell area. The Glen Canyon Dam rises 710 feet and is the second highest dam in the US behind the Hoover Dam. The Dam was constructed on the Colorado River to provide water and power to the west. Lake Powell is formed by the waters of the Colorado River behind the Glen Canyon Dam. Lake Powell has 1,960 miles of winding shoreline (when full) and 186 mile-length make it the second-largest reservoir in the United States.
We did see a few boats on the lake today and even passed a houseboat on the highway!
In Utah, the Route 89 scenery alternates between pretty and mundane with a few interesting sandstone formations mixed in with desert shrub and grasslands. As we kept driving, we encountered rain and a duststorm. Luckily, the duststorm was short lived. But, rain and dust combine to make mud! Will the RV be covered with mud splats?
At the end of our day, the colors of the landscape became more saturated — a natural welcome to southwest Utah and our destination for the night – Kanab Utah.
In Kanab, we checked into the Grand Plateau RV Resort. Since it was a new RV park, all the amenities were top notch and immaculate! To top it off, we had a fabulous view out our front window! And best of all…no mud on the RV!
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