Colorado - a closer inspection.

Today was really a stopover on the way to Monument Valley. No sense though in ignoring interesting things along the way, most of which revolved around the Colorado river. Laid back start - usual run & walk combo finishing with breakfast at the campsite shop. A sharp shower while eating was a foretaste of what was to come. Took a last look at the view and headed off to replenish our cookie supply. Heading out of the park we were faced with yet another thunderstorm. Some superb lightning. Cleared as we headed down of the Kaibab Plateau & as we descended the temp rose 14° to 30° in the space of 10 mins. The next 50 miles of driving was your archetypal mid-west desert road - long, straight and surrounded by scrub bush & ochre sand. Impressive & boring at the same time. Made it to Lee's ferry without falling asleep at the wheel. This was the historic crossing of the Colorado river. Expected this to be the closest we'd get to it. Probably was but you wouldn't know it - massive cliffs & the dinghies below were tiny. Frighteningly some visitors have to have a sign to warn you not to jump off. Just a couple of miles from Page was Horseshoe Bend - a view of the Colorado looping around an outcrop. Seemed a good stop off before checking in. Shouldn't be too busy - an offbeat sight. 5 coaches in the car park suggested otherwise. Numerous warnings about hiking in the desert made this seem far more risky than expected. The heat didn't help - though what can you expect in the desert? Thunder clouds unsurpringly were looming. Took our time & drank lots of water. Considering some of the bloaters coming back it seemed unthinkable that we'd struggle. What was a struggle was the masses of people & the stupid things they insisted on doing. Pictures taken, view admired - exit stage left. Found the hotel, checked in, found the pool & cooled off. That only lasted until the phone call to the hire company. 30 mins of language based confusion typified by him thinking the wind screen had been damaged by a horse & cart - how can the phrase 'a lorry / wagon' be mis-understood. Brief excursion into Page consisted of a quick visit to the Glen Canyon Dam & a steak meal served by possibly the squeakiest waitress on earth.Read more