Thurs, Oct 21, 2010

Thursday, October 21, 2010

The weather appeared quite pleasant when we woke up.  The clouds were wispy and there were patches of blue sky appearing. However, when we watched the weather channel there was a chance of rain and there had been copious amounts of rain in some areas.  We decided against the Shafer Trail since it was at the end of the trail that the possibly impassible slick rock climb was located. Oh well… on another trip. 

It would be all paved roads today so we set the destination to Lake Powell or more specifically Defiance House Lodge at Bullfrog.  This would mean a picturesque drive followed by a thirty minute ferry ride across Lake Powell.  We certainly didn’t feel slighted to make this route change. 

After a pretty good full breakfast at the motel we left under partly cloudy skies and mild temperatures in the upper forties.  We like to make a puppy stop pretty soon after we leave in the mornings so Paris & Dodger have a change to run around and stretch their legs.  This was a striking spot overlooking a red rock canyon filled with bright yellow cottonwoods.  Paris went immediately on the hunt climbing to the top of a large sandstone rock where she could scan the rocks below her.  Dodger was content to stand by me glancing up at her to see if she spotted anything.  A slight breeze must have carried some “critter” smell to their waiting senses because almost in unison they both ran down the rocks a short distance to smell the same spot on the rocks. 

Back on the road it was just a short while before we made a stop to admire Wilson Arch.  It’s a huge arch in a massive sandstone ridge and sits right beside the highway so no walking was even required.

The ferry runs from Halls Crossing to Bullfrog on the even hour and we would need to be there by 1:30 to be able to make the 2:00 crossing.  This meant we had about an hour and a half at most for stops or side trips.  We also needed to make a short grocery stop because the Defiance House Lodge closes their lobby and restaurant for the winter months and there would be no other services available except a convenience store and gas station. 

We did make a short drive up a well drained dirt road just north of Monticello, UT so we could do a panorama photo of the Abajo Mountains.  The sky had cleared around the Abajos with the exception of a strip of beautifully white clouds hugging the top of the mountains.

Then we had a little excitement.  As we rounded a curve on Hwy 191 south of Monticello Recapture Resevoir came into view and we were remarking about how beautiful it was when I noticed something moving in the water about 100 yards from the shore.  My first thought was some geese were probably taking off but it was six deer swimming.  The reservoir is part of a large canyon and there were barriers along the highway so we could not pull off to get a photo but had to drive to the other side of the reservoir.  It would be a long swim and they swam in a small circle several times before it looked like they would return to the shore where they entered the water.  Unfortunately two guys in a pickup truck saw them and drove to that spot on the shore so they reverse course again and were headed in our general direction.  We had already decided to leave just in case they spotted us and began to swim circles again.  They began to swim toward the rock dam and so the guys jumped back in their truck and drove toward them on the dam.  They were swimming along the dam and soon saw the truck and swam back out.  Luckily the guys could not pull off on the dam/highway either and traffic forced them to go on.  The deer climbed out onto the rocks slipping and climbing then returned back to the water and seeing no good alternatives returned to the rocks again.  After several wild attempts the largest doe made her way up to the highway barriers and the others followed.  She was large enough to be seen over the barriers and the traffic stopped as she cleared the barrier and they made their way across the highway, jumped the last barrier and were on solid ground again.  I’m not sure why they entered the reservoir at the widest point to try a crossing but we were glad to see it work out after some anxious moments.

Back on the road again we made that necessary grocery fuel stop in Blanding, UT and continued on our way. The dramatic “slot” cut into the red rock is always a thrill.  You’re on a high plain, enter the slot and just out the other side is a breathtaking view of the Comb Wash far below you. 

We put some miles behind us before stopping for a few quick photos of Castle Rock Ruins. It’s always amazing that they have managed to partially survive at least for hundreds of years.

As we got close to Lake Powell we felt comfortable making a longer stop and chose an interesting area of rock formations to spend some time and make some photographs while enjoying a short hike.  Fortunately for me, the clouds had returned but made the light perfect for shooting this particular type of sandstone rocks with ridges and patterns in every direction. 

All along the drive it was obvious we had made the right decision in staying away from the dirt roads.  There had been massive rains the night before but the paved road drive was very nice and it’s still easy to walk the slick rock areas.

We arrived at the ferry landing with about 30 minutes to spare.  In the car in front of us we met a couple on “holiday” from England.  It was their first trip to the area and we had plenty of time to talk about their travels and our travels.  They had a few questions about how to work some controls on their rented car and we were able to take care of that as well.  We enjoyed visiting with them on the ferry ride across the lake and remarkably they had no trouble understanding our southern accent. 

At Bullfrog they followed us to the “fueling” station and then they continued their journey and we checked into our room.  Since we would not be able to take the dirt road known as the Burr Trail we decided to drive up the road to the top of the red rock cliffs just north of the motel.  At the top we took another nice hike before heading back to the motel.  Then it was time for a pot of coffee and to just sit on our porch and enjoy the view of Lake Powell and marina.  For the first time on our trip we had a spectacular sunset.  It was a perfect ending to a very nice day.

We are well tonight and hope you all are too! 

Peace, Hope & Love,

Donna, Charles, Paris & Dodger