Bobbi's Birthday at Lake Powell, Utah and Arizona

Just tossing this cute view of Petunia in the back up camera.  She just follows us wherever we go!

Wednesday October 23, 2013   Page, Arizona  7PM

After a nice “free” night of camping at Walmart Super Center in Page, I wake up to a bright blue sky over this high desert area.  My friends, Bobbi and Skye, call this morning to caution me about driving to where they’re boon docking at Lake Powell.  The terrain from the highway to the lake itself is only paved part of the way down to the water and the rest is gravel and sand.  I tell them that I’ve decided not to drive Floribunda to camp with them, but just take Lacy with me in Petunia. 

This is a photo of the morning sky over Walmart parking lot in Page - it's a little dark but the cloud formation is interesting










I remember where the sign for "Lone Rock" is from my trip into Page last night.  It's about ten miles north right off Hwy 89.  Bobbi and I have shared a few phone calls about driving in to the area where they're camped.  From the rest room building to the water is simply a mass of tires tread marks in the small gravel and almost powdery sand.  I really can't tell which path they suggested I follow but there are a few vehicles in front of me so I choose to follow behind them.  I make it to within about 300 yards of the water; then spin spin spin.  Yup, I'm beached - stuck in the sand!  I climb out and can see immediately the best part of valor will be to walk to their campsite at water's edge and when I'm ready to head out, ask for information on how to get out of this rut!

This is the view of Lake Powell as seen from Petunia's view stuck in the sand!  The two campers next to each other are where I'm heading






Bobbi and Skye are avid sportspersons, so this morning they were going for a nice long kayaking tour around the area of Lake Powell known as Lone Rock – because there’s a lone rock in the middle, of course!  Since they, and their dog, Django, live in Kanab, about 60 miles from beautiful Lake Powell, they tell me that they head here about once a month, especially at this time of the year – when it’s still pleasantly warm during the day (70s) and there are significantly fewer tourists.  With them today are Kanab friends, Marcia and Tom, and Sue and Don.

This is Lone Rock to the left in the shot.  If this lake looks like a big river, you're correct.  It meanders through Utah into Arizona to the Glen Canyon Dam at Rainbow Bridge where it then becomes the Colorado River that heads towards the Grand Canyon.

It’s fun catching up with Bobbi and Skye and their friends; they're such enjoyable people.  Bobbi and Skye are transplants form Northern California to Kanab, where they chose to live when they retired, he a Psychologist and she a Marriage and Family Counselor.  Their friends, Sue and Don, are native Utans from Salt Lake City, each about 6th or 7th generation; whose families came West with the pioneers of LDS.  Marcia and Tom lived for years in California in various locations, but came to Kanab about 20 years ago and haven't looked back!

They hadn't told me it is Bobbi's very important 65th Birthday today - there was a nice BD party with 'cake' [coconut / black walnut bread pudding with whipped cream and cointreau]  Yikes!  Delicious!

Bobbi trying on a BD present of hand made apron

Bobbi and Skye and Queen for a Day Bobbi

Sue's dog, Sheila, and Lacy monitoring the mallard action in the water

 That's Sue in the blue tee and Marcia in the background organizing Bobbi's 'throne' 

Tom and Don have no problem with the special birthday cake

At the end of a lovely afternoon with fun people, it's time to tackle the little issue of Petunia.  She kind of looks like a sea turtle on land, scratch, scratch, scratching but going no where!

We all dug and dug, but she didn't budge; so Skye went down and brought his truck camper and a strong rope and towed Petunia to safety

Thanks to all my new friends, we're saved yet another time.  I carefully wend my way off the beach and back to the paved road 'home' to Walmart in Page. 

 But, first we stop at the Glen Canyon / Rainbow Bridge Visitor Center to learn a little more about this monstrous project and it's 50th birthday this year

View of bridge and dam from visitor's center parking lot

Yes, I'd say, something thrown from this height would be monstrous a thousand feet down!  Something like 32 pounds per second per second!

Views from Rainbow Bridge

Sample river boat at visitor's center 

Looking back at Lake Powell from the visitor's center parking lot

After a wonderful day with great friends, here's a shot I call

"Sunset Over Wallmart" - our second night in Page, Arizona

The very same sunset as dazzling Floribuda

That's all for now