Precious Memories: Ready to go home from Page to Williams, Arizona

RV Trip on Route 66--California to Arizona (Day 7)

Page to Williams, Arizona-October 11, 2020

Considering the crowded situation at Zion National Park and the State of Utah having stricter regulations regarding visitors entering the state during the pandemic, we decided not to continue on our trip up north and start our return trip home instead. In order to have the best visit at Zion National Park, one must get on their shuttles that run on some roads that are closed off to private cars, making it necessary for close contacts with other visitors. Plus parking is very limited inside the park. Just not a pleasant and safe situation that we wanted to deal with at this time. After a few days on the road, we were a little 'homesick' anyway. Time to head home!

Waking up to a sunny, warm morning at the Page-Lake Powell Campground.

This is a campground with about 130 various sizes campsites, including some tent sites. It is conveniently located in the city of Page.

Glen Canyon Dam

A short 15-minute drive from Page took us to the Glen Canyon Bridge and Dam. We have passed by here a couple of times before but never made a stop. Parking is much better than Hoover Dam with easy in-and-out access.

Huge parking lot for all sizes of vehicles.

I thought this rock by the parking lot was quite interesting.

Glen Canyon Dam built between 1956~1966.

This 710 feet dam is built between the sandstone gorges that formed Lake Powell.

Glen Canyon Dam Field Office with the turbine runner.

Visitor Center was closed due to COVID-19.

Guided tours of the dam and facilities would be available if the visitor center is opened.

Display of rock that carries the dinosaur tracks.

Glen Canyon Dam Bridge

The dam is still a controversial subject among the project management and environmental groups.

It's still an amazing structure no matter what.

Final glimpse of the visitor center right next to the rock.

Lake Powell

After leaving Glen Canyon Dam, we continued our drive further up on Hwy 89, then made a turn to Lakeshore Drive which took us for a scenic ride along the lake.

Entering the National Recreation Area using our "America the Beautiful" senior pass.

There are a couple of vista points with adequate parking along the drive.

Lake Powell is being recognized as a premier water-based recreational destination for enthusiasts.

It generally welcomed about 3 million visitors each year to enjoy boating, fishing, hiking, swimming, water-skiing, and camping around this area.

This is a lake that stretches a long way between two states with only a couple of marinas in each state.

Most of the lake is surrounded by steep sandstone walls

making it less accessible except by boats.

Lakeshore Drive lead us to the Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas where a huge complex of hotel and campground was found.

Behind the building with lots of vacant hotel rooms.

Hundreds of houseboats just docked at the marinas.

It should be fun to stay on one of these houseboats for a few days sailing around the lake.

We need to come back for a houseboat tour of the lake in the future.

Then we came back to Page for lunch. Husband has never had a meal from Sonic, so that was where we stopped. Our RV was just too big for the drive-in stall so we had to park it in the back and walked over to one of the stalls to order our meal. Very strange as we were standing there waiting for our order since the restaurant was closed for walk-in or dine-in. I must say that lunch was very good though!

After our lunch inside the RV and a little break, we started our drive backward towards Williams. It's a two hour and 50 minutes drive in mostly desert area. The most scenic part was going through the Antelope Pass where gigantic rock formations created gorgeous sights. Then as we descend from Antelope Pass, there is a vista point where we stopped for a sweeping view of the Marble Canyon.

Stopping at the Antelope Pass Vista Point.

With a view of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Colorado River, and the start of the Grand Canyon spread out in front of us.

Then, we past Cameron, which is the east entrance to Grand Canyon and was closed due to the pandemic, then Flagstaff, back on I-40 west. Got off at Williams and back to our favorite campground, Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and Campground. After hooking up, we decided to take a walk to the hotel ground and the train station before it gets dark.