We spent part of the day navigating to the end of Navajo Canyon and put ashore on a nice beach where we enjoy lunch. Lake Powell has something like 98 canyons which feed into it and there are some who believe it was a huge mistake to flood them for the benefit of the lake. I can see good arguements on both sides of this debate.

Each child rides solo and in tandem with a sibling and also takes a turn at driving the boat. Maya, due to her small size and light weight, invariably produced the most spectacular rides bouncing high off the tube and hanging off the edges. The kids could have kept tubing all night but I decided that about half a dozen major crashes was about the right number to preclude any major brain damage. Jeanine wisely chose to spend much of the day on the shore enjoying a book, time by herself, and adding to her journal.

Tubing is the main attraction and I am schooled in the art of accelerating through turns to get the tube outside the wake. Apparently it is more fun to be violently thrown from the tube at 30 mph than to enjoy a nice ride behind the boat while basking in the sun.

For a big change of pace we rent a 19 foot power boat and set out on Lake Powell which features a shoreline that is longer than the entire west coast of the USA.

We spent part of the afternoon in Page bowling and playing billiards at a local hangout. The kids needed a distraction from all the sightseeing, and a good time was had by all. Later, we made the short drive and hike to Horseshoe Bend, where we were just in time to catch the sunset.

Our tour takes us inside the dam and down to its base where we tour the power generation station. Pictured here are 7 of the 8 generators which produce a maximum of 1,296,000 kilowatts. The concrete arch dam is 710 feet high and contains 4,901,000 cubic yards of concrete. It is 25 feet wide at the crest and 300 feet wide at the maximum base.

Lake Powell on which we will spend the day tomorrow was formed by the Glen Canyon Dam. Despite a lack of general enthusiasm for the idea everyone really enjoyed the tour we took of the dam. This turbine was removed from service two weeks ago and is now on permanent display atop the dam.

I got up early for a sunrise view of Monument Valley before we head to Page, AZ.

The drive to Monument Valley takes several hours and we do not arrive until early evening. Jeanine and the kids are satisfied with the views as we approach the park from a distance. After dropping them off at the Goulding’s Outpost, I venture into the park to catch the final rays of light and a compelling sky.

 
Before departing for Monument Valley we made one last stop to enjoy Tower House. Although visitation is not permitted their is a nice lookout from which to view this iconic dwelling.

Throughout our trip, Jeanine has been doing a lot of macro photography of flowers. While on our hike she captures this simply exquisite photograph of an exotic bee of some sort.

Here is Balcony House as viewed from the other side of the canyon on which it is located. Jeanine and I took a short hike where we enjoyed great vistas of the cliff dwelling and their surroundings.

Egress from Balcony House is through a small and narrow tunnel which require you to crawl on hands and knees to reach the exit.

The circular pits are called kivas which were used for religious ceremonies. They wood have been covered by roofs which were flush to the ground so that surface area could be utilized. Each kiva was constructed with a dedicated air intake to ensure that smoke from the fires within would vent properly out a hole in the middle of the roof. Religious ceremonies were held in the round and were never apapted to the rectangular structures used as living quarters.