Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Arizona Adventure - Part 3: Horseshoe Bend





A mile or two below the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Arizona, the Colorado River takes a big 180-degree turn.  It's called Horseshoe Bend, and it's one of the most photographed landscape features of the American southwest.


Page sprang up in the late 1950s as a housing community for workers and their families during construction of the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River, which created Lake Powell upstream from the Grand Canyon.  (The Hoover Dam and Lake Mead are downstream from the Grand Canyon.)

The overlook for Horseshoe Bend is a 3/4-mile hike on a sandy trail from the parking lot, up and over a big hill.





Along the rim of the overlook, there's a strong barrier fence that runs for only about 100 feet.  





Beyond that, there's nothing between you and a 1,000 foot drop to the river.









Look closely and you can see kayaks, tents, and people down there.




The fenced platform isn't large enough to contain all the tourists, so they spread out along the rim . . .





                                                    and climb perilously out on the ledge . . .























                                                          posing for selfies and portraits . . .









Just watching them made me extremely nervous.  Fortunately, nobody slipped while we were there.

If you would like to see these images in a larger format, please visit my photography website, Todos Juntos Photography, by clicking here.

Next up:  Wire Pass and White Pocket Fiasco



No comments:

Post a Comment