Today I drove back to Blanding, UT from Green River to complete my loop. This route involved driving Utah scenic byway 95 through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area which surrounds Lake Powell and is one of my favorite drives. Lake Powell was formed when Glen Canyon Dam was built and it was near the dam that I took my boat trip up Antelope Canyon a few days ago. The area I saw today is about 193 miles up the lake from the dam.
When I discovered this drive, in the mid 90s, the water level in Lake Powell was much higher than more recently and the last time I drove it, in 2009, the beautiful blue water seen from the overlooks in earlier years was replaced by grassy marshes in many places. The prolonged drought in the Colorado basin seems to be easing and water levels are rising again so, while there were still marshes visible, the views are improving. I knew that this drive would be particularly spectacular on the dash-cam and wanted to record it – one of the reasons for driving the 500 mile loop from Blanding to Blanding.
I am pleased to say that the video did, indeed, show the incredible scenery better than the overlook photos and, if you only view one road video this trip, click on the white map marker here.
Before arriving in Blanding I visited Natural Bridges National Monument. I had intended hiking down to one of the three bridges there but was not feeling 100% and decided that a steep hike in 93 degree heat was not wise.
In 2009 there was just a thin stream of water between grassy banks in this area. Water levels have risen but are still 60 feet below their highest.
The green color of the water shows that it’s still very shallow. It was a beautiful blue on a sunny day when i first saw it in the ’90s.
The color of the rock in this area is very intense.
The Colorado river as seen from the bridge visible in the previous image.
Natural bridges are common in this area. The world’s largest, Rainbow Bridge, is further down Lake Powell and this one, Sipapu Bridge in Natural Bridges NM, is the second largest.
This is Owachomo Bridge, the most delicate of the three at Natural Bridges NM