With the holiday behind us, Mission: Get Windshield Replaced was in full swing again. Adam called as soon as Page Fast Glass opened at 8:30 am. They told us to come over so they could take a look and see if it could possibly be repaired. Hoping this would be the case we were all ready for the day and jumped in the truck to go right over. They were able to patch it somewhat, making it a lot better, but because of the location on our windshield it was still difficult for Adam to see. With so many miles still ahead of us Adam really wanted to replace the windshield. They didn’t have one in stock but told us they could order it and have it tomorrow. This was great news but we had reservations to do the Antelope Canyon Tour the next morning. Adam was telling them this and they immediately offered to drive us there and pick us up so they could replace the windshield at the same time. They also refused to charge us for the time they took to patch it. Now that is service with a smile! We couldn’t believe their kindness and willingness to go above and beyond to help us.
With that settled we continued on to the Carl Hayden Visitor Center to learn about and see the Glen Canyon Dam.
We got there in time to do their first of 3 tours of the day at 10am. They had a junior ranger program here and the girls got their workbooks and started them while we waited for our tour to begin. Our tour guide Laverne announced it was time and we all gathered with the group. Since this was going to take us into a federal building we had to go through security first. The whole group rode an elevator to get to the tunnel that would lead us outside to a view of the dam. Since it was so hot Laverne kept us standing under the door’s overhang while she talked to us. I noticed another woman’s necklace and told her I liked it. We started talking and it turns out she was from Maryland but had grown up in Northeast Philadelphia too and went to the same high school as us. It is a very small world! Once Laverne had finished talking we walked outside and were able to see the large concrete walls that were constructed to create the dam.
On the upper side we were able to see Lake Powell with it's large sand stone walls.
On the lower side we could see the Colorado River and the bridge spanning the canyon.
This bridge did not exist when they started construction of the dam. Vehicles needed to travel 225 miles to get from one side of the canyon to the other. It took about one year to complete construction of the Glen Canyon bridge while work continued on the dam at the same time. It was fascinating to learn how the concrete was poured 24/7 for multiple years to get the job done. We went inside to see the extremely large turbines in action.
After the tour we noticed they had 3 films to see. We watched the first one and then decided to stay for the next one too. At this point we were all ready for lunch. Through a quick internet search we saw there was a creperie (Ella’s favorite!) nearby. We decided to go over there for lunch. Unfortunately as we approached we saw a sign on the door saying they were closed for the holiday. Just around the corner in the same shopping center was another restaurant called Slackers so we went there instead.
Before we left the girls and I went to use the restroom and realized there was an ice cream shoppe on the other side. They excitedly went back to the table to tell Adam of their discovery. Off to the ice cream shoppe we went. This was a double bonus for the girls as they were playing Finding Dory on the TV there. The girls sat and slowly ate their cold treat while they watched. It was the very end of the movie but another movie (Sandlot) immediately started. The girls still wanted to stay but Adam and I told them we would watch that movie another time.
While driving back to our campsite from the dam the views along Lake Powell were spectacular. At one point there was a spot for a lookout. Adam and I got out to admire it and really be able to look around instead of just quickly driving by.
When we got back to the camper we quickly changed into our bathing suits and headed right back out to enjoy some more time in Lake Powell. We stayed at the lake for a few hours and then decided to try our luck at the pool again. Lily’s puppy dog eyes really did a number on the front desk clerk. The key we were given still worked. While we were at the pool we were starting to get hungry but did not want to leave so we ordered nachos to share as a pre-dinner snack. It was so lucky we did because on our way back to the car we saw the park ranger had just brought over three enormous telescopes for everyone to see the moon. He told us that after 9pm we would be able to see some planets. We all took a turn looking through the powerful telescopes at very rare views of the moon. All of us wanted to go back again so we headed to the camper to have dinner and then return. We were able to see Saturn. It looked exactly as you would expect and almost didn’t seem real. We also got to see Jupiter and four of it's moons. While we were there I overheard a gentleman talking to the ranger telling him how he had paid $150 when he was last in Moab to get to see the same view and he could not believe he was getting to do it again and for no cost this time. Wow! What an incredible surprise experience to end our night.
