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Colorado River: Boat Tour at Horseshoe Bend

USA - horseshoe bend river national park - travel
Take a boat trip down the Colorado River and read about other exciting natural areas in the US state of Colorado.
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Colorado River: Boat Tour at Horseshoe Bend is written by Michael Bo Christensen.

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Magnificent views of the Colorado River

Many Danes have stood and looked down on the Colorado River with the blue boats when they have stood on the edge of Horseshoe Bend, at Page in Arizona in the USA. Down in the depths you can see the boats gliding with the current. The Colorado River at Horseshoe Bend is a major draw.

In recent years, conditions on the Colorado River are improving - to cope with the large number of tourists. This will mean that in the future visitors can walk around the hill, instead of having to cross it and safety fences will be made at parts of the edge.

Once the work is done, even wheelchair users will have the opportunity to enjoy the view. Like that small children will be able to move more safely. The car park and toilets will also be modernized, and an entrance to the park will also be introduced.

Numerous times I have stood on the edge and followed the boats with envious eyes. I therefore got a seat booked through well in advance Wilderness River Adventures and Page. They have one daily trip from April, while in the summer months they have two daily trips. The trip takes four hours and costs about $ 100. Do you have a annual pass to the national parks, however, it is a little cheaper.

USA - Glen Dam nature bridge - travel - Colorado River

Massive control of the Colorado River

I arrived at the venue well in advance and found out that we were going through Homeland Security's security check. It is like having to go through the security check at the airport, however, we had to keep our shoes on.

In a real yellow, American school bus, we were transported through the long tunnel that was originally used in the construction of Glen Dam, from where the trip starts. The extensive control was due to the fact that the dam at Page is terrorist-proof.

Immediately after we were out of the bus again, I started photographing the bridge and the dam from below. It was an impressive and incredibly magnificent sight. Pretty soon I was disturbed by one of the security people in the area who advised me to put on a safety helmet.

Should the accident be out and a rock fall, the security people would be held accountable if they had not informed the visitors about the safety at the dam. We quickly got back in the boats and began to glide slowly down the river.

The boatman turned out to be one Mrs. Larsen. That surname immediately told that she quite certainly had Danish roots. She was a really good guide who had an incredible amount to tell about both the river, its geology and its long history.

Boat Tour - Colorado River

The mass murderer's ferry

Before the dam in Page was built, the Colorado River was very lively. There was only one place that one could cross the long stretch of over 800 kilometers, namely by Lee's ferry. Here a small ferry crossing had been set up, managed by the mass murderer John D. Lee.

He was one of the perpetrators of a horrific massacre in Mountain Meadows, in which Lee and other Mormons killed 148 innocent settlers. Lee was then hidden away and the church gave him money for the ferry.

I asked Mrs Larsen about Lee's role in the massacre and it was clearly not her favorite question. In Utah, the story of Lee, a mass murderer and a then-high-ranking member of the Mormon movement, is still a sore point one would rather not admit.

Find flights to Colorado in the USA here

USA - river nature cliffs - travel - Boat trip

Experience petroglyphs on your boat trip along the river

The boat trip was one of the quieter kinds. There was no ripple or water in the hair. When everyone in the boat was quiet, the faint and gentle sounds of the area were sweet music to the ears and we could immediately sense nature very intensely. Right at the foot of the famous Horseshoe Bend, it was possible to sense the contours of the many people standing high up on the cliffs, who were obviously looking down on us.

When we had come ashore after a very pleasant sailing trip, we immediately noticed the unique petroglyphs carved into the rocks close to the river. It was probably the Navajo or Fremont Indians who were behind these works of art, which always help to impress the many interested visitors in the area. It was hard not to think about what the Indians were trying to tell us with the symbols on the rocks with their drawings.

On the trip down the Colorado River, we met surprisingly many who either fished or sailed in canoes and several times we encountered campsites around the area. The trip ended at the historic Lee's Ferry, where a large group of people were loading boats and equipment for a week of river rafting down to the Grand Canyon.

However, this boat trip must be considered to be quite different and action-packed. By myself, the day before, I had seen the rushing currents of the Colorado River from the helicopter over the Grand Canyon. I really wanted to take that boat trip myself.

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Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River

Attractions and attractions near Horseshoe Bend:

  • The Rainbow Bridge - see the world's largest natural bridge
  • Antelope Canyon - take a day trip to the lower or upper gorge section
  • Glen Canyon Dam - experience the dam that cuts off the water from the Colorado River
  • Lake Powell - overnight in a tent overlooking the lake

About the author

Michael Bo Christensen

Michael Bo Christensen owns the travel site Drivingusa.dk
Michael has a special love for small unknown natural gems, which probably do not remain unknown. He is accustomed to the Indian reservations and has a great knowledge of these.

With his travel site as a back catalog, Michael likes to give lectures on his almost 20 trips to the USA. Over the last 40 years, he has developed a close and loving relationship with the Americans and greatly appreciates their immediate and accommodating manner.

Many self-drive travelers get a hand out of Michael when their itinerary needs to be knitted together, and so do several travel agencies when product developing their travels.

Michael works on a daily basis as a school educator, and in his spare time he swings the sticks in jazz and swing bands and enjoys his family.

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