From Carmel Junction, UT to Camp Verde, AZ, it’s almost a straight shot south after turning east for about 60 miles on US 89. Along the way, it passes through the southern part of the Grand Staircase National Monument. On either side of the road there were some small red colored hillocks, shrubs, pinion trees and juniper trees. The familiar red tinged mesa was in the distance.

Just south of the Utah – Arizona border, we took a break and stopped at Glen Canyon Dam and the Carl Hayden Visitor Center. (If you are in this part of the AZ, we recommend stopping.) The dam is an amazing feat of engineering. It is a concrete arch dam and is the second tallest in the U.S. (Hoover Dam is the tallest.). It supplies water and hydroelectric power to 6 states: AZ, CO, NV, NM, UT, & WY. The dam created Lake Powell which is the “second largest man made lake”. (Lake Mead is the largest.) Sadly, due to years of drought, the dam is only at 31% capacity and you can easily see the “bathtub rings” around the shore of the lake showing how high it was at different stages. The good news is that the lake is higher than last year and is expected to rise to 40% capacity with this year’s snow melt.

After this informative and relaxing stop, we continued on our way. We thoroughly enjoyed the views, and safely arrived at our friends’ home in Camp Verde.