Epic Alaska Adventure - Spring 2024
| << Leg 22 - Oakland/San Francisco, CA to Rancho Murieta, CA | Trip Home | Leg 24 - Page, AZ to Elk City, OK >> |
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Leg Stats
- Time Enroute: 3.5 hrs
- Distance (direct): 469nm
- Distance (actual): 514nm
- Fuel Used: 43.7 gal
We were all out of friends and family to visit on the west coast, so earlier in the week I had begun to plot potential stops for our final legs of the trip. I decided that it might be nice to sneak in one more (bonus) scenic stop. If possible, it would be nice to visit Page, Arizona and hopefully tour Antelope Canyon, which I had always wanted to see and was somewhere we missed in 2021. Fortunately I was able to book a tour on the day we would be there, so our next stop was set.
Page was a good distance away, but Katherine had Wednesday off of work, and I decided to take a half day from my job, so we had plenty of flying time available to make a long leg. Since the weather would be clear and the winds aloft more or less calm, I decided that we could go up and over the Sierras near Lake Tahoe, which was only a bit north and kept us over a road. We went to the airport, fueled up, said our goodbyes, and departed.
I started climbing north to get to 9500ft before heading east over the Sierras.
We got to altitude and headed east. I enjoyed the relatively smooth ride and mountain views, while Katherine got some more work done.
Everything was pretty smooth as we passed Lake Tahoe and got into Nevada.
Our route took us north of the large MOA complexes and over the Nevada high desert.
Unfortunately this portion of the leg was pretty miserable. Although the skies were clear and the winds aloft remained calm, the afternoon thermals were brutal and unrelenting. With the extreme shortage of good airports for an overnight stop along the way, I decided we had to press on. Although I would call it moderate turbulence at worst, it just didn't quit. Everyone (including and especially Magic) was feeling a little green as we approached Utah and Arizona. We flew by the very pretty Zion National Park, but our enjoyment was definitely muted by the awful ride quality.
We landed in Page over the river, not a moment too soon.
We quickly taxied to the FBO. Everyone felt immediately better to be on the ground, and Magic bounced back very quickly.
The FBO guys brought our rental car around to the airplane and we were quickly on the way to our hotel.
Right after checkin we stashed Magic and went to get some dinner. Afterwards, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and visited the gorgeous Horseshoe Bend.
We planned to stay 2 nights in Page, but early on, I decided the weather for Friday was very unsuitable to continue our journey east, so I extended our stay through Saturday morning.
We had a great time in Page, but the highlight had to be our guided tour of Lower Antelope Canyon, which was well worth the cost. (It is only available by guided tour)
The canyon is absolutely spectacular.
Later that evening we visited a Native American (Navajo) song and dance show.
We were very fortunate to do the tour when we did, as the canyon was closed on the following days due to the flash flooding caused by the afternoon thunderstorms.
On Friday, we made the two hour drive to Monument Valley, but unfortunately we were rained out, as the park was closed due to flooding.
The weather was improving for our two hour drive back, so we enjoyed the scenery and had some pretty good burritos at a local spot.
Later that evening we made the short little hike down to the Glen Canyon Dam overlook, which is a pretty cool area itself.
Leg Photos
Trip Leg Navigation
<< Leg 22 - Oakland/San Francisco, CA to Rancho Murieta, CA
