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    <tr><td class="DateDiv">September 12, 2007</td></tr>
    <tr><td class="TitleDiv">Cruising inside a canyon</td></tr>
    <tr><td class="StoryDiv">

<p>The cruise on Lake Powell was scheduled to leave Wahweap Marina at 8 am, but they asked us to be at Lake Powell Resort at 7:30. At the beginning we tried really hard to find something to enjoy about the cruise. We carefully listened to stories about electricity generation facilities like Glen Canyon Dam and Navajo Generating Station. We learned that the white lines on the rocks indicate the water level in the past. The level keeps going down because of contractual agreements to release a certain amount of water downstream. A piece of stone resembling <a href="http://diary.marginean.net/060905.html">Devil's Tower</a> kept us barely entertained for a while. The cruise turned more interesting after some more rocks got out of the water to say hi. And it became really exciting when the ship entered the narrow canyon leading to the Rainbow Bridge National Monument.</p>

<p>After a relatively easy and eventless hike, we reached the Rainbow Bridge. Majestic is a good word to describe the bridge, but insufficient. It is incredible how the nature created such a <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.077136,-110.964505&t=k&z=18">huge and perfect arch of stone</a>. We just had 20 (maybe 30) minutes to spend next to it - we didn't want the ship to leave without us. Once we got to the ship, they fed us a sandwich, the regular potato chips, some cookies, an apple and an energy bar. </p>

<p>The return was painful - we went from exciting to interesting then to plain dull in about 1 hour. The rest of the cruise was dedicated to hiding from the sun. This was the hottest day we had - the sun was cruel all the way, but it got really annoying during the early afternoon. We felt releaved when finally docked - the cruise was nice overall, but we didn't think it was worth as much as we paid for it.</p>

<p>We rushed into the car and drove toward the Monument Valley, where we were hoping to catch the sunset. There were a few cute stones on the way, but nothing comparable to what we already saw in the canyons. The same goes for Monument Valley and the Mexican Hat - they are ok and it's nice driving through, but they are not destinations. After a short adventure caused by the Google Maps directions, we finally got to the hotel. Even though we moved mostly by ship or car and only hiked for about an hour, this was one of the most tiring days we had during this vacation.</p>

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  Photos[i++]="Wahweap Marina"

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  Photos[i++]="The stones tell the story of a deeper lake"

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  Photos[i++]="Remember Devil&#39s Tower?"

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  Photos[i++]="Stones lining up for our viewing pleasure"

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  Photos[i++]="Same Devil&#39s Tower look-alike in the background"

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  Photos[i++]="This window was named for a geologist who&#39s name I cannot recall"

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  Photos[i++]="... where things turned more exciting"

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  Photos[i++]="Only part of Rainbow Bridge is visible from here"

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  Photos[i++]="Rainbow Bridge in its full splendor"

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  Photos[i++]="On our way back..."

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  Photos[i++]="... cruising around similar stones."

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  Photos[i++]="The same window from a slightly different angle"

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  Photos[i++]="We called this &#39The British Hat&#39"

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  Photos[i++]="In the Monument Valley right on time for sunset"

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<tr><td class="StoryDiv">
This is part of our trip to several canyons:
<UL>
<LI><a href = "0908.html">Bryce Canyon</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "0909.html">Zion Canyon</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "0910.html">Grand Canyon - South Rim</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "0911.html">Grand Canyon - North Rim</a></LI>
<LI>Lake Powell</LI>
<LI><a href = "0913.html">Needles District in Canyonlands</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "0914.html">Arches</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "0915.html">Bridges and Capitol Reef</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "0916.html">Salt Lake City</a></LI>
</UL>
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