https://grandcanyon.com/planning/east-planning/horseshoe-bend-the-intimate-grand-canyon-experience/
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/62878
Zoom Zoom and I stopped here to view this natural wonder. First off, we pulled up to the new structure where we paid our fee to enter the area. The parking went seamlessly. The volunteer that took our fee told us exactly where to park. He also told us dogs were allowed on the trail. We decided Abby needed a break from the RV. BIG mistake. No matter how much water we carry, she will not drink on a hike. Also, the trial is paved! Great for people, but terrible for paws since the temperatures can get quite high! I ended up carrying her until we got to the observation point and then carried her back to the RV.
The “bend” in the canyon was created by the Colorado River as it made its way to the sea. Around 5 million years ago the Colorado Plateau uplifted leaving rivers that meandered across the landscape trapped! Of course trapped water takes the path of least resistance during rainfall and so the river carved its way through the sandstone escarpment. Looking over the rim, it drops a mere 1,000 feet to the river! The Glen Recreation Area, with the other surrounding parks, cities and Navajo Nation have made changes to the area to make the trail to the bend ADA compliant. The trail is 1.5 miles round-trip on a completely flat surface. Two structures for shade have been erected and a viewing area complete with a railing opened January 2020. As always, if you are going to take this little hike, BRING WATER and wear the proper foot gear! Sunblock is a good idea too, since this wonder is located in the desert!
Abby hates to have her picture taken!
Once Zoom Zoom and I got to the rim, we were simply astonished by the beauty of the bend. The color of the water is an emerald green. I thought people had been throwing trash over the rim because I saw these tiny little “bottles.” Then I thought, oh, those are tiny little paper boats that kids made and threw over! Nope! The tiny floating objects were kayaks! You can kayak down the river here. There is company that drops you off 10 miles up river and picks you up at a designated spot! We are adding this to our “Bucket List.”
The dots are kayaks.
Porta-potties.
After viewing the bend, we headed back to the RV. The brochure says the path is all a flat surface, it is. What the brochure doesn’t say is it is all downhill to the bend along a flat surface and uphill back to the parking lot. The temperature the day we were there was right around 97 degrees – of course it was a “dry heat.” We needed our water for sure!
