July 28 - Glen Canyon Dam & Cottonwood Canyon

Early Saturday morning on Romana Mesa above Lake Powell       37.0600, -111.3700 

The trails through the Smoky Mountains I visited to the north have coal deposits that burn underground, producing occasional visible wisps of smoke. I took Nipple Creek trail back to civilization — a rough track that degenerated into just a rocky dry riverbed.

The Glen Canyon Dam creates Lake Powell upriver in the Colorado. This dam, built in 1964, took until 1983 to fill the artificial lake to its current level.

Heading west, I visited Paria  — a ghost town, and also a nearby movie set, used extensively to film westerns through the 50's and 60's. In 1999, the BLM decided this decaying movie set was unsafe, and tore it down. They are now constructing a replica of the old movie set - pictured below.

Finally, I headed north on the colorful Cottonwood Canyon Road, which passes near Grosvenor Arch.