It doesn’t look scary in this picture, but it was – at least to Blue Cat. This is the Glen Canyon Dam, which holds back the Colorado River and helps form Lake Powell. Amazing engineering, yes, but scary? Let Blue Cat explain.
Blue Cat was taking a trip to Arizona to meet a new dog friend (Jasper the Aspiring Service Dog – but that’s another story) and on the way he visited a few interesting places. While he had fun at Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon, the Glen Canyon Dam was more of a study in terror. And that’s because Blue Cat is scared of heights.
The drop from the top of the dam to the river (on the low side) is 710 feet (that’s 220 meters for you modern measures) and the viewing area is very close to the edge. The picture above was taken from the edge of the visitor center parking lot, while the one below was from a view port on the bridge that crosses the river downstream. One false move and Blue Cat would have been moving at terminal velocity on his way to a watery grave. And probably a river-level tour of the Grand Canyon.
Here’s what the bridge looks like – as you can see Blue Cat was more comfortable being in front of the camera since there was a lot of ground between him and the drop to the river.
What Blue Cat learned, though, is that you can still enjoy something even if it really frightens you. On this trip he learned that:
- You can see some amazing things if you just open your eyes,
- Heights are ok if you stay away from the edge, and
- Engineering can do almost anything, especially if there’s lots of rocks and dirt nearby.
He’s also thankful for a scribe that takes him to neat places and keeps a firm grip on him.
How about you? Tell us your story of overcoming a scary situation in the comments below.
(C) William P Doyle, Jr 2021
Blue Cat's View 