While driving just above the turn off to Bryce National Park these Antelope were off the side of Highway 89.

Antelope in Southern Utah

There are a lot of great things about living at Lake Powell but being just 2.5 hours from Bryce National Park, Zion National Park, Grand Canyon North and South Rim and many other is one of them. Besides Lake Powell is only 13% of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is 1.7 million acres of wilderness to explore.Some Pronghorn Antelope InfoThe antelope is the fastest land mammal in the world, with sprinting capabilities as fast as 60 mph and sustained speeds of 30 mph for miles!  Although the African Cheetah is often credited with being the fastest, it is only a sprinter with endurance of a few hundred yards.   No other land mammal can keep up with the pronghorn antelope over a long distance.

Overland Canyon Tours in Page, Arizona, has a classy new website up and running. Check it out at Overland Canyon Tours–(except for the next few hours if you are on Canyon Country internet access- it is not updated yet)

Overland provides a unique tour experience for our Lake Powell area guests as they are the only company with permits to Canyon X and Cardiac Canyon - both slot canyons above Antelope Canyon.  Charly Moore has made a living sharing his love of our area with folks from all over the globe.

Overland also offers tours around Lake Powell, Vermilion Cliffs and The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument area as well as multiple day or single day photographic excursions.

My son, David, worked for Charly several summers doing tours and art gallery framing during which time I made regular trips to Antelope Canyon, and of course, took our out of town friends there as well. David also designed the company logo and the new webpage.

Be sure to check out the slide show of photos under each of the different tours as well as the gallery on the front page.

Overland Canyon Tours is located in Thunderbird Art Gallery (Charly’s other business!) at 48 South Lake Powell Blvd, Page, AZ, or call 928-608-4072 for reservations.

Another Lake Powell Mondays Post!

Links

Overland Canyon Tours

Fan Up Overland Canyon on Facebook

RankinStudio Website

Fan Up Rankinstudio on Facebook

The Lake Powell Concert Association presents Round The House at the C.A.B this Friday, January 29th, featuring traditional Irish music

From Round The House MySpace Music

“Round the House presents a mixture of songs and energetic Irish traditional dance tunes (jigs and reels, and hornpipes, just to name a few). Round the House brings authentic Irish music, with a twist of Tucson, to stages throughout the southwest. Their 2004 cd was named best new release by Tucson readers and was featured on NPR All Songs Considered website. They are five-time winners of the TAMMIE for best traditional/ethnic band in Tucson. Round the House is based in Tucson Arizona, but has played in New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and California in the past couple of years. ”

Come Join In The Fun at the C.A.B.

Cultural Arts Building, Page High School, 434 S. Lake Powell Blvd, Page, AZ

$12 adults, $11 seniors, $5 age 17 and under

Tickets are available at the Chamber of Commerce and at the Box Office

Another Lake Powell Fridays Post

Price Reduced on this beautiful Lake Powell View Home in Page, AZ.  Situated next to the Lake Powell National Golf Course and the Page Rim Trail this home has breathtaking views of Lake Powell. Come sit on the porch and see what you’ve been missing!

CLICK PHOTO FOR FULL LISTING

Paria Home Lake Powell Area

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Page AZ Real Estate MLS Search

Lake Powell Utah Real Estate MLS Search

Local flash flood video shot by David Rankin at the Lake Powell area is going to be featured again on the History Channel. On Tuesday and Wednesday the 26th and 27th, The History Channel is showing a new How The Earth Was Made - Death Valley.  Around 40 seconds of David’s flash flood footage is on the program.

You can check out Davids Website at Rankin Studio

From The History Channel Website:

“It is not only a place of natural splendor but a geologic treasure trove as well. Hidden in the sediments of the rocks in its walls is evidence of the coldest time on our planet–ironic in one of the hottest places on Earth. Death Valley is literally being pulled apart and the floor is collapsing and lower than sea level. Here and across much of Nevada is the Basin and Range province–a series of ridges of mountain ranges that are being pulled apart and the basins between them getting wider and flat as they fill with eroded sediment. “

We are in the middle of a batch of fast moving storms which have brought rain and some light snow to the Lake Powell area.  While driving to Page, AZ yesterday the sun was shining and there was no breeze at all leading to a crystal clear lake. The photo below links over to our media section where the whole set of pictures is.

Click on the photos for the full size.

Lake Powell In January

Most of the photos are of the Wahweap Marina and Stateline Marina areas. The lake is so crystal clear in some of the photos it is difficult to distinguish what is water and what is land or what is boat and what is reflection. Enjoy!

For information on living at Lake Powell - Contact Me by E-mail Or Call 928-691-6444 Your Lake Powell Realtor

FHA, which insures close to 6 million loans in our country, is tightening some standards, while leaving others alone. Several months ago the FHA reserves, which congress has mandated to be 2%, fell lower than .5% due largely to delinquent and defaulted mortgages.

One of the items not being affected is how much down payment a buyer needs to have to get a FHA loan. It has been, and is staying at 3% of the purchase price. A private lender would require anywhere from 15% to 25% down payment making FHA backed loans a very reasonable way to get in a home.

With FHA currently responsible for @40% of all new loan originations, understanding what has been changed is important.

• Seller Contributions: Seller contributions towards the buyer have been cut in half, from a maximum of 6% to 3% of the homes value.  Seller contributions frequently occur to help the buyer pay closing costs.
• Credit Score: If a borrower’s FICO score is above 580, they qualify for a 3.5% down payment. Below 580, borrowers will have to put at least 10% down. Previously the credit score of the buyer was not a factor in the loan.
• Loan Insurance: FHA mortgage insurance premium is jumping from 1.75% to 2.25% of the value of the loan. This cost is paid upfront and should not be a deal breaker for most borrowers.

FHA hopes the new standards will help better qualify borrowers while not causing so many changes it would damage the housing market.

Bottom line for borrowers: The cost of getting a FHA loan just went up, but not enough to discourage serious buyers.

The new changes will not go into effect until summer.

With the FHA standards staying the same for several more months and the first time homebuyers $8,000 tax credit, this is a great time to look at buying a Lake Powell Home.

Keep in mind to qualify for the Homebuyers Tax Credit, the home must go under contract by April 30, 2010!

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Page AZ Real Estate MLS Search

Lake Powell Utah Real Estate MLS Search