OMG! Antelope Canyon 10/24/2013

We were able to get a reservation for the 9:30 tour of Antelope Canyon, so we took it. Antelope canyon is a slot canyon near Page Arizona. It is located on Navajo land, and so access is via a tour offered by Navajo concessioners. We arrived early to check in, and thankfully so, because we discovered that we had come to the wrong concessioner. Our transportation to the canyon was an open air conveyance, something like picnic table benches attached to the back of a pickup truck, where you sit facing out. The ride on the pavement wasn't bad, but once we hit the sandy river bed, things got much bumpier. When we departed, it was about 45 degrees, and cloudy, making for a chilly ride.

But OMG!! We have traveled all over, and never seen anything like this. Our guide, Ardin (not sure of the spelling), was wonderful. He explained that originally the canyon was open to the public, but the Navajos would have to regularly go out and clean up trash and graffiti. So they made access only through these tours to preserve this wonder.

There were ten people in our group, and Ardin walked us through the canyon pointing out places where a particularly effective photo shot could be taken, and explaining why certain twists of rock looked the way they did.
It was amazing to hear that flash floods carry silt from the dry river bed we drove in on, and fill the canyon up, many places by up to 10 feet in depth from one flood. That same silt may be Water has sculpted the rock into fantastic twists, turns, and corkscrews, with swirls and patterns that are enhanced by the shadowy light that filters in from up above. To walk through Antelope Canyon is to walk through a miraculous art gallery.

After our trek out to Antelope Canyon, we returned to the trailer for lunch. We set out for Glen Canyon Recreation area, where we checked out the lodge and marina. A large party boat was being removed from the lake (Powell), and towed away by a tractor that was dwarfed by the enormous boat. I walked out onto the bridge that spans the Colorado River and got some great shots. Vertigo got the better of Ray when a few large tractor trailers came whizzing by and caused movement of the bridge.

Then it was time for more mundane pursuits, i.e. laundry.