We made a point to get out of the MH early hoping to get an early tour of the Upper Antelope Canyon. The local Navajo’s kept telling us that the best and perhaps only way to get a good tour was through the local tour companies set up in Page.
Well we took our chances, arriving at the Canyon entrance at 9:05 am. The girl at the window told us we would be in time for the 8:45 am tour. Excuse me, but it’s 9:05 am I state. Nope, it’s 8:05 am says the girl. OOOPHS, Arizona, although on Mountain time does not recognize daylight savings time so it was indeed 8:05 am. Another adjustment to make while in Arizona. We did purchase the tour tickets at the gate and were all set for the first tour of the morning. So much for the Nay-Sayers.
Antelope Canyon drains from the south into Lake Powell. There are two separate canyons an Upper and Lower Antelope. Each contains hidden “slots’ carved into swirling Navajo Sandstone. The slot portions of the Antelope Canyon are so narrow that in places a person can stretch out his arms and touch both sides.
Though dry most of the year, Antelope Canyon runs and sometimes floods, with water after the rains. In fact, 15 years ago there was a torrential rain storm fifty miles up from the canyon and when the water came rushing down into the canyon it killed 12 tourists, so now no one can enter the canyon without tour guide.
A long time ago, herds of pronghorn antelope roamed freely in Antelope canyon, which explains the canyon’s English name. The canyon is sacred ground to the Navajo Indians and it is expected that all who enter are quiet and respectful.
Entering the canyon we were mesmerized by the swirling colors and the sunlight casting shadows on the spiraling openings. Our Navajo tour guide, Irene was very excited to show us the inside of Antelope Canyon. But first, she made sure everyone’s camera was on the appropriate setting for the venue. Ron had already taken a few pictures but they were fuzzy – wrong setting. Irene grabbed our camera and started shooting, then she took other people’s cameras and did the same. She wanted to make sure we all got the best possible pictures in this spectacular place.
As we walked through the canyon Irene told us that the land and canyon had belonged to her Great- Grandfather who would go to the canyon to meditate. It was his place to find peace and harmony with the earth.
As the years passed and as younger generations grew older they determined Antelope Canyon would be a great money-making tourist attraction. Irene’s Great - Grandfather was upset to think his sacred canyon would be trampled by people who did not have the same deep-seated spiritual beliefs that he had. His Grandson won out and opened Antelope canyon to tourists for a fee. Until the day he died Irene’s Great-Grandfather was angry at his Grandson.
And in the roof of the canyon is the image of her Great-Grandfather’s heart who is buried in the canyon.
Continuing through the canyon the light off the sandstone reflected pale pinks, purples, reds and yellows to bright oranges.
Too beautiful to imagine and although pretty in pictures still the essence of the beauty is left in the canyon itself.
All the colors captured in these photos!!!!!!
Once through the canyon we walked out onto a dry river bed. Irene explained to us that the river bed remains dry until a rainstorm upstream provides significant water to fill the river bed and actually fill the canyon with water as high as 30 feet. She told us that three weeks prior a rainstorm upstream had sent water into the canyon again. It was rushing so fast without warning that the guides had to throw the children onto the cliff so they wouldn’t drown. Everyone got out but were caked with mud and one tour guide was actually washed out of the cave but did survive. She told us that now all tour guides get nervous when they hear of rain upstream.
After her story it would cause one to pause and pay attention to the weather upstream before planning to tour Antelope Canyon. We did the return trip back through Antelope Canyon and the light was already casting different shadows on the walls. Once again, awe-inspiring and too beautiful to describe fully.
We were so thrilled to have gotten to Antelope Canyon before all the crowds. We were afforded the opportunity to see the canyon as it was meant to be – quiet and serene.
After completing our tour, with probably one of the best tour guides around, we went back to the MH to regroup. Since we hadn’t reset our clocks it was only 10:30 am. Lots of day left to do other things. We opted out of the lower canyon tour based on Irene’s evaluation. We had seen the best and would leave it at that. Maybe a return trip will be in order for the future.
After lunch we took a tour of the Glen Canyon Dam. The Glen canyon Dam is the second highest concrete-arch dam in the U.S. . Hoover Dam is 16 feet higher. It took from 1957 to 1964 to complete. Glen Canyon Dam’s primary purpose is to provide water to the surrounding communities but a secondary benefit is the electricity it provides to those same communities. Page, Arizona is the town that was built because of the dam construction and housed the workers and families at that time.
During construction of the dam, workers had to drive heavy equipment two- hundred miles to get to the other side of the dam – very costly and time consuming. Workers, on foot had to cross a suspension bridge that was unsteady and 800 feet above the canyon floor. So the construction of the Glen Canyon Bridge, the second highest steel-arch bridge in the U.S. took only two years to build and was completed in 1957
One of the concrete buckets that held 24 tons of concrete. Total concrete used to build the dam an astounding 400,000 tons.
Inside the Power Generating Station at the Dam
The water being held back by the dam on Lake Powell. The white ring represents where the water level was. It is now at 76% capacity due to the long drought in the area.
Then it was back to the MH to plan our next adventure. Certainly, the Tremblay’s could never do only one or two things in a day!!!! So after dinner it was off to the Horseshoe Bend Overlook. It didn’t seem like it would be a tough hike – only 1.25 miles round trip.
The Horseshoe Bend in the Colorado River with the Sun setting in the Background
We watched the sunset behind the mountain and made our way back up the trail. Yep, UP – again. it wouldn’t have been so tough but we were walking in beach sand in the middle of the desert.
We caught a picture of the beautiful sky then headed back to the CG for some R&R after a very busy day. Our next stop is Monument Valley, Arizona.
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