Wednesday, April 4th. WOW!! Mother Nature is amazing. First stop, Antelope Canyon and a tour of the Upper slot canyon. They say it is one of the most photographed areas on earth. It is on Navajo land and they have done a great job of protecting the natural wonder from people, and people from the rages of nature. They don't run tours during monsoon season (July, August, September) as flash floods often fill the canyon.
Our guide, JR, was very knowledgeable (he spoke some Chinese, Japanese and Korean - and possibly more) and at unique photo spots helped everyone capture that special picture, whether with their phones or with their cameras. You couldn't help but snap away every two or three steps, as you were constantly presented with different angles and images. The canyon itself is only about a half mile long, but with everyone stopping and gazing and photographing, it takes a full hour to get through to the other side and back again - this time focusing on what your eye sees and not what the lens will capture. It's pretty narrow in several spots, and you're constantly being reminded to squish to the right as folks are trying to go in the opposite direction.
We opted for the noon tour, as it is during the prime time to see the shafts of light that will shine down through the openings in the top of the canyon, all the way to the floor. Of course, this also means it is usually one of the busiest tours, but everything was run in an orderly fashion (good thing we had reservations), and the crowds were all very considerate and co-operative. Unfortunately, it was a somewhat overcast day, so the shafts weren't overly strong, and we didn't see any that reached all the way to the floor. No doubt a disappointment for those who had paid even bigger bucks to take the 2-hour photographers' tour. A couple of times we were asked to move along, or not proceed, so as to not end up photo bombing a setting the photo group was working on. One of the things they do with the photo group is toss a shovel of sand into the air where the beams are shining through. We had hoped to capture it ourselves, but the spot where they do it does not lend itself to avoiding photo bombs for those who have paid for the privilege to set up in a specific spot. We had to continue on around the corner to clear the background.
A tour well worth the money paid, I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area. I am sharing a few pictures here from the Upper Canyon (and a few more below from the boat tour), but if you click HERE It will take you to all the pictures we took that day (it will open up in a new window). I haven't had a chance to sort through them all, so there are some duplicates, and even triplicates (Robin was testing out a setting that takes 3 shots at different exposure settings). Keep in mind that if you are seeing bright light, the photo was probably taken pointing up to the top of the canyon walls. Most of the pictures in the Upper Canyon were taken with our heads tipped back.
Our guide, JR, was very knowledgeable (he spoke some Chinese, Japanese and Korean - and possibly more) and at unique photo spots helped everyone capture that special picture, whether with their phones or with their cameras. You couldn't help but snap away every two or three steps, as you were constantly presented with different angles and images. The canyon itself is only about a half mile long, but with everyone stopping and gazing and photographing, it takes a full hour to get through to the other side and back again - this time focusing on what your eye sees and not what the lens will capture. It's pretty narrow in several spots, and you're constantly being reminded to squish to the right as folks are trying to go in the opposite direction.
We opted for the noon tour, as it is during the prime time to see the shafts of light that will shine down through the openings in the top of the canyon, all the way to the floor. Of course, this also means it is usually one of the busiest tours, but everything was run in an orderly fashion (good thing we had reservations), and the crowds were all very considerate and co-operative. Unfortunately, it was a somewhat overcast day, so the shafts weren't overly strong, and we didn't see any that reached all the way to the floor. No doubt a disappointment for those who had paid even bigger bucks to take the 2-hour photographers' tour. A couple of times we were asked to move along, or not proceed, so as to not end up photo bombing a setting the photo group was working on. One of the things they do with the photo group is toss a shovel of sand into the air where the beams are shining through. We had hoped to capture it ourselves, but the spot where they do it does not lend itself to avoiding photo bombs for those who have paid for the privilege to set up in a specific spot. We had to continue on around the corner to clear the background.
A tour well worth the money paid, I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the area. I am sharing a few pictures here from the Upper Canyon (and a few more below from the boat tour), but if you click HERE It will take you to all the pictures we took that day (it will open up in a new window). I haven't had a chance to sort through them all, so there are some duplicates, and even triplicates (Robin was testing out a setting that takes 3 shots at different exposure settings). Keep in mind that if you are seeing bright light, the photo was probably taken pointing up to the top of the canyon walls. Most of the pictures in the Upper Canyon were taken with our heads tipped back.
A quick drive back to Page for a spot of lunch, then we headed back down the same road to Antelope Point Marina on Powell Lake to embark on our tour of the Antelope Canyon from the water. Candace was our captain and tour guide and she, too, was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour. She informed us there was some bottled water on board for all passengers - the first one was free, any after were $40 each. Again some fantastic scenery and interesting history about the area.
Back to the campground after a full day of fresh air and adventure, for a quiet evening in.
Until next time, dear readers.
Until next time, dear readers.