16 April ‘08
Wednesday
After pulling into Page and the Lake Powell area, we found ourselves totally involved with getting out and seeing everything (or as much as we could in the few days we are staying). Unfortunately, the wind hasn’t helped our plans… I remember when we were in Ramona, California and they had the heavy rain, followed with 3 to 4 inches of snow…”the most snowfall in 25 years”, was the story. Well Tuesday we had wind, and I mean wind. “The strongest winds in over 25 years” they tell us. We had planned to take a tour into one of the canyons. The Upper Antelope Canyon is supposed to be one of the most spectacular canyons available to visit anywhere so we signed up.
Wednesday
After pulling into Page and the Lake Powell area, we found ourselves totally involved with getting out and seeing everything (or as much as we could in the few days we are staying). Unfortunately, the wind hasn’t helped our plans… I remember when we were in Ramona, California and they had the heavy rain, followed with 3 to 4 inches of snow…”the most snowfall in 25 years”, was the story. Well Tuesday we had wind, and I mean wind. “The strongest winds in over 25 years” they tell us. We had planned to take a tour into one of the canyons. The Upper Antelope Canyon is supposed to be one of the most spectacular canyons available to visit anywhere so we signed up.
Across the highway is another spectacular canyon, the Lower Antelope Canyon, so we decided to see both of them in the same day.
The upper is available only with a guide so, with instructions clear to all parties, we followed the Jeep out to this location that we were to leave our car. As soon as we “all” pulled into the parking lot, Louise and I got our camera, jackets, tickets, and started to run to the Jeep. Just about 2 feet away from our car, the Jeep took off…”where the hell are they going?” Well, they took off through the dust and left us standing. Now remember I mentioned the wind? I got right on the cell phone and called the tour company and let them know what happened. Of course, they apologized and couldn’t have been more un-happy that this happened, but now they would have to ask us if we could do it the next day. Getting back to the wind…I, we, are so happy that they got away from us. After watching them blast away down that sandy, windy, bouncy road and catching all the above in their eyes, ears, nose, and CAMERAS…no thanks, tomorrow will be just fine. Tomorrow arrived and we did make the drive down that same sandy path (they called it a dirt road) but before we did that, we took a short mile hike to see the famous “Horseshoe Bend” on the Colorado River. The view from on top of the ridge to the bend in the river and the huge rock on the other side was amazing.
I wish we could find a way to put the kayak in and paddle that part of the river…wishful thinking. Arriving back in town we found ourselves about to enter yesterday’s canyon. As I mentioned, this is the upper canyon and all we had to do was walk through this very narrow entry and then into some of the most beautiful wind and water carvings you could imagine.
The walls that stood beside us, and sometimes over us, are carved out with the rushing waters of today and those of centuries ago. The winds also have helped. The winds yesterday actually “blasted” through the canyon and did its own bit of handy work. Along with doing a little etching, it sent sand down through the small narrow openings in the “ceiling” and doing that, actually created a few “sand falls”.
Now I didn’t mention the colors… The colors ranged from soft sand to pink, red, orange, and burgundy. The gorgeous sloping angles of the rocks, coupled with the shafts of light that make their way down from the rum of the canyon, combine for a scene that cannot be fully explained with words.
I must admit the pictures that we had seen at the different galleries in town and the pictures in the “tourist” magazines caught the moment and the beauty easily. This canyon was about a half mile long, so in an hour we had had the opportunity to enjoy it all and now, Louise and I had another appointment across the street to see the “Lower Canyon”.
We weren’t sure what we were going to see there, but in a short minute after arriving, we were walking across a solid rock area and looking at a narrow slice in the ground. Upon closer inspection we noticed the ladder… We were on our own on this adventure, so approaching the ladder, sliding in though the opening sideways, we descended about 15 feet down to the floor of the canyon. Centuries ago, when the water rushed through this canyon, it must have come-in swirling, as the length of the canyon kept us leaning either one way or the next. We were soon stepping down more ladders. One or two only took us down a step or two, and then there were the others that took us down another 15 to 20 feet. In my opinion this canyon was on par with the beauty of the “Upper”, but a hell of a lot more fun in making your way through.