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Published: January 10th 2012
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Steve and I
Antelope Canyon is a popular location for photographers and sightseers, and a major source of tourism revenue for the Navajo Nation. The has been accessible only since 1997 (by permit), at the time when the Navajo Tribe established it as a Navajo Tribal Park. The Antelope Canyon can be visited with the requirement using guided tours, partly because during the monsoon season rain can flood the beautiful lanscape.
The upper canyon is called by the locals as ‘the place where water runs through the rocks’ and the lower as ‘spiral rock arches’. The former is the most visited, with relatively easy access - the traveller does not need to climb – and the famous beams of light are more prevalent in the upper canyon. They can be seen at their best in the summer months when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. The recommendation is to travel between March and October to experience the feeling of being in a beautiful photogenic Hollywood film set.
The lower canyon has stairways to facilitate travel to its base. The trouble that even with all this help, it's quite a hassle to get down there - and it is quite easy to stumble and fall as the footing is never quite even. This should not deter Antelope Canyon's visitors - ... no pain, no gain.
Antelope Canyon is a example of the power of nature and a spiritual experience at the same time. To many elderly locals entering Antelope Canyon was like entering a cathedral, an uplifting experience, a reminder that the Earth can be in harmony with something other than ourselves. A beautiful sunrise awaits and Steve is up early to get some Sunrise Photos and I'm up with him and make some coffee. Whilst out getting some sunrise snaps, Steve stumbles across a desert Tarantula that was baking on the path, why he has to show me I have no idea, but he was in his element and it's what he has been hoping for and although he's a little disappointed because ideally he would like to have a picture of one crawling over his hand!, it's made his day. Good luck with that one Steve, because when that happens I will be off like a shot!
We say goodbye to Monument Valley and now head towards Zion National Park, we stop at Antelope Canyon and take a tour of the lower Antelope Canyon on foot, its a small Slot Canyon formed in sandstone by the erosion of wind and rain, I am hesitant as I am not good with anything that goes beyond the surface and Steve assures me it is not a cave and we will be able to see sunlight all the way through. As we head down the metal steps my heart is racing, anxiety starts
to overtake me, I push through this feeling and I am so glad I did, this is beyond anything I have ever seen or would ever see again! It is truly breathtaking, as we twist and turn our way through the underground labyrinth we see the most glorious sandstone patterns and textures one would ever see, the sun shines through the gap above and the colours of the sandstones changes through each turn, I am so glad I entered this beautiful master piece, again Mother Nature has not disappointed us once again.
We now head toward Zion National Park, again the journey goes from Dry arid desert to, what I would describe as a forest in a Canyon, the road twists through the Canyon and the scenery is unbelievable, we venture through a tunnel that goes through the Canyon mountain, this is amazing! As we reach our accommodation there is a little town, a cross between the bottom of the Dandenongs and Bright in Victoria Australia, it is so welcoming, little art shops are dotted along the main street and our accommodation... a quaint little cottage that's very comfortable and walking through the streets it feels like home, it's
just that type of place. We head to Wild Willies for dinner, all the staff have a Texan accent and there is a solo guitarist playing & singing, he comes over to our table and asks where we were from, once we tell him we are from Australia he decides to bang out a tune of Waltz Sing Matilda, we should leave that one to the Ozzie's!......Weather from Hot to cool, mmmm, loving it!
Accommodation: Canyon Ranch Motel
668 Zion Blvd
Springdale, Utah
Thoughts: Nice cottage room, a bit small, but a comfortable bed.
If travelling from Grand Canyon/Monument Valley to Bryce/Zion area, Antelope Canyon is a must.
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