Upper Antelope Canyon & Lower Glen Canyon
After a very exciting but somewhat stressful time out at White Pocket yesterday, we definitely needed a bit of a relaxation day. Mom and Dad had taken a guided tour of Upper Antelope Canyon on a previous visit to Page, AZ, and they were adamant about experiencing it again with me along. Needless to say, I didn’t put up much of a fight on the matter. We grabbed a cheap and delicious breakfast at a local taco joint and headed to the tour office, joining a very diverse group of vacationers to see this legendary slot canyon.
It felt a bit strange to be dropped off right in front of our destination, considering all the hiking and batshit Jeeping we’d done in previous days. I will always feel that any view earned by sweat and effort is far sweeter than one handed to me. But getting to see this one with Dad, too, made it just as sweet.
Our guide, Erwin, was a skilled photographer and gave us a detailed crash course in shooting the delicate light environment we were about to enter. I mean, this dude knew everything: best light settings and filters for different lenses, phones, etc. He pointed out the optimal angles for every prominent feature in the slot. I just did my best to keep up!
Honestly, I was overwhelmed and almost a little bummed that I pretty much never stopped taking pictures for the entire quarter-mile walk from bottom to top. Did I even see the canyon with my own eyes? Did separating myself from reality in a sense save me from my claustrophobia of not enough space and WAY too many people? Was I making way too big of a deal out of all this heady stuff?
Our brief pause outside the upper exit of the canyon was helpful. Erwin played us a beautiful song on the flute he’d brought with him. Of course, we were immediately super eager to ask him about the instrument, and we walked back through the slot chatting with him, learning about his background and some Navajo history as well. I’m so thankful for that experience, as we made a connection that allowed us to leave that magical place with much more than just pictures.
Later that afternoon, Mom and I drove down to the famous Horseshoe Bend overlook of the Colorado River. The parking lot and main viewing area were crowded, as a fancier new overlook is being constructed and space is limited. Unless, of course, you make the extra effort and hike around for a couple of minutes. There’s no doubt why this is such an iconic spot, as the view of the river below is mind-blowing. We had a great time scrambling around, and I eventually had my fill of terrifying Mom by standing too close to the edge...
There was still a little bit of daylight left, so we drove up to the Glen Canyon Dam, walked across the bridge and back, and then set out to find a sunset view of Lake Powell. We drove out to a parking area close to the shoreline and were totally thrilled at how easy it was to wander unimpeded. At first we stayed close to the water, scrambling around inlets and checking out all that bleached sandstone up close. Of course, the voice of Edward Abbey in each of our heads wouldn’t stop screaming about how quickly man can completely and irreparably change a landscape. At the same time, though, I couldn’t help but fantasize about exploring this uniquely beautiful lake by kayak. But that doesn’t change the fact that we’ll never see Glen Canyon it like it once was.
All that ethical conflict was thankfully interrupted by what would immediately become one of my favorite rock features of the entire trip (the thing that looks like an ice cream sandwich below...oh shit, brilliant idea: ice cream sandwich made with stroopwafel...oh, sorry, SQUIRREL!). Anyway, around that point, we decided to cut back inland and find higher ground. My eye of course went immediately to the largest petrified dune in the area, and we started up. It was nearly sheer on all but one side, which made for an incredibly fun route-finding challenge. I could seriously hike on slickrock all day, every day. We hung out up top for quite a while, and I even had enough signal to face-time my besties back home in San Antonio. So glad we have another day tomorrow to explore around here!
