Antelope Canyon
I heard of this place on Navajo Indian land. It seemed like a great photo op.
The canyon is just out of Page, AZ. I was transported by a 4WD ute down a sandy river bed to the entrance of the canyon. When I arrived it was just out of season however I counted 10 utes with 10 people in each and the round trip is about 45 minutes. They were running continuously all day. The charge was $45 per head. Do the maths.
The canyon is about 1/4 mile long and about 90 ft deep.
I entered the canyon with tripod at the ready to capture the long exposures.
The walls have been smoothed and structured by thousands of years of water running through the canyon.
The rock formation is stunning.
At around midday the sun filters down the 90 foot gorge and illuminates the wave shaped canyon walls.
I think by the results you would agree it is a magic spot for photographers.
The biggest problem I had was trying to get a shot without people in it.
PS I did eventually get this shot.
I uploaded this photograph from the internet. It is a place nearby I wanted to visit. The Rangers only allow 20 visitors a day. In order to get a permit I was to go into a ballot. Unfortunately we felt we didn't have time to wait for the next ballot.
North of Page, AZ we drove to the marina just off
Lake Powell on the Colorado River.
This unusual marina earned a spot in our blog as it is located in a canyon. Access is down this incredibly long floating driveway. We did the long walk down but caught a commuter cart up for the return trip. You can see one in the distance halfway down.
On the dock there is a restaurant, a bar and this swim platform which drops off into the abyss.
Every bit as impressive as Hoover Dam.
We followed the lake back up into Utah for that nights camp.
This is a view looking down the lake towards Page and
Glen Canyon Dam (on the right).
A view of Lake Powell.
Lone Rock.
This was our camp for the night. Probably the best one we had come across.
We backed up to the waters edge to enjoy the beautiful scenery through our rear window.
As the sun went down, Lone Rock lit up.
Standing nervously on the edge of a shear cliff contemplating a shot of Horseshoe Bend.
Horseshoe Bend, Colorado River.
There are some boats and tents on the sandy beach way below.
The road down to our next destination, Lees Crossing, took us through this deep pass to the plains below.
Just through the pass Indian vendors had set up a small roadside market.
The Navajo Bridge
The first span opened in 1929.
It spanned the Colorado River 834ft. to a height of 467ft.
A truck crosses the newer span.
The rode to the southern entrance to the
"Mushroom" shaped balancing boulders were formed by floods eroding the sands away from under them.
As you can see there not small rocks.
This is the site of
Lee's Ferry the only place in 500 hundreds of miles from which the Colorado River was easily accessible. The Mormon Church opened a wagon road from Utah and the ferry service began in 1873's.
The remains of one of the ferryman's buildings.
A view from our campground across the river to the cliffs.
We stopped at this interesting spot where there were Indian vendors stalls.
Grand Canyon North Rim
The
Grand Canyon North Rim is not as well visited as the south. We found a camping spot just outside the national park in the Kaibab National Forest.
The views of the canyon are just as impressive and no crowds.
Panoramic view of the canyon.
Chris relaxes and admires the view.
The external fireplace on the balcony is big enough to stand in.
The living room has panoramic views. The rock walls really give it character.
A view from a cabin.
A Kiabab Squirrel, a native of the area.
One of the view points under the lodge.
This view point on the northern side is nowhere near where we viewed it from the south earlier in the year, yet the cliff formations looked familiar. It suddenly struck me, here is where we crossed the canyon by helicopter.
Pipe Springs National Monument
Pipe Springs National Monument was an interesting homestead we called in on with it's history dating back to 1858. In the 1860's it was established by the Mormon Pioneers as a cattle ranch, having a rare commodity in the desert, water.
The original water spring.
