Day 4 started out a little stressful as we left Grand Canyon to drive to Page for a 12:00 tour of Lower Antelope Canyon. It had snowed overnight and they close a lot of the roads there for just 1-2 inches of snow. The only way to Page was through the Grand Canyon and out the east entrance (which we had done the day before with no problems). Today...the ranger told us at the south entrance that Desert View road was closed and didn't know when it would reopen. That was our route to Page, and going another route would add 3 hours to our drive and we would miss our reservation. Nothing was open yet to get it confirmed that the road was closed, we drove around the park a bit and one of the lodges said they thought the road was open...so we ventured over and it was! Very snowy, bit signs saying be careful...and we were on our way to Page, Arizona.
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| we left our hotel before sunrise to new snow |
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| Desert View Road - we were told it was closed... |
We spent a lot of time driving through the Navajo Nation land. We later found out that the Navajo Nation is about the size of West Virginia and covers parts of 4 states - including Arizona.
We started rising up again in elevation and found more snow...
At one of the scenic views were many Navajo people selling handmade jewely, crafts, ornaments, etc. We stopped and I got a couple handpainted, handcarved ornaments.
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| the wonderful Navajo woman that I bought the ornaments from |
Back down again and the snow started to disappear...
We finally made it - with time to spare to the spot for our Antelope Canyon tour.
Here is what we did, and if you are thinking about visiting - this is what we would recommend...
Ken's Tours - Deluxe Tour of Lower Antelope Canyon
The only way to see inside Antelope Canyon is on a guided tour. The land is on the Navajo land and is not accessible without a guide. There is upper and lower - two different tours. Upon LOTS of research, I chose Lower Antelope Canyon. Less crowds, smaller, more twists and turns, many ladders, stairs to get in and out. Upper is easier to access and no ladders, stairs, and much more popular.
We made the right choice. We also chose to do the deluxe tour - a private tour with just our group and a guide. The regular tours have up to 15 people in a group and one guide to meet all the needs of the group. What that means is that we had an official Navajo tour guide take us through the 1 1/2 miles of the canyon and take all the pictures and give us all the attention because we were the only ones with him. It was totally worth the extra dollars to have the private feel of this tour.
The deluxe tour waiting room - after you check in you wait here for your private guides.
For the Lower tours - you walk right over to the opening and climb in...the upper tours take a 20 minute truck ride to the opening and you walk in...
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| see the stairs that are going down into the canyon... |
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| the ladders to exit the canyon at the end. |
All of the above pictures were taken with iPhones - thanks to Malcolm helping us with the settings to get the perfect shots. He also stopped every few steps and helped us decide where to get the photo from. All of the different colors are due to the angles of the light shining down into the canyon.
Just as we climbed down to get in, we climbed back up to get out...here are the pictures I took of Don, Katie and Carleigh exiting the canyon.
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| the girls with Malcolm, our tour guide |
The tour took about an hour and after that we headed to a fun lunch place in Page and planned the rest of our day. We were spending the night here, so we had lots of time ahead of us. Malcolm had given us quite a few tips on places to go and we basically followed his advice!
First stop, Glen Canyon Dam overlook..
Lots of open space and rock to climb on and just enjoy the scenery. Still a little cool, and not too bad. It was a beautiful day!
Next stop - the Hanging Garden Trail - we didn't have a lot of time here, but it was a fun little hike and more beautiful scenery.
Our final stop and one that we had planned already was sunset at Horseshoe Bend. Horseshoe Bend is the other big sight that Page is known for. It's about a mile hike from the parking lot to the "Horseshoe Bend." It was worth it... very cool formations - notice the "Horseshoe."
The sun set and we headed back to our hotel - about a 5 minute drive from Horseshoe Bend. We found another nice place for dinner and then hunkered down for the night . We had to pack and get ready for our road-trip to the Phoenix Airport the next day...(about a 4 hour direct drive and we turned it into a 7 hour scenic tour. :)
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