Antelope Canyons & Lake Powell 6/12/2013 -- 6/14/2013 [Back to Photo Page] [Antelope Canyons Gallery] [Antelope Canyon Slide Show] [Lake Powell Gallery]

Antelope Canyon, located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona, is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. It includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections,  the Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon.  Also around the Page area, Lake Powell was created from the flooding of Glen Canyon by the controversial Glen Canyon Dam, which also led to the creation of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

[Arches (6/8--6/10)] [Monument Valley (6/10--6/12)] [Antelope Canyon (6/12--6/14)]

Day 5 (6/12) ...

• Lower Antelope Canyon
  After lunch in Page, we went to the Lower Antelope Canyon which did not require any reservations in advance. 
  The Navajo name for Lower Antelope Canyon is Hasdestwazi, or "spiral rock arches".  I bought a photographer pass which only required me to show them I had a DSLR and a tripod.  The photo pass allowed me to roam canyon freely (without attaching to any tour groups) for 2 hours.  I met my family in the canyon when their regular 1-hour tour group caught up with me.  The entrance of the Lower Canyon is quite hidden that you have to climb down a long ladder to get to the canyon floor.  The lower canyon is longer and deeper than the upper section, and the canyon trail is a bit rough with low hanging rocks, narrow passage ways, and narrow and steep ladders.  I did scratch my knee (photo credit: Iris) against the canyon wall accidentally.
  Compared with the Upper Antelope Canyon (see below), the Lower Canyon gives you more room and freedom to be creative, and you could actually enjoy some moments of solitude if you have the photo pass.
  

We checked in to the Lake Powell Resort which is inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  Since my knee hurt a little bit, we decided to call it a day and relaxed in the hotel room.

Day 6 (6/13) ...

• Lake Powell Rainbow Bridge Cruise
  I originally booked the cruise at 12:30PM.  However, they canceled the 12:30PM cruise due to the low water level and moved everyone to the 7:30AM schedule.  Linus and I went to the upper deck, which was quite pleasant in the morning with clouds and breeze.  Iris joined us on the upper deck around halfway through and stayed to enjoy the wind. It took about 3 hours through the nice lake and canyon views to reach Rainbow Bridge.

• Rainbow Bridge National Monument
  It was a short walk (although we had to walk further because of the low water level) from the dock to the Rainbow Bridge.  It is 290 feet from its base to the top of its arch, and spans 275 feet across the river.  Native Americans living in the region have long held the bridge sacred by its wondrous size, majesty, and mystery.  We were asked not to approach or walk under Rainbow Bridge as respect to the people's religious beliefs.

• Glen Canyon Dam & Horseshoe Bend
  After a short break with ice coffee and ice cream, we went to the Glen Canyon Dam for a tour.  However, the tour was canceled due to high wind conditions.
  We then moved on to drive to Horseshoe Bend where Colorado River makes a 180 degree turn.  The trail to the cliff edge was only half a mile, but it was on soft sand for a majority of it.  It was quite scary to be on the edge to look under.  I was not sure how many people actually saw the bottom when they came to the cliff.   Here is an impressive panorama aerial image of Horseshoe Bend I found on internet.
  

Day 7 (6/14) ...

• Horseshoe Bend & Glen Canyon Dam
  I went back to Horseshoe Bend in the early morning.  I found a spot where I can sit down and set up my tripod, though I was still not very comfortable standing on the edge.

We took the 1st Glen Canyon Dam tour (8:30AM) to go to the top and inside the dam.  Constructed between 1956 and 1966, the Glen Canyon Dam was erected amid great controversy and compromise over the America's western water resources and vast wilderness tracts.  Much of the Colorado River's original canyon (Glen Canyon) disappeared from view and Lake Powell was created. With storage capacity of 27 million acre-feet, and a surface area of 161,390 acres, Lake Powell is the second largest man-made lake in the US, after Lake Mead (created by Hoover Dam).

• Upper Antelope Canyon
  The Upper Antelope Canyon (Tse' bighanilini in Navajo, which means "the place where water runs through rocks") was the highlight of this trip, at least photography-wise.   I believe most of sunbeam photos were taken in the Upper Canyon. However, the experience inside the Upper Canyon was totally different than what was being shown in the photos where the canyon was bathed in the serene mysteries.  It was so crowded with different tour groups that people were shoulder-to-shoulder and were pushed forward by other groups (if you were in a regular tour).  I booked a photo tour with Adventurous Antelope Canyon for my family.  The key advantage of the photo tour is that the guide knows how to chase the light and will also do crowd control for you.  If you are looking for a more intimate contact with nature in a slot canyon, then Upper Antelope Canyon will not be the best choice.

Going Home ...

The three different regions in the Colorado Plateau all have amazing natural formations and landscapes, but they are all unique in their own way.  Since most of these landmarks and gorgeous views have been taken by so many other photographers, it was difficult for me to create any real original images, but it was still worthwhile for me to experience it myself.  It was a long way to drive to Las Vegas where we flew back (it would have been an even longer way if we drove back to Salt Lake City).  With a few stops (and an almost empty fuel tank), we arrived at Las Vegas airport in the late afternoon to conclude our hot summer vacation this year.

[Arches (6/8--6/10)] [Monument Valley (6/10--6/12)] [Antelope Canyon (6/12--6/14)]

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