Antelope Canyon.
I had seen many pictures of this slot canyon and wanted to visit some day. In 2020, Mr.N and I were on a road trip in the area, but Antelope Canyon was closed. Well, how the canyon, the natural creature, was closed? Because this is in the Navajo reservation. You must go there with a Navajo guide and need to pay fee (it is not cheap: $82/adult). Due to COVID, they closed it in 2020. In 2021 they resumed the tours.
To attend a tour you need to book a tour, which is usually sold out way long in advance, especially in the vacation season. There are multiple companies conducting tours. Usually people go to a company place in Page, Arizona. There tour people get into company's van with a guide and drive to the canyon entrance, because last couple of miles are closed to public and it is sandy road which requires 4X4 high clearance vehicle.
Our tour was 1 guide and 7 people (2 of us, a couple from Hong Kong, and 3 female group from Phoenix). Because of COVID, mask was required all the time (both in the van and even outside in the canyon). The van goes to right in front of the canyon. There already around 5 vans were parked.
Our guide, Rich started a tour by making sure putting masks all the time. He said that he would do a photograph tour. He showed us where the good spots were to take pictures. The spots he showed gave me new insights how to look at canyon in many different ways I had never really thought about. For example, the picture below. This spot he told us to look straight up. It looked like a something circular. Rich always said this spot looks like a dragon, or an elephant, and so on (I don't remember most of them, though). This spot I remember he said something as well, but to me, it looks like inside a bowel/gut (as a scientist). Anyhow, whatever it looks like, it was very pretty place. With lightning and its waving canyon structure, it looks amazing as well as eerie. This peculiar canyon shape is beautiful and attractive. Because lightning is different every moment, and every day, the scenery must be always different. By looking at canyon straight up, from side to side, in diagonal from right or left by sitting down, I found it very interesting to see canyon in new ways.
I knew all canyon structures were made by force of water flow, but I was amazed again how immense water power is. Water curves rocks? Can't imagine easily but reality it does.
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Looking up
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More picture
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At the same time, I wished I had more time to see canyon with my way in a quiet mode. Since the canyon is only 0.5 mile and the entire time was all pictures, it was not possible to have admiring time of this sacred creature. Mr.N also said that he wished he have had more time to see canyon without through phone. I guess that a lot of people want to have Instagram-popular photos, and the Navajo guides know the needs. Rich was a funny and nice person, I totally understand he needed to do the tour that way. And for Navajo this must be a huge revenue to survive, so they adjust tours based on customers' needs.
For sure this is a great place to visit, and I don't regret that I went there, but I think one time visit is good for me. However, I emphasize again this is a wonderful place.
