We traveled from Las Vegas to Page, AZ on the recommendation of our friends and fellow RVers, Dave and Kathy Pasillas. Specifically, Dave encouraged us to tour the Lower and Upper Antelope Canyons; however, the area also featured famous Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell, and more fantastic Arizona scenery.
Our Page adventure began the moment we drove into town on US 89. Crossing the bridge 700′ above the Colorado River, we could see the massive dam on our left and the southern end of Lake Powell. On our right was the Colorado River canyon with an impressive 600′ waterfall gushing out of the east canyon wall. Several days later we returned to take overlook-pictures of the waterfall, bridge, and dam; but the waterfall was gone, having been created short-term only by the runoff from rain that fell on the day we arrived. Crazy!
From the overlook, I did take these pictures.
I took the pictures below through the windows of the Carl Hayden Visitor Center. Some interesting facts: the US 89 “Navajo Bridge” was built in 1959, and at 700′ above river bedrock, it was then the highest arch bridge in the world. Doesn’t even rank in the top 80 today. Glen Canyon Dam is the second tallest in the US at 710′ above bedrock. Hoover Dam is first at 725′. The dam is an unbelievable 300′ thick at its base! Now that’s a lot of concrete and rebar. The dam provides power for millions of people in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Nebraska. The dam’s eight generators produce 5 billion kWh annually. Lake Powell stores water from the Green, Gunnison, San Juan, and Colorado river basins, and releases this water to Lake Mead, which distributes it to Arizona, Nevada, California, and Mexico. During our visit, Lake Powell was 161′ below its full reservoir level, but it is filling again after last year’s record snowfalls.
Just 7 miles downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, the Colorado River has carved a 270 degree turn into the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. The result is beautiful Horshoe Bend. After parking, we walked about a mile along a well-manicured, curving, 15′-wide path to the river overlook. I was more that perturbed at the number of tourists who ignored the barriers and signs asking visitors to please stay on the trail. They just inconsiderately marched across the fragile desert terrain, mindlessly destroying the environment along the way. The scenery and vistas seen from the pathway were stunning in our opinion.
Once at the fence-protected overlook, there were no other barriers or posted restrictions on where visitors could go, and the result was chaotic wandering. I was concerned over how unsafe many were being. They often stood perilously close to the edge simply to get that award-winning selfie. All the rocks were desert dusty, and an inadvertent slip was highly possible. It was a 1,000′ drop to the river. We took our selfie while standing safely behind the wall and railing at the designated overlook. MFI’s expression captures her fear and dislike of heights. Otherwise, the iconic picture of Horseshoe Bend was well worth the short side trip.
Less than 4 miles from our campground were the assembly points for touring the Lower and Upper Antelope Slot Canyons. Slot canyons are found across the globe wherever exposed layers of petrified quartz sandstone are eroded into natural art. The Colorado Plateau is an example of this, where rivers deposited sediments across the four-corners area of the southwest including all of Arizona. The plateau was uplifted during three phases beginning 80 million and most recently 5 million years ago. The Rocky Mountains were created as part of this uplifting action along with the high desert geology of the Colorado Plateau including the Antelope Canyon. The exposed sediments were twisted and fractured by the uplifting and subject to erosion by water over millennia. Today, particularly during the Arizona monsoon season, flash floods carry sand, gravel, larger rocks, and abrasive vegetation into the slot canyons, carving new shapes and features, and polishing the walls like finished concrete. It all started at the exposed sandstone surface.
The Antelope Slot Canyons are located on Navajo Nation property. Owls nest in the canyons, and because the Navajo consider owls to be symbols of bad luck, the Navajo would not enter them until guided-tours became mandatory. To overcome the fear, a Navajo shaman performed a smoke ceremony to cleanse the canyons of possible misfortune and keep all visitors safe. With this, accessibility was first provided by Navajo-guided tours in 1983 and further expanded in 1997 when the canyon was made a Navajo Tribal Park. Currently, there are six slot canyons that can be visited: Rattle Snake, Owl, Mountain Sheep, X, Upper, and Lower. The latter two being the most popular by far.
Touring the slot canyons was expensive. Visitors are required to purchase their tickets online then register at the assembly points. The tour options were substantial, so we spent some time researching which tours were both affordable and met our needs. We settled on Dixie Tours. What made our tours most enjoyable were the small size of our groups (between 6 and 12) and the extensive knowledge and photographic support of our native guides. We believe the small group size was a lucky result of our late-in-the-season September visit.
Both of our tours were in the morning, starting between 9 and 11 am. The best time for touring is when the midday sun offers the greatest chance of sunlight filling the canyon for optimal photographs. Even in September, those time slots were no longer available, so visitors need to plan accordingly. I felt the lighting in Lower was fine; however, you’ll see that it got fairly dark in Upper. I took over 100 photos during each tour. Everywhere I looked: up, down, left, right, forward, and backward seemed to offer yet another great shot. As a result, I’ve selected only the best pictures for the blog out of fear that too may would become repetitious. Pictures really can’t do it justice anyway. Only seeing the canyons in person can provide the ultimate experience.
Hasdestwazi, Navajo for “spiral rock arches,” was what Lower Antelope Slot Canyon offered: 1,335′ long, 120′ at deepest point (entry), V-shaped cross-section, tour lasted just under an hour. We entered at the outfall (lower end) by descending four flights of stairs. Carmellita was our truly excellent Navajo guide.
One of the dangers of touring slot canyons are flash floods, which can occur with little warning. Our guide discussed this during our safety briefing and shared a real tragedy for emphasis. On August 12, 1997, a cloudburst 15 miles south of Lower Antelope Canyon created a flash flood which killed 11 international visitors who were just concluding a quick tour. Miraculously, their guide, Pancho Quintana, survived the disaster and was found naked on a ledge just a half mile north of Lower Antelope. The torrential water had striped off his clothes and his body was horribly bruised and battered before he grabbed the ledge. He later documented the tragedy in his book, Breathe For Me. A series of safety measures were subsequently implemented, not the least of which were daily NOAA weather forecasts and notifications for the drainage basins feeding Antelope Canyon. Carmelitta warned us it might rain a bit during our tour but not to worry.
Tse’ bighanilini, Navajo for “the place where water runs through rocks,” certainly described Upper Antelope Canyon: 660′ long, 120′ deep, A-shaped cross-section, tour lasted close to an hour. Again, we entered at the outfall and walked upstream. Our fantastic guide was Running Elk. He told us Navajo names are a family collaborative with the grandmother making the finally choice. We loaded into his 4WD, heavy-duty pick-up and headed into the canyon.
After leaving Upper, Running Elk walked us up the dry river bed, which feeds the slot canyon after a rain. Your can see how deep (about 8′) the water can get and the incredible volume, which must flow into and through the relatively tiny slot.
A friendly, young couple from Belgium was in our group. She had some top-notch camera equipment and seemed quite professional with her photography. On our quarter-mile walk back to the truck, a native couple on horseback rode by, and we were amused at how excited she got over seeing them and getting to take pictures. Nice that the cowboy posed appropriately and accommodated her genuine interest. Not a lot of cowboys in Belgium.
I apologize for the large number of slot canyon pictures, but we felt they were necessary to give readers a adequate exposure to what we experienced. We highly recommend you include Page, AZ in any future vacation plans. And don’t forget to have morning coffee at Lake Powell Espresso and get [real] Texas BBQ with live music at Big John’s downtown.
