Lake Powell & Glen Canyon Recreation Dam
After Monument Valley we went straight to Page. We stayed in an Airbnb – for the second time – and we were a bit scared… The first time in the Airbnb was in Ghent and that was not a good experience. So now we were a bit worried. We stayed with Jeannie in The Victorian Bed & Breakfast and had a lovely stay. When we arrived I got jumped by the American Bulldog, who was way too enthusiastic, and almost fell down the stairs, but other than that, everything went smoothly. Jeannie provided a very good breakfast with pancakes and granola that we could eat outside in the gazebo. I also loved the fact that I could see an American house from the inside ;-).
Before we arrived in our Airbnb, we took a small detour towards Lake Powell and a view over the Glen Canyon Recreation Dam. We only stayed for one night here, so we didn’t had the luxury to fully explore all the possibilities of Page and Lake Powell. But for all the water rats: you can go and rent out a jet ski or a boat and roam around on the lake. Or you can go and find yourselves a place to do some sunbathing and jump into the lake when it’s too hot. We only saw a small part of the lake, but it sure looked very (very very) welcoming…
Antelope Canyon
But the main reason we stayed in Page, was to visit the Antelope Canyon the next morning. You have two Antelope Canyons that you can visit: the upper and the lower.
We chose the lower one. Mainly because we were planning our visit in the morning, and that’s the best time to visit the Lower Antelope Canyon. If you want to visit the Upper Antelope Canyon, the best time is around noon, when the sun is at its highest point. Bear in mind that prices are higher as well, and for the Upper Antelope Canyon, and even more if you want to visit it at noon.
There are many other differences as well: the lower is slightly larger (400 m vs. 140m :-)) and difficult to enter. You have to climb down a few steep stairs, whereas in the Upper one, you can just enter in a normal way. Everybody can walk around in the Upper one, but the Lower has a more narrow pathway. But (apparently) the structure of the walls is much more divers with the Lower Canyon than with the Upper one. And that’s better for taking pictures ;-).
We didn’t had the time to wait until noon (and frankly, I didn’t want to pay a whole lot more) so we settled with the Lower Antelope Canyon. We pre-booked our tour with Ken’s Tours. And we had a lot of fun. Our guide, a native American – as the Antelope Canyon are also on the grounds of the Navajo Tribals – was very funny. He also helped taking pictures and/ or setting up your camera settings. We booked the third trip in the morning (9:00 A.M.), but we were early enough and could join the trip from 8:40 A.M., lucky for us. Because there was already a delay. The Antelope Canyons have become so popular – too popular for its own good – and it can’t cope with all the visitors. So although we were the second tour, there are other companies as well and the canyon can only hold a few at a time. So we waited one hour (I think), and got a bottle of water in return, but it was so worth it :-). The Antelope Canyons are just… W-wait for it-OOOW. I really liked it. It was a bit cloudy with us, but we still got to see the light playing over the canyon. I have no idea how beautiful the Upper most be, when the Lower was already so colorful, with orange, yellow, pink, purple and red sceneries.
If you want to visit the Upper Antelope Canyon, you can book your tickets with Roger Ekis Antelope Canyon Tours.
The Upper and the Lower tours start in different places as well! The Lower one, starts outside Page, somewhere on a side road. We had to use coordinates to get there :-).
Marble Canyon & Horseshoe Bend
After the Antelope Canyon we wanted to see the Marble Canyon. I don’t know why. The name made me think of a really beautiful canyon… but … it was nothing special … and not worth going to. Or even mentioning. So what am I doing here? 😮
On to the next: the Horseshoe Bend, something that IS worth mentioning! This is a bend in the Colorado River that looks like – how could you guess – a horseshoe. Apparently there are a few ways to get there, but we took the hard way (or maybe what we find hard, others find easy…). We just followed our GPS and the signs and ended up in a big parking lot from where we had to walk towards the viewpoint. It looks like a short distance… but it really is not. Definitely not in a heat wave. When they say to bring a bottle of water per person… bring a bottle of water per person! I nearly fainted taking the shot :p. But it’s worth it! Having a good lens on your camera may add up to the victory feeling as well, as it’s not so easy to get the whole horseshoe bend in one picture. But thanks to the boyfriend, we managed to get a few good pictures!
Around the world in a lifetime 