Our tour for Upper Antelope Canyon was scheduled for 9:10 this morning and we had to be there 30 minutes early to check in. Thankfully, it was only a few minutes from the hotel so we didn’t have to leave early and in a rush. In fact, we requested a late checkout so we could come back and shower if we wanted to.
Check in was a breeze and we were delighted to find out we were in Group #1 of our time slot (which meant we were the first group in the canyon at that time – it was awesome!). Around 9:00 we started boarding the trucks. There were only 10 in our group and Wyatt was our tour guide. He informed us before we got started that the 3 mile drive there would get a little bumpy. He was not exaggerating. LOL It was like riding a bronco and we learned whenever he slowed down to go through a sandy patch a rough ride was on the other side. We had a couple of gentlemen from France, a delightful couple from Argentina, a fun lady from Missouri and the mom of a young family riding in the back with us (Dad and child rode up front). We all got pretty tickled with how we were being tossed about, and those of us with short legs that couldn’t reach the floor … well, they were just a swinging all over the place. The Argentina lady and I ended up laughing so hard about it that we both were crying. Great way to start, right?
Eventually (it really only took about 10 minutes) we made it to the canyon. Man were we in for a treat. Wyatt was an amazing guide, explaining about how the canyon formed, the layers, the weather and pointing out all kinds of features. He took pictures of us and for us. Showed us how to get the most out of our cameras in the canyon. He really made the entire thing amazing. Not that it wouldn’t have been on its own but he added so much to it for us.
When we exited the canyon he gave us a little demonstration in the sand of how the canyons and layers form because of the wind and rain. Fascinating!! Funny how the ride back seemed quicker than the ride getting there – but isn’t that always the way of it?
We were back at the hotel by 11:00, showered packed up and leaving by 11:30. Next stop was the Horseshoe Bend right down the road. We thought it was just a stop and lookout point. Um no … it was a 3/4 mile hike each way. In the sun. Uphill. Both ways. LOL well, it felt like it. Sigh, we had just finished showering and getting clean for the day. Oh well, nothing to do about it but suck it up. Honestly I didn’t expect too much from the view. Surprisingly, it was better than I thought because you actually can get the entire gooseneck in the picture. And the color of the water was gorgeous! There were all kinds of boats down there, mostly canoes, but there are also lots of choices in other boating excursions available as well. We knew we didn’t have much time there so we didn’t look into booking one of them. Maybe if there is a next time we will do that.
Next stop – South Rim of the Grand Canyon about 2-1/2 hours away. We ended up stopping at a touristy place for a bathroom (they’re few and far between, remember?) and picked up a couple of t-shirts. Also fell in love with some pottery there too. The colors really got my attention. Trying to get something like that home is a challenge though so we ended up walking away from it – for now.
It was around 3:30 by the time we made it to the park. We did hit a few overlooks and I took some pictures but there was a storm brewing just behind us and every time we got out of the car we heard thunder. But the light over the canyon was beautiful so it was hard to walk away from it. Between the storm and our lagging energy because we needed food, we elected to just skip the rest of the overlooks today and go straight to the lodge and check in. Ten years ago we were at the North Rim and we knew the South Rim was much busier and populated but man there’s a lot of people, cars, buses, etc in this little section. We only have one full day here so we’ll make the most of it. We grabbed a really early dinner (it was 4:30 by now) in the cafe at the lodge. By the time we came out that storm that had been brewing all afternoon was beginning to burst.
It was a downpour when we finally found a parking spot to unload so we waited a few minutes until it was lighter drops to start lugging everything in. While we were reorganizing a bit, the rain stopped, dark clouds disappeared and there was blue sky and white fluffy clouds. It looked like we may have a pretty sunset, so we figured we’d walk the rim a little way and see what the canyon looked like. Unfortunately most of it was in shadows with only small peaks lit up with light. The canyon sits at 7,000 feet elevation and as the sun goes behind the mountain it’s just shadows you see. So no sunset yet again.
That’s it for today. We’ll hit it hard tomorrow and see what kind of trouble we can get into. 🙂
It's a Wonderful Life! 