“USA 🇺🇸 Arizona ~Upper Antelope Canyon! WOW! And What’s Next for Us”

• October 22, 2022
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

I was blown away with every step through this narrow slit canyon in the earth!

I had originally made reservation two months in advance of our first visit to Page, Arizona, back in June, but the tour slots were already full! I bought two tickets for a random date, knowing we would reschedule.

After spending part of the summer and into the fall in Colorado, we drove back down and through Page once again, staying only a few nights to take in the guided tour of Upper Antelope Canyon.

There are many tour companies that organize the tours, out of Page, but they all operate on the Navajo Nation, by the local people, for the same thing, so when they are at full capacity, they are all full. It’s a popular activity and it’s very clear why!

We arrived the required 30-minutes before our tour time of 11:15AM. (btw Arizona doesn’t change their clocks back and forward, so world clock is wrong during this time of the year).
We also watched the required video of the distance one must hike. (it’s an easy hike). We had to wear masks while waiting, after check-in, and whilst inside canyon, except when getting photos taken inside the canyon, but not while in the back of the pickup, while being driven back and forth to the canyon.

Upper Antelope Canyon 

If you are ever in Northern Arizona, don’t miss this chance to wander through this pristine slot canyon. For me, I felt like I was on more of an art walk, to view monumental natural sculptures, at various angles. The slot canyon is very narrow and felt more like a cave, with such little light coming in from the top.

Loaded up in the back of a truck with a dozen other people. It’s about a 10-minute ride to the entrance 

Just a slit in the canyon wall where the hidden gem can be found. Years ago one could explore this Canyon without a guide, until eight people perished inside the Canyon, from a flash flood.

Here we go! I carried both my Nikon DSLR camera and my iPhone for the wide angle option. Very fun taking photos!

This feature (my favorite) is called “Monument Valley.” It really does look like the famous rock, there! If you’ve never been to Monument Valley, this is the famous rock.

Many people who watched “Forrest Gump” may also remember seeing this rock formation in the movie; where he stopped running

The “Heart” 

The “Wave” 

Guided tours are required to visit Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons, located on private land. Authorized tour operators in the area of the Navajo Nation lead groups to the canyons and impart their knowledge about the area’s history and geology.

Shaped by millions of years of water and wind erosion, the magnificent Canyons were named for the herds of Pronghorn that once roamed the area.
We all know Antelopes are only found in Africa, but somehow the Canyons’s name stuck.

The Upper Antelope Canyon tour is the more popular route, because more sunlight enters the canyon and the walls reach up to 120 feet.

The Lower Antelope Canyon tour is equally impressive, immersing visitors in the swirling embrace of sandstone walls. Personally, I wanted to do both, but I could not justify the expense, so o my picked one.

While the hiking terrain in the area is mostly flat, the sand and sandstone surface is always tricky on your footing. Upper Antelope Canyon is the easier section to hike, with ground-level entry. To get back to the parking area, visitors take a 20-minute trek on sandy trails with sections of steep metal stairs and walkways along the way.

Lower Antelope Canyon, however,  attracts the more adventurous, who navigate a longer sandy hike to get to the canyon and maneuver several elevation changes with stairways and ladders to get into the canyon.

Hikers can find more trail time on the 9.8-mile Page Rimview Trail. The trail leads to views of the canyonlands, Lake Powell, Glen Canyon Dam and dramatic rock formations in the area.

We chose Tse Bighanilini Tours, and they did fine. I appreciated them changing our original ticket to a later date. Everything was electronic, online, and easy to work with. Here is their website:

https://www.tsebighanilini.com/

Though we had stayed in the Glen Canyon Recreation Area, last summer, we tried a different campground this time. This one was much more scenic coming into it. 

Glen Canyon Recreation Area and Wauheap RV Campground 

This is a very nice area and of course popular for those with boats, for spending time on Lake Powell.

Our stays here are short, because wifi is pretty much non-existence, and we like our internet in the evenings. Also, in this case; $80/night is a bit high for a campground.

Whats Next For Us?

We drove from Page, Arizona; another 300 miles to Kingman, Arizona, to pick up our Volkswagen Convertible Bug from the shop, where it is being fully restored. It was suppose to be done in November…after six months. Found out too late, it will not be ready till at least January. To say we are disappointed, is an understatement. Not only would we have lost money not showing up for our reservation, here in Kingman, but we also had deliveries in the works for this address; including my electric bike, which we could not change. Oh well. We suck it up and we roll with it. It isn’t the first time, and it won’t be the last time, either. We live in challenging times. It’s been tough for several years, to make plans.

So, we did change the length of our stay, here in Kingman, but now know we will return to the same KOA Campground in January, because it’s nice.
We’ve decided to take a gamble there will be fuel/DEF, to make our way to North Carolina by Thanksgiving, and spend the holidays with them! This will be around 2,500 miles. On the way, we will stop in Southeast Texas for a few days; a nice break, to visit friends, and again in Georgia to do the same.

November 6th, we will go for it, and pray we find fuel all the way! Being with the family will be so great and well worth the trip, east.

The Whale is a bit too big for the kiddos driveway, plus for long-term, is against the rules, on base. My daughter helped us find an RV site about 20-minutes from their home. Jacksonville is a hard-hit area like other cities and town in the USA, and many campgrounds are taken by full-timers who do not move; now including military families.