Antelope Canyon

One of places on Celia’s and my bucket list was the Antelope Canyon near Page AZ. After our visit to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon we were just too close to pass it by. To get the “prime” tours, meaning the most advantageous time for sunlight, it is imperative to plan in advance.  Since this was a last minute excursion, we planned the best we could.  There are two areas you can visit, the Upper or the Lower Antelope Canyons.  Also there are two types of tours at both sites, the photographer tour or the sightseer tour.  You need to plan well in advance to obtain the prime photographer timeslots.  These tours also have smaller group sizes, optimal sunlight, and they require that the participant have a SLR and full-sized tripod.

We were able to snag a sightseer tour to Lower Antelope and headed to Page, AZ.

All the visits to the canyon require a guide.  Ours was Jalen for our group of 15.

Jalen gave us hints and recommended camera settings as we waited for our turn to descend inside the canyon. Fortunately it was a cool day as compared to how hot it can be in this region. Jalen reminded us that there are days where the tours must be stopped because of the oppressive heat.

The views within the underground canyon are amazing. The hardened sandstone shaped by rushing water over many years is breath-taking.  We could not stop taking photos at every turn and also remembering to look back for the views as well.

Jalen also pointed out various features that can be found in the canyon including the formation of sandstone that is used for the Dixie Ellis’ Tours logo.

This is something that we are glad made our bucket list and that we were able to do so easily on our way to Moab.

This area is one that we will have to visit again since there are multiple things to do, beautiful scenery, and a great place to camp at the Wahweap marina on Lake Powell.