Oct 22, 2018
Antelope Canyon
Ever since I heard about the the Antelope Canyon and saw photos I wanted to go. So with us heading South for the Balloon Fiesta it worked out to arrange a trip to the Antelope Canyon. There are approximately a dozen different companies doing the tour and you need to book as far in advance as you can. Then you have the choice of doing the regular tour or the photographers tour which costs a lot more but you get two hours in the canyon as opposed to just the one hour plus you get to bring a tripod which is a great help especially late in the year. As well your guide gives you more attention and helps with some special effects. When I started booking I found prices ranged from $60.00 to $80.00 each for the regular tour. I simply booked the cheapest. Colin was not at all interested in doing the special photography tour. Next you have to decide what time you want to go into the canyon. Between 11:30AM – 1:30PM is the best but I could only get a reservation for a tour at 12:45AM which meant that we were in the canyon between 1 – 2PM which was better than nothing. I booked it on August 6th for Friday, October 19th. You also have to check in a full hour ahead of time or your tour would be given to someone just driving in on a whim.
So I came up with a plan. We left much earlier ( I mean we were just sitting in a Walmart lot ) and drove the car and the RV there separately having looked at the location on Google earth to determine the size of the parking lot. We backed in the car and then backed the RV up to it and Colin hooked up while I checked us in. It was 10:45AM and they offered me a tour leaving in 15 minutes. That was not enough time as Colin was still hooking up and had to eat and I had yet to decide my wardrobe. The temperatures are 10 – 15 degrees cooler inside the slot canyon. Then they offered me the 12 noon tour time, sold. We would be in the canyon between 12:15 and 1:15PM, perfect 😆 So we got to sit in our comfy RV and wait until the actual boarding time check in. Each group of 12 -14 had their own tour guide and it was group behind group. There was much pushing and stepping on my toes, why? Everyone was pushing to be in front of everyone else. Most everyone was using a smart phone to take photos. It was not easy to get a photo without someone else in it. But we survived and have some great photos to share.
It is a 10 -15 minute bumpy ride out to the mouth of the Antelope Canyon.
We were fortunate to have such a perfect day as there are no refunds for inclement weather. One truck after another followed each other.
The entrance to the Antelope Canyon. Yes that is a different jacket as my other still stinks of grease.
Remember that all of these photos are hand held. The majority of these photos are by Colin.
Photo by me, we both were surprised at how well my small camera did.
Colin’s photo showing the crush of people.
Photo by me.
Of course by Colin. I will identify which I took.
A Contessa photo.
Contessa yet again.
Photo taken by me.
There are no words to describe what you see in the Antelope Canyon.
Taken by yours truly.
The back end of the slot canyon. We had a short break here and then walked back in and through to the entrance and out to the truck for our ride back to the RV. So happy that we were able to view this marvel of nature.
From Antelope Canyon we drove West on HWY 89 towards Kanab. yes we were back in Utah but only for a short while.
More great scenery.
Really red rock.
We crossed back into Arizona about here.
We are staying 14 miles SW of Fredonia at the Kaibab Paiute Tribal Campground which is an Passport America park and is costing us $12.50 per nite so with tax we are paying $112.50 for nine nights. This will be our home base for the rest of our adventures in the days to come. Click here for more info and here for more reviews. So far we love it except for the wind the first night.
Great views in three directions.
We drove 107.9 miles on Friday the 19th.
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OMGOSH. THEY LOOK SPIRITUAL, WISPY, INDESCRIBABLE, MYSTICAL, TRANSPARENT, GORGEOUS, ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL. I CAN’T THINK OF HOW TO DESCRIBE THEM. MAGNIFICENT. SO SMOOTH FROM THE SAND AND WIND ABRASION/EROSION. ALMOST GLASS LIKE. I’VE RUN OUT OF ADJECTIVES. MY GOODNESS. YOU ARE SO LUCKY TO BE ABLE TO VISIT THERE. ABSOLUTELY WORTH EVERY PENNY YOU PAID AND MORE. WOW. ABSOLUTELY STUNNING. I COULD NEVER GET THERE SO REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE FANTASTIC PHOTOS BY BOTH OF YOU. GREAT SHOTS.
Love your use of adjectives. I know that you can’t get there and I had hoped that these posts added something to your life. So glad you are enjoy our adventures. See you in a few weeks.
COOL, really really cool 🙂 !!!!
rocmoc n AZ/Mexico
I can see you adding that to your bucket list!
Mother Nature is such a great artist! You shot some great photos, especially your first one with the oranges, pinks, and blues. Most all the photos would be great framed and displayed on the walls of homes. You will probably laugh, but with all the colors and some marbling, I kept thinking of colorful ribbon candy, and in some of the other pics, I would think of Jonah in the belly of a whale. Everyone would probably see something different; that is what’s wonderful about the fluidity of Nature’s art.
The Native American who was our guide showed us a howling wolf, the eyes of a dragon, the face of George Washington and a few others. But I preferred as did Colin, to simply enjoy the natural beauty of the area.
Wonderful, fantastic and incredible photos!!! So appreciate the time and effort it took you to put these photos into your blog post tonight. Truly enjoyed them.
So glad that you enjoyed them.
That is one very beautiful area to explore so glad you were able to get there and share some wonderful photos.
It is a lovely area to visit with so many other areas to see especially the Vermilion Cliffs. I know that you would both love it.
Wow, wow, wow.
Wells said 🙂
Fantastic Antelope Canyon photos. Imagine a series of them blown up poster size and framed on your walls. Stunning!
Welcome to the comment section of my blog and thank you for taking time to make your comment. Always appreciated. I wish we still had lots of walls to put up framed photos but looking around the RV this morning I might have space for once 12 X 14.
Great photos and looks to me it is well worth the price and just the right amount of time to tour.
It was worth every penny and I would have been happy to pay more.
What a beautiful canyon. Too back people are so freaking rude! I absolutely hate crowded spots, part of the reason we didn’t have a great time at the Eiffel Tower was due to the nasty pushing crowd. But I guess that is the norm these days, it’s ok to be rude apparently.
I found the rudeness a distraction from the beautiful area I was trying to enjoy.
I pesonally think it is really hard to take a bad picture in Antelope Canyon. I was quite interested in seeing yours and Colin’s pics though, and these are great. Glad you got a chance to see it, even it is a bit of a Cattle Chute with all the jostling.
Actually I found it very difficult with a real camera. Perhaps it depends on the time of year the light being lower in the sky right now. Of course using an iPhone is a different story but then you can’t blow those photos up.
I meant to give you this link – there is a facebook group called Find It Here Mazatlan which has the most up to date status from locals on the Hurricane currently about to hit near Mazatlan (Rosario is apparently in it’s direct path). Looks like mainly rain but just in case you wanted more info 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/groups/424905674270403/
Thank you for this and yes I have been actively following the hurricane.
That brings back such great memories! We spent the night at Walmart and then went to our chosen tour company first thing the next morning and got right into a tour. I think it was an 8:30 tour and I was very please with what we saw and how the photos turned out. It looks like you have a nice place to stay for the next nine nights 🙂
Lucky you! What time of year where you there?
One of our favorite places! You took some great photos.
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to make a comment. It is a magical place.
Oh, my!!!! Those are wonderful/beautiful!!!
Thank you!
Really impressed by your photos! It’s one of the few places I regret missing when I was in the area, but I couldn’t make it fit my schedule.
Perhaps one day you will get the opportunity.