Page Arizona, Sunday, May 11, 2008

Horshoe Bend, Page, Arizona, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

Today, we drove from Tropic Utah to Page Arizona to see Horseshoe Bend and the Antelope Slot Canyons. We stopped for breakfast at Ruby's Inn and headed down the 2 hours to catch Horseshoe Bend around 1pm.

On the drive down, I got pulled over for doing 70 in a 65. Lesson: Set your cruise control and don't worry that everyone else is passing you at 80. Luckily, I got off with a warning and the gentleman that pulled me over was very courteous.

We got into Page and passed the Glen Canyon Dam. Be warned, the speed limit there is 15 and police were setup with radar and pulling people over left and right. We were going to visit the Dam Visitor Center but they have pretty tight security to get in and we didn't feel like standing in line.

We checked in to the Travelodge and discovered their internet access was down and it's been a bear to get access to upload pictures or my blog.

We drove over to Horshoe Bend and did the 3/4 mile hike. After the Bryce Canyon Rim Trails, I wasn't overly eager to stand at the edge of the canyon and take a shot. Looking through a viewfinder and tracking birds can cause a sense of vertigo. Terry and I were both of the opinion that it was better to inch out the last little bit to hold the cameras over the edge and shoot. It's an amazing sight and even with a 10mm lens on my D300, I couldn't get the outer edges. Terry got a shot with a boat that helps add a sense of perspective.

After Horseshoe Bend, we headed over to the Lower Antelope Slot Canyon. After paying $26 to get in, Brian and I were walking over to where we thought it was and didn't see an entrance. One of the local guides popped out of a crack in the ground and showed us the entrance. We were in there from 2 until 5 or so shooting. The light seems best from about 2-4. The Lower Antelope was MUCH EASIER to navigate than Peekaboo Canyon. It's also a lot taller. There was a lot my traffic than Peekaboo but everyone has told us that the Upper Antelope is crazy busy and you're lucky to get a shot without someone in it. We're going to do the Lower again Monday morning and hit the Upper on Tuesday.

We had dinner at Sonic and watched the big crows fly around. We were all fairly tired so we got into our rooms. unloaded, headed over to Walmart for a few supplies and crashed out after some beer and wine.