Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona

Ever since I’ve seen pictures from Antelope Canyon and The Wave I have wanted to see it for myself. We’ve been close to Page before but time, weather, or unforeseen circumstances have prevented us from making it to Page, Arizona. This is a bucket list item for me and I’m so excited that I get to share it with not only my dear husband, but our good friends, Andy and Candy Bloom.

Antelope Canyon is located on Navajo Nation Tribal lands and is known by the Navajo as “The place where water runs through rocks.

The two canyons, upper and lower, are consider by the Navajo to be a symbol of the gifts of Mother Nature, and every four years have the canyon blessed giving thanks to the natural elements of the world.

At this time of year, Lower Antelope Canyon provides a better experience than upper because of the angle of the sun and the way it reflects off of the canyon walls.

Before entering the canyon, the Navajo help visitors get in the right frame of mind to enter the canyon by performing the Navajo Hoop Dance which celebrates the animals of our world.

Navajo Hoop Dance

Now that our mind is in the right state, it is time to meet our Navajo guide, Angie. She explains safety rules and protocols to us.

Lower Antelope canyon is below ground so we will be using ladders at least twice, in and then out. Well, we all know Candy and John, to a point, are not fond of heights. Hope they will be okay.

Ah, apparently there is a need for a safety and protocol talk. We see this sign as we descend toward the entrance of the canyon.

Did I mention that Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon, as in just a slot in the earth carved out by water? John and Candy are also a bit claustrophobic. Luckily the groups are small, they won’t have to run over too many people if they need out in a hurry.

As we descend into the canyon we are immediately awestruck by the colors and textures.

The Lower canyon is referred to as The Corkscrew, or spiral rock arches. I can see why.

The canyon was formed by the erosion of Navajo Sandstone due to flash flooding, that occurs during monsoon season, carving and deepening the corridors and smoothing hard edges.

It looks very “flowy” doesn’t it? Can you imagine the water rushing through?

Not only did all this rushing water create great backdrops for portraits…

And fun paths to walk down.

It carved features into the rocks. Okay, you might have to stretch your imagination (and your eyes) a bit to see them, but they are there. The most famous is the “Lady in the Wind,” do you see her?

Okay, how about the friendly shark from “Finding Nemo?”

This is a tough one, a horse head?

See if you can find the rest.

1.)

2.)

3.)

4.)

5.)

6.)

(1) Face (Big Chief) (2) Buffalo Head (3) Frog Face (4) Turtle or Monster (5) Turtle, same rock as number four but a different angle (6) Wolf (with a horn almost)

The beauty of the canyon is keeping Candy and John distracted to the point where they really aren’t feeling the “c” word. Just look at those smiles!

Well, isn’t this cute. Angie informs us that in the summer months the guides keep this filled with water to see how long it takes for it to be soaked into the sandstone. She said it gets bigger every year.

As the Blooms and we take turns posing for pictures, our guide informs us that during the warmer months, snakes and spiders fall from the surface into the canyon because they do not realize they are on the edge of a cliff. Great. Moving on then.

Angie was a great guide. She was young, very informative, took portrait pictures of everyone, and even took pictures of hidden elements like the seahorse formed by looking up to the sky in just the right position.