After our Upper Paria and Hackberry Canyons backpack, Carol Coffey and I drove to Page, AZ. On the way we first visited this wonderful natural arch, called Grosvenor Arch. Named after a founder of National Geographic Magazine, it has a large and small opening in the what sandstone.
After Grosvenor Arch, we drove the Cottonwood Gulch scenic drive. It is a wonderful geology trip, with colors and rock formations that are simply out of this world.
We spent a night in Page, Arizona. This is the controversial coal fired steam plant just south of Page, and right beside Antelope Canyon. It is polluting the once pristine air of the canyon country and the Navajo Indian Reservation. The coal comes from Black Mesa on the reservation and the authorization of the Navajo's was therefore needed for the plant. The Navajos had misgivings and debated the plant but ultimately went along.
Lower Antelope Canyon is located in the gulch beyond Carol; he is looking at a plaque in memory of eleven tourists who were killed by a flash flood that came down the canyon on August 12, 1997; seven were from France.
Here's Carol walking toward the entrance of Lower Antelope Canyon. The valley is simly a sandy wash from the left (and from where the flash flood came) but an opening in the rock in the next photograph marks the beginning of the canyon.
Carol ready to descend into Antelope Canyon. Several ladders made the descent and exit possible; otherwise, only real rock climbers could enter the canyon.
The views are fantastic and the photographs will speak for themselves. The Lower Antelope Canyon is probably less than 200 years long, but with the twists and turns and incredible views, we easily spent well over an hour doing that short walk.
Note the log at the top of the photograph. The water gets that high, so it is easy to see how the 1997 incident occurred.
After the 200 or so yards, the "slot" portion of Lower Antelope Canyon terminates at a drop into this larger green canyon. Note the exit ladder.
Looking into the canyon from the exit ladder.
Looking from above down to the canyon at about the half-way point if you're in the canyon itself.
We spent a day in Navajo National Monument, taking a ranger led five mile day hike to the Betatakin Anasazi ruin. The night before we looked across this canyon at the ruin from an overlook.
These are the canyons of the Navajo Natinal Monument, which hold two of the best preserved Anasazi ruins anywhere, including Betatakin.
The day hike included about ten people. This guy was interesting. He left San Francisco to live cheaply and minimally, in order to beat "an addiction." So he’s traveled by hitchhiking, bicycling (until his bike broke down), freight cars, and walking. He had all his possessions in the large cloth bag, plus the really huge sleeping bag.
One of the female hikers had these interesting-soled hiking boots. She said they did not cause her to be off balance.
A small arch on the way down to the ruins.
Here are several views of the surrounding valleys from the trail.
The trail was constructed on the canyon wall by a CCC group in the 1930's; about 1/2 mile is a really steep descent.
Once down to a sandy bench, the walking is easy.
Here's our Navajo guide; he's a National Park Service volunteer who lives nearby.
Aspen in the upper part of the canyon.
Here's our first veiw of the ruins by trail.
The evening before we had the view of the ruins from the canyon rim shown in this and the next three photographs
And here we are getting close to the ruins by trail.
After the Navajo National Monument, we drove through Monument Valley, which always has spectacular views, especially when there are storm clouds about.
We spent the night in Mexican Hat, on the San Juan River shown in this photograph from the motel parking lot.
Here's a terrible photograph taken with my cell phone, but it shows the wonderful "Navajo Taco" at the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat, overlooking the San Juan River. We spent a night here after leaving the Navajo Indian Reservation.
As we drove north from Mexican Hat, we were faced with this mesa. It's called Cedar Mesa, and is one of the best places for Anasazi ruins and art in the southwest, with canyons running both to the left and right of the southern face of the mesa shown in this panoramic photograph, taken from the south. Ten or so photographs were "stitched" together to make this panorama.
To ascend Cedar Mesa, you have to drive the gravel "Moki Dugout" road that twists a sinuous course up the wall of the mesa. It was built in connection with 1950's uranium mining.
We continued on the way to Salt Lake City, and stopped at the Goblin Valley State Park. Don't these looke like cartoon characters? Or goblins or mushrooms (the valley was originally called "Mushroom Valley" but the PR people liked goblins better)?
These two photographs are included to show the variety of weather in Utah. Basically warm or even hot in southern Utah (although on the backpack we had a 26 degree night). But at Powder Mountain Ski Area, where we spent two nights at Carol's condominium, this was the view. And as I left for the airport to fly to Knoxville, it was actually snowing at Powder Mountain.
Here's a couple of photographs taken from the airplane about to land in Knoxville. The GREENNESS of eastern Tennessee is such a contrast to Utah and Arizona.
