Day 30 (7/28) Horseshoe Bend, Antelope Canyon, and Monument Valley. (Lin) Today might have been one of our favorites yet. On the road by 7 am, with Monument valley as our final destination and several planned stops along the way. The pine forests and confined meadows of the north rim area soon gave way to sprawling, hugely open stretches of typical northern Arizona desert/tundra, almost always with large mesas and canyons looming in the distance. Our drive took us straight towards and around Vermillion Cliffs, and especially Marble Canyon on the east side. I have vivid memories of driving this section with my parents and my sister Lisa when I was 10 or so, and it did not disappoint with the early sun on it.
We stopped briefly at the Navajo interpretive center at the bridge across the Colorado River. There is a pedestrian bridge that parallels the main road bridge, which is fun. The bridge is 450 feet or so above the river.
Another 40 minutes of driving around and through mesas and canyons brought us to Horseshoe Bend, a famous lookout where the Colorado River makes a huge hairpin turn. We hiked ¾ mile up and then down a blisteringly hot, desert trail to the lookout 1,000 feet above the river, where we were rewarded with breathtaking views. It was yet another heartstopping situation where there were no fences or guardrails—just s sheer drop. And yet, to get the full view, you needed to be at the edge! So we took turns crawling on our bellies to the very edge and looking over. Amazing.
After a hot hike back again (looking for lizards, as we had seen going in), we drove 10 minutes to Antelope Canyon, just outside of Page (AZ), where we were scheduled for a 1 pm tour of the famous orange slot canyon. Somehow we (I!) got mixed up on our time zones, so we were there one hour early, but they were able to slip us into the 12 noon tour. (The time zone thing is funny – Arizona generally doesn’t observe DST, so it is on Pacific time in the summer, even though it is Mountain time. The Navajo nation does observe DST, so it is usually the same as Utah during the summer, or so I thought. Anyway, confusing.) The 3.5 mile ride to the canyon was a blast – half a dozen trucks racing across a low canyon floor. Antelope Canyon itself was astonishing. I had seen pictures of it, but to experience it in real life and get decent pics (below) was really cool. Our Navajo guide was fun, funny, and a great photographer. Amazingly, the entire slot canyon can fill up (up to 120 feet) with water from a flash flood. Thankfully, no such flood today.
From Antelope Canyon, we had a scenic two hour drive to Monument Valley, on the border of Arizona and Utah, and also within the Navajo nation. As we approached the hotel, we could begin to see giant monuments and mesas jutting up out of the ground. Our hotel—The View Hotel—is perched on the top of an overlook down into Monument Valley. Each hotel room faces the monuments, and it is just wonderful. We made last minute arrangements to take a 1.5 hour 4×4 jeep tour of the 17 mile loop around the monuments, and it was well worthwhile. Our Navajo guide gave us lots of info, gave us ample time for photos, sang for us, and even gave Jo some snakeweed for her sore throat (she and I have both had wicked sore throats over the past half week or more, and I a chesty cough, perhaps due to the dry, hot air and the higher elevation?).
After the tour (really more like 2 hours), we ate at the in-house restaurant to sample some Navajo cuisine and watch the setting sun cast gentle light on the monuments.
The next few days are just as busy, but then we hit the final leg of our trip with lots of driving, city-touring, and no national parks. It’s been one full month since we left RI! We are all looking forward to crashing for a week on the beach at the Outer Banks, starting Aug. 6.
(Note: click on pictures to see larger versions of them or to view a slideshow.)
Fisher Family Travels 