Canyons, Grand and Antelope

Best part of the time we spent in AZ was that my girl, Meg was able to join us for a few days…happy momma. As we drove from California, we were struck by the extent of the wind farms and the crop farms. We did the trip from Yosemite over 2 days as it is quite far.

We wound up camping in Flagstaff rather than on the north rim as originally planned because logistics were easier for all of us and there was better access to other things like shops & yoga in Flagstaff. Luckily we were able to get a sit at the Flagstaff KOA which was really nice – we could even have a campfire believe it or not! Wednesday was a great day for a “regroup” – an early morning hike near Flagstaff, midday yoga and a delicious lunch in town, and an oil change – we’d put many miles on the truck! We caught up on grocery replenishment and had and early night.

Since Meg has – naturally – already been to the Grand Canyon, we went up there super early on Thursday to take it in. We were on the road before sunrise, which was cool to see the day take shape as we drove to the south rim entrance. We even saw a coyote from the road. Brian had also been to the Canyon before, but it was my first experience there. We arrived, parked and walked out to Mather Point. Like many, I would imagine, my jaw dropped as we walked to the overlook. The sheer vastness of the Canyon is so humbling; simply that, humbling.

We then made our way on the shuttle over to the South Kaibab trailhead and were greeted by a thirsty elk at the water station. Brian decided to help the big guy out with a drink.

Only to walk around to the other side of the sign when we cam back to see this:

They really need to put that sign on both sides.

We wanted to hike into the Canyon but wary of crowds & heat, decided to do just do the 2 mile trek to Ooh Aah Point. As we got to the point, with Brian ahead of me (as usual), I slipped and took a knee. Brian was caught up watching some guy lose his paper bag to the Canyon wind and when he turned around to see me on the trail (after others had seen me & were asking “are you okay?”); he says “what are you doing? Tying your shoe?” OMG – here I am worrying I am going to fall off the trail and die and he’s wondering if I am tying my shoe. It’s funny now, but that was enough – we called it and headed back up trail.

The rest of our trip was like most folks, walking along the West Rim Trail to the various overlook points. It was very cool to see the Canyon from so many different perspectives. We caught the shuttle back to the parking lot, enjoyed our lunch and headed back to Flagstaff – but we did see a group of 5 bull elk (6×6 or bigger) on our way out of the park.

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We embarked early on Friday to take a mountain bike ride. We got to a trail we found on the MBT app (not easy to find trails in Flagstaff even though they have many); but it was ridiculously hard for us amateurs (well, this amateur). All I kept thinking was I do not want to wind up in the hospital before Meg gets here & ruin this weekend. So, we bailed and found another trail that was decently difficult but not life threatening and were done in time to just make a yoga class before heading over to visit the Wanderlust (HAH!) Brewery. How appropriate…we shared our wanderlust story, enjoyed their beer, got a couple of stickers and ordered a t-shirt (they were out of my size). This all helped pass the time waiting for my girl. Funny thing happened on the way to Wanderlust though — we saw a sign advertising an upcoming concert with the Crash Test Dummies. How many of you remember their big hit? Oh my, “Mmm…mmm…mmm…mmm…” was swimming in our heads for many hours thereafter. Damn, now it’s in there again. LOL.

Meg arrived Friday night after a bit of car trouble requiring her to get a rental in order to make the journey up from Phoenix. She arrived in a pick up truck! We had a lovely dinner, some prosecco and an early evening because our tour guides were due to pick us up at 5AM for our tour to Upper & Lower Antelope Canyon & Horseshoe Bend the next day. You cannot access the Canyons without a Navajo Guide – but rather than driving (2+ hours) up there and take a chance to get tickets for a guided tour at the Canyon, we decided to book with Navajo Tours Direct to guarantee entry at the best times of day for lighting/pictures and to save us from having to drive there & back. It was the right decision, even though they were delayed picking us up due to construction road blocks, our guides were great. They shared so much information about the land, Navajo Nation and other interesting facts – and even took us off tour to a couple of other locations along the way.

We had a 7:45am tour of Lower Antelope Canyon – best to see this in the early morning light. Pictures from here are indeed Mac screen savers. You can see why. The guide was so helpful in getting the best shots – knowing the right settings, filters, angles, etc. She even taught us how to take a vertical pano picture. Antelope Canyons are slot canyons, said to be the most beautiful in the world. Lower AC is below ground and shaped like a V and below ground; Upper Canyon is shaped like an A and above ground.

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The vertical pano

We next headed to Upper Antelope Canyon and then once outside, to an extra view of another slot canyon in the area.

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There aren’t many words needed to describe the beauty of these canyons – the pictures speak beauty.

We enjoyed a nice lunch and then headed over to Horseshoe Bend. It was getting very hot and the crowds were getting big as we hiked to 2 mile out & back. Our guides told us stories of when they were young boys and would climb the canyons using garden hose for rope, go fishing and play in the chilly water of the Colorado River. Quite something.

As we drove back, we stopped along the roadside to see some native vendors and the Vermillion Cliffs and also take in the “million dollar cut” that restored highway access after a landslide closed Highway 89 for 2 years. Layers of asphalt crumbled as about 150 feet of the southbound lanes separated and slid down the steep bluff. Chunks of the highway settled as much as 8 feet below the old roadbed. Without the highway, the only paved road was a 125-mile detour through Tuba City and Kaibeto. A shorter road, Navajo Route 20, was unpaved and riddled with deep gouges and washouts. The state and tribe eventually paved that road at a cost of $35 million, but it still meant long hours on the bus for kids. Our guides returned us safely to our campground in time to enjoy a shower, nap (Meg) and dinner. Meg misses my cooking so she really enjoyed that and we enjoyed the delicious vegan cheesecake she brought for us. We had a nice fire and some wine, exhausted from the long day.

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We extended our stay in Flagstaff through Monday so we could hang out together on Sunday and not have to pack up and leave by noon. We hiked a nearby trail that included some cool lava caves & tubes.

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Sadly, we said goodbye to Meg around 6. I’m so happy she is doing well and is enjoying life in Phoenix, but man…I miss her.

We packed up so we could get in some early exercise before heading off to Moab the next day. I went to a yoga class and Brian headed off for a bike ride — only to call me as I was half way to class to tell me his chain broke! He wound up walking the bike back to the campground and getting us set to go by the time I returned from yoga. We hit the road for the next destination shortly after.