Day 18 - Exploring Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend

I woke at 7:30, which still feels like 8:30 to us MST, as Harley had quietly hinted a couple of times that she needed to go out. She did her business while I scooped poop in my PJs, then we both crawled back into bed.

view from our bed

Sheldon eventually got up, brewed a pot of coffee, and brought it back to bed — our first morning coffee-in-bed of the trip. He caught up on Blue Jays highlights and his Facebook feed, while I battled with my Creative Moments email, which had logged me out for no reason. No luck getting in with added security, oh well.

Miss mouse and her lollipop - :)

The new city water hookup S bought made for a great shower — such a treat to have good water pressure!

Fresh flowers and the views - fabulous!

By midmorning, we joined the group for a light breakfast of hard-boiled eggs, muffins, and fruit before packing up for our Slot Canyon adventure.

I climbed up on our trailer to get these views

We left just after 10 a.m., heading for Lower Antelope Canyon, arriving early enough to check in and then enjoy a refreshment in the truck while waiting for our 11:30 tour. A talented hoop dancer entertained the crowd, and soon we were called to begin our journey through the canyon.

Out the truck window snap of Page's golf course for Nathan and Matt - crazy desert golf courses

It was absolutely breathtaking — the smooth, sculpted sandstone walls glowing in shades of red and gold. We took countless photos, as did our guide Kaleb, who knew all the best angles and camera settings. At one point, our phones even switched time zones as we moved through the narrow passage, only to change back again once we emerged!

Waiting our turn to go down 70 feet into the slot canyon you see behind S

This random stick caught in the walls after the last rain

There are a ton of photos, everywhere you look is a pretty scene

there were names for each of the shapes but I will let you decide as I forgot the order

shhhh, I got this quick view on the DL

This shows the stair system they have to move people up thru the canyon

And we are out, so hard to imagine that is the canyon from the top. Our guide says the natives learned not to ride horses in this area, self explained as it looks like flat rock from a few feet away.

After our tour, we stopped at Walmart for ice, eggs, sausage, and refreshments, fueled up, and returned to the campground where Debby had sandwiches, grapes, chips, and dip ready for everyone — so thoughtful! The girls spent their morning shopping and the guys relaxing, and were ready to roll again as soon as we’d finished lunch.

On the way back to the campground we stoped to take some photos of Lake Powell from the Glen Canyon Dam which you can see in the very back portion of the above photo with the bridge and transmission line towers towards the campground. S would have loved to taken a tour but we had a full day ahead.

water moving to the north

and more north towards the marina

And a bit closer yet .. the water moves around west by the campground as well as east from the dam photo. Quite a big lake that meanders thru the huge canyon. Here are some fun facts;

Lake Powell

At full pool (3700' elevation, 1127m) it is 186 miles (299 km) long, has 1960 miles (3161 km) of shoreline, over 90 side canyons, and a capacity of 27 million acre-feet (32 million cubic meters). Its maximum depth (at Glen Canyon Dam) is 561 feet (171 m).

Next on the list was Horseshoe Bend, another incredible natural wonder. The sweeping view was stunning, but definitely not for anyone afraid of heights — even sturdy knees feel a little weak looking straight down! The 1 km hike in and out was packed with people; Sheldon and I clocked a brisk uphill return at 10½ minutes, while others took it slower, especially since Alan wasn’t feeling well today.

The path heading down, from this angle you don't see much other than crowds of people :)

Synchronized sight seeing :)

Look wayyyy down to the beach far below to get a scale of the campsites and people

Can't bring myself to get closer to the edge of this rock

Here’s a crazy fact: on average, four people die every year falling off the edge!!!

Again my camera (L) and Deb's (R) show different rock color but it is red for sure

Horse shoe bend video view

We then headed toward the east side of Lake Powell, where we’d planned to take a golf cart down to the water’s edge and have a drink at the restaurant. Unfortunately, it was closed today, so we checked out the store instead and then made our way into town to the Grand Canyon Brewery for drinks and supper, where S generously picked up the tab for the group.

After dinner, Debby and Chuck made another Walmart stop, while we caught a ride back with Alan and Dorothy. Once there, we fed Harley and took her for a walk around the campground, returning just as the Schmitts arrived back. A campfire was lit, wrapping up another fun-filled, eventful day.

I tried to capture the still crazy big full moon

Sheldon even managed to follow the Blue Jays game at the restaurant and later by the fire — sadly, they lost this one. Before bed, he noticed the restaurant charge was higher than the receipt showed and sent an email to sort it out.

We wound down with Netflix and finally called it a night just after midnight, Arizona time — tired, happy, and grateful for another day of adventure.