Antelope Canyon 

Page, Arizona

"Wow this is a photographers paradise,"  These are the first words that I spoke to my Father upon entering lower Antelope canyon.  It is a special place - I really don't know what to write.  Sitting in the hotel room after driving from Vegas, I was looking over some brochures on Antelope Canyon where we planned to visit the following morning.  One line that I remember reading on the cover was, "you will not look at nature the same way again."  Wow, that's quite a powerful statement I thought.  Now I believe it.  Upon entering the canyon through a small insignificant crack in the surface and entering a world of profound beauty bellow, you are instantly hit with a feeling of awe.  Every twist and turn reminded me that this was not a place built for or by humans.  Natures very own cathedral.

Lower Antelope

These pictures show the entrance to lower antelope canyon.    After paying the fees we were escorted to the nearby opening and down the ladder.  Most of the canyon was only about 4 feet wide as it winds on down.  At the end there is a 30 ft drop where technical gear would be needed to go farther.   The slot follows a sandy bottom that is about 60 feet deep from the small slit in the top where in most places you could jump across.

Upper Antelope

 The upper canyon was quite a bit deeper than the lower.  It was much darker but we went midday when beams of light streamed through the ceiling and land on the sandy floor far below.  All day could easily be spent watching the colors and light bounce off the walls.  Both upper and lower sections are about a city block long.  I am so glad that we did experience the lower canyon first because the upper canyon was just about wall to wall people and it detracted from such a place.  It was a task to get shots without people in them.  The lower canyon felt like we were on our own to explore it at our own pace and few people.  In 1996, 12 people were killed in a flash flood in the lower canyon.  I cannot think of a worse place to be in a thunderstorm.  But it is wind, sand, water and time that shaped these slots.  On the way out we noticed the memorial to the people that were killed. I also must mention the massive power/generator/whatever plant located about a mile away from the canyon.  It is the most ironic thing.  You come outside of visiting one of the most divine places that you will ever see in your life, and there it is, congering up feelings how without a voice these places can be encroached upon so easily.  They say that there is nothing like your first slot canyon,  Antelope was a magnificent start. 

Take a stroll- Movie

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