Friendship, 4
The world is full of wonders. One can marvel even at a little daisy surviving beside a hot, busy street. Yet, there are places in the world which are beyond words. There is just awe. The Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons are examples of the world of wonder and awe. I had to make reservations for both of the tours months in advance. They are favorite tourist attractions. Both sites are in the Navajo country and Native Americans take much care of their land. Only a restricted amount of people can enter the Canyons. They also check the weather. It is very dangerous to enter during rain because of flash flooding.
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Sometimes, only a sliver of light can be seen when looking up. We are here in the Upper Antelope Canyon called Tsé bighánílíní, by the Navajo people. It means “the place where water runs through rocks.” The slot canyons were formed over millions of years. Flash flooding washed away the sandstone. This created these fantastic formations. When looking at the rocks and the patterns formed, one can also see the water rushing through.
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Sometimes, fine sand comes down caused by the wind above
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The Upper Canyon is easy to walk through. There is only one level.
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Looking up, one can see entire landscapes
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Every corner offers another stunning view
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When the flute player started his songs on a native American flute, there was absolute silence. The acoustics were astounding.
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The steep ladder up to the top
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The Lower Canyon is very narrow and has several ladders and iron walkways. Silvia is in the process of coming out of the canyon. In former times, one had to repel down into the canyon with ropes.
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A Navajo Indian performed a Hoop dance for the visitors waiting for the tour
We stayed in Page in a simple place called Lake Powell Motel. It was a two bedroom apartment unit. We were also able to cook there. We not only saved a lot of money by cooking ourselves, but it was very bonding.
After two days in Page, we drove to the Grand Canyon. Even the many tourists did not take away the awe for this place. We experienced it at sunset and sunrise, the most impressive times to be there.
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Deep down below, the Colorado River
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The Desert View Watch Tower built in 1932. It provides a fantastic view into the canyon. I learned that the Grand Canyon is a geological phenomena. The 250 million year old rock strata lie back to back with 1.2 billion-year-old rocks. It is a great mystery what happened during the hundreds of millions of years in between.
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In former years, I explored the Grand Canyon before the masses of tourists “invaded” it. I went twice down to the bottom of the Canyon. One time I stayed overnight in Phantom Range. The other time, I camped with my son Robert in Indian Gardens. When we hiked down, we could see the different horizontal layers of rocks, each layer having a different color and age. The most fascinating rock for me was at the bottom. It is a dark, black rock called Vishnu Schist which dates back 1.2 billion years. It looked to me like dark blood transformed into rocks: the blood of the earth.
Arizona has many more places to visit and experience. But everything has to end sometime.
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We spent the last night together in my home in Phoenix. We made fire in the Mexican fire place and were grateful that this precious time was gifted to us. Thank you, dear reader, for walking this adventure with us.
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