iConic 'Wave' at the Antelope Canyon

The year had already started very busy, between home and work, and still thinking about my father who had passed away the year before. I did not talk much about it, but at times, I found myself thinking about him a lot. And at times, those thoughts had mixed feelings attached.

April came, and soon I was on a flight to my annual business convention in Las Vegas, and decided to try something a little bit different and adventurous for my after-show days off. And this year I set my eyes on going to both Lower Antelope, X and the Horseshoe Bend Canyons: three iconic featured destinations I had always wanted to go.  

The five days of work rushed by very quickly, as usual, and without realizing it, the eve of my trip was upon me! I would travel light, with a small backpack for the stayover between the two operators.

Early morning came, and it was still dark when I walked out of my hotel, and quickly made my way to another venue where the bus operator would pick most of us. It only took 10 minutes, and Las Vegas was relatively quiet and fresh, and dim, in those early hours.

The bus was already at the pick-up point, with a small line of guests already going through the checking procedure with a small lady visibly in charge of the excursion. I took my place in the queue, and it was not long before my turn came to present my vouchers and ID. But then she double checked her list, looked at me, and said my name was not on the list, despite the reservation clearly showing me booked for the trip! Needless to say, this was annoying, and I had to step aside as other guests were boarding. It was only when I was the last person standing beside the bus that the small lady returned to me and called her office, which confirmed my booking, but she could not see my name again. We then both looked at her mess of papers she was carrying, and somehow my name was printed on the reserve side of her list! She laughed and motioned me to board, but I was not impressed.

The doors finally closed, and the bus left the hotel parking before I could finally take a deep breath and make myself comfortable. We were driving out of Las Vegas, due East, for a long four-and-a-half ride to our first destination, Lower Antelope Canyon.

As history goes, “Lower Antelope Canyon was discovered in 1931 by a young Navajo girl named Sue Tsosie while herding sheep on the ancestral lands of the Navajo Nation, near present-day Page, Arizona. Accounts vary, but this widely circulated story details her finding the canyon as a young Diné (Navajo) girl during the time of the Great Depression. The canyon, a sacred site to the Navajo, was named for the herds of prong-horned antelope that roamed the area at that time.” There is not just one canyon, but a series of six separate sections in this Navajo  Reservation: Upper, Rattlesnake, Owl, Mountain Sheep, X, and Lower, where we were heading.

As we drove, and the miles and hours passed by, I was mostly glued to the scenic window bay, admiring the endless desolation of the surrounding desert, above-ground canyon, and geological formation eroded over millions of years of weather erosion! And then we stopped for a short break at Glen Canyon Dam for some scenery shots of the surroundings, including the rock formation known as the Beehive Rock (due to the erosion pattern having sculpted what obviously looks like a beehive…).

Finally, after a little bit more road under our wheels, we arrived near Page, Arizona, and the parking lot and information barracks were just in front of us. After a few formalities and directions from our local guide, we simply walked past the visitor centre, on a dirt path seemingly leading nowhere, but here it finally was: right in front of us, a crack in the earth, a cooling of the surrounding air, shadows and light playing at the edges of a simple metalique step ladders embedded in the rock, going down, and a strange stern warning from the guide NOT to take any photos here: i guess to avoid any falling off the ladder? We went down the steps, cold, hard, and noisy, and suddenly stepped into a different world.

The landing was soft and silent, as my shoes brushed the soft, fine sand at the bottom of the canyon. Surprisingly, the weather was fantastic, with a bright and sunny day in he sky, illuminating the iconic canyon walls in all sorts of orange hues! Above our heads, through some of the openings, which would just be fissures in the desert floor, a vivid blue sky led us further down the canyon, drawing all kinds of serpentine, jagged, or bizarre shapes. 

As we went deeper in, the light and colours contrasted even more, dancing off the strange rock formation we were passing by, some with nicknames, such as the Eagle rock, Pocahontas’ face, Lion face, Buffalo Head, even the Joker’s face, and an old and wise Indian chief… But if you did not know where to look or were not close to the guide, as I was a bit behind, you may have missed them all. 

But no worry, as virtually every single inch of this amazing canyon is picture worthy, and there are faces and stories all around you for you to discover or imagine as your very own.

It took us about an hour to traverse the underground canyon, and as the walls started to close in on us, with less and less blue sky overhead, we knew it was nearing the end of the visit. Without fanfare, but in a way experiencing a very strange feeling of “being born again” or finally “seeing he light of day again, emerging from the subterranean world”, we surfaced.

Looking back, as I stood on the ground again, I could see the long opening in the ground, going back to the visitor centre, at times a bit wider, or a bit narrower, and could hardly realize we had been walking down there all the time! 

Before we left, there was one last surprise and sight waiting for us, as we left the canyon behind. Our guide brought us to a very nondescript spot, a few steps from where we exited the canyon, and firmly stomped his foot on the flat rocky surface he was now standing on. Looking down, he said something like “There be monsters…” 

There, permanently etched on the ground, was the footprint of a dinosaur, from millions of years ago, from an era of giants and monsters, and all it took was a rock from space to end their reign.

Once more, we boarded our bus and headed towards the small town of Page, where I would be leaving the group and staying overnight. It was only a short drive, as we passed near the Navajo *still) coal-powered Power Station.

I was the only one to get off the bus, and that small lady bid me goodbye and confirmed the bus would pick me back up tomorrow, late afternoon, same place, for the ride back to Las Vegas. A chill ran down my spine, and an unshakable bad feeling suddenly gripped me.

The bus quickly disappeared, and I was alone again, as the afternoon stretched lazily towards a cool and silent evening, which I would spend halfway across the world and home, more or less in the middle of the desert. But for now, I decided to unpack, freshen up, and check out the tour operator that would take me to the second canyon walk, the famous X Canyon tour. They were a bit surprised to see me alone but confirmed my name was on the list. That was a relief…

I dozed off in my small room, only to wake up as the amazing light of the Arizona desert bathed the whole sky. I was hungry, and decided to get out, cross the absolutely not busy main road, to a small shops complex, and walked straight into the local Chinese restaurant: what else ;-) Fifteen minutes later, I walked out with some deliciously smelling take-out, which I intended to devour, along with a cool bottle of beer I had bought at the nearby liquor store, and watched the news on TV, followed by a documentary, before going to sleep.