Wednesday October 30, Monument Valley UT

Antelope Canyon

Today I have been in “Photographer’s Heaven,  have been able to capture some of the most beautiful scenes that nature has created, I know they are what many tourists have on their itinerary but it still does not take away from the sheer magnificence of them all.

Our first stop this morning was only a few miles from camp at Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River, probably an image many have seen. We hiked about 20 minutes down through a rocky/sandy track to the edge of the river. Had read a bit about the view, and how you needed to be so careful as there were no fences, so very nervously I inched closer to a viewpoint, the most amazing view of a river doing a complete 180 degree turn. In the photo, the little white marks on the lower curve of the river are actually a rafting party, it adds a bit of perspective!!

Horseshoe Bend

The power station above Lake Powell seemed rather a blot on the landscape.

Then it was out to Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon about 5 miles East of Page,  did a bit of research (Google is so helpful when you are travelling) as there are two canyons to visit, the Upper and the Lower, and although the Upper Canyon is supposed to be really good with easier access, most of the tour buses go there. Evidently it is really hard to get photos without people in so opted on the lower which turned out to be a good choice. The canyon is on Navajo Land and different families run the Upper and the Lower.

It was $25 per person to take the hour long walk through the canyon, and as I had my tripod I paid an extra $10 for a photographers pass and could take two hours. Ian was supposed to keep up with the guide, but he “looked after me” (!!!!) and stayed behind too. Once again words can’t describe it, hopefully the photos (only a few) will show you what it was like. We had to climb down lots of ladders as we descended through the canyon, and at times it was very narrow. The light at this time of the year is not quite as good with the sun lower in the sky, but it was still really impressive. We emerged two hours later,  another great experience.

Drove to the Antelope Marina on Lake Powell for a very late lunch stop, once again very little action and most of the boats seem to be out of the lake for the winter.

Finally time to drive East towards Monument Valley through a high plateau of ranch country. Had hoped that we may have found a camp site a bit earlier but no luck. The sun was just setting as we drove into the Monument Valley area and those very familiar Butte’s and Mesa’s were just catching the last of the sun.

The great thing about travelling at this time of the year is that there is no problem getting campsites. Tonight we are camped in amongst the red rocks at the Goulding’s Camp, look forward to seeing it in daylight!

The time changes have been interesting, as now we are in Navajo Country our clocks have gone forward an hour. And I think this weekend is the end of daylight saving so our clocks will go back again. We end up just eating and sleeping when we are ready, not worrying what the time is!

On something quite different, just heard from our daughter in law Janine, that she had read in this weeks NZ Women’s Weekly on the gardening page, a short review of my book, “Tui A Nest in the Bush”. It is really exciting how well the book has been received. My friends at Lake Tarawera took a box of 50 along to the Labour Weekend Spring Fair and sold them all. If you are interested in getting a copy, it is available online at www.craigpotton.co.nz  If you use the code MSC TUI 2013 in the coupon section it will acknowledge the link to me.

Whew…this has been a long blog!!!!!

Arriving in Monument Valley at dusk.