Day 10 – Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, & Sunset at Horseshoe Bend

Page, Arizona is in a great location. Our Comfort Inn was within ten minutes of three attractions: Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and the Glen Canyon Dam/Lake Powell area.

We had reserved a tour of Lower Antelope Canyon for 1:30 pm. The preferred time for photographers seems to be between 10:00 am and noon, because the light enters the slot canyon more directly. But those tours fill up fast, are a little more expensive, and tend to be more crowded. 1:30 worked well for us. More about the tour later.

As we had a few hours to kill in the morning, I started with some fun. Facebook posts of our vacation had sprung a debate about whether or not my Civil War era facial hair was acceptable. Most (like my family) did not care for it. A few liked it. So I did the only reasonable thing and shaved only one side of my face. I spent part of the morning like that just to worry everyone that I might keep it for a while, then finally shaved completely.

With our morning open, we drove up to Glen Canyon Dam, took some pictures, then continued on to Lake Powell.This also gave us a chance to drive over the state border into Utah and take another state line photo. It was a Friday morning, so the boaters hadn’t yet arrived in large numbers, but they were trickling in.

From there, we grabbed a quick lunch, then drove to Lower Antelope Canyon on Navajo Territory.

As I mentioned above, Antelope Canyon is classified as a “slot canyon” – a narrow canyon formed by the erosive action of water through sedimentary rock. It’s below ground level, but it’s not a cave, because it’s open on top. So you descend into it on a ladder and see the incredible, random patterns where water — primarily through flash floods — smoothly carved the sandstone of the Arizona desert. The various depths and angles where light enters from above create a wide variety of hues from a milk chocolatey sand color to the more common reds and oranges, and even purple tones in the shade.

We booked with Ken’s Tours, and they were fantastic. We weren’t rushed, but they keep it moving. Our guides told us the best spots to take photos, and because one guide was also a photographer himself, he helped by telling phone users what settings to use to keep the colors true: vivid warm was recommended, in most cases, and he was right; without it, you lost too much of the natural reds and purples). For DSLR users like me, he offered suggestions for optimal shutter or aperture priority settings in different parts of the canyon. The guides were knowledgeable, fun, and very, very natural. Not rehearsed or cheesy, like some tour operators. 

And as you can see, the place is otherworldly. The light at any time of day is good, as far as I’m concerned.

We stayed on the Navajo lands for a while, had some ice ream, visited the gift shop, and then went to the hotel to clean up and look at our photos. 

As sunset approached, we went back out, this time to the famed Horseshoe Bend — a spot about three miles from Page where the Colorado River makes an eerily symmetrical curve in the shape of, yes, a horseshoe. Parking is $10, and there’s a bit of a hike out to the view. Round trip, the hike is roughly 1.25 miles, but the quality of the hike itself is slightly challenging. It’s all natural – and I hope they keep it that way – but the uneven surface, the slope, and the sand were a combination that resulted in a pretty nasty twisted ankle for me. I’ll let the photos speak as to whether or not it was worth it.