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Tuesday was Cyn's birthday. We got up early to get to Lower Antelope Canyon for our 8:30 tour. It turned out that they'd had rain the night before, which caused a flash flood in the canyon (floods in narrow canyons are always called flash floods because they enter the canyon all at once), and had to spend some time cleaning it up for the tourists. Later, I asked our guide about it, and he said they shovel sand down into the canyon, so we're not walking through deep puddles of water.
So we went off to Horseshoe Bend for an while. We came back a little over an hour later, and the place was packed. We then had to wait another hour for our rescheduled photo tour. Our guide took the four of us (another guide had six photographers) down the trail to the entrance to the canyon, where several large groups of people were waiting to get in. Not only is Antelope Canyon a busy place on a normal day, but an extra hour and a half's worth of tourists were backed up there. Our guide got us past three or four groups, since there were only four of us, but then we were in the midst of the crowds, and had a little trouble getting decent shots. And we didn't have much time to spend on them, since we had to keep moving to stay in between the regular tour groups. So what was supposed to be a leisurely stroll through the winding canyon, turned into a rush. Finally, about halfway through, the crowds thinned out, and the corridors were roomier, so we were able to slow down.
The photography was still a bit tough, though. It was a photography tour, and the other two photographers seemed to know what they were doing. I felt like a hack. Which I was. Cyn was an obvious amateur. I brought her along on the photo tour, since I wanted to go on the photo tour. But I didn't even prep her on how to use her tripod. Which doesn't work well for some things anyway. I wanted the photo tour, because you get more time in the canyon, and can bring along a tripod for some quality shots. About halfway through, my camera slid off my lap and into the sand (I forgot the strap wasn't around my neck). I got sand on the lens, which pretty much shut down any chance I had of getting good shots. I borrowed Cyn's camera a couple of times, but I was mostly relegated to viewing the canyon. Which wasn't all bad.
Afterward, we drove down to Antelope Point Marina. It costs $15 to get in, but it was covered by our National Parks Pass. The Marina is home to lots of huge houseboats. The little ones rent for a couple grand a day, and cost about half a million. The big ones... are outrageously expensive. Luxury furnishings, bigger than my house, etc. It's also home to the largest concrete-based floating restaurant in the world. We got some burgers to go, so we could make the 1:30 boat tour of the bottom of Antelope Canyon. There was a family from France, a family from Russia, a couple of Denmark, and we Americans, stuffing our faces with burgers. The cruise was nice. A little chilly on the water, and not much to see except canyon, but the canyon is nice and I learned a few things, so it was good.
We drove back to the B&B to freshen up, and then went to Dick's and Jewell's house. Dick is my great uncle. We sat and talked with them for a while, and then we went up the road to the Chinese buffet. We went back to their house, and Cyn recorded Dick telling some stories, before they gave us a slideshow of old pictures. They'd scanned all the slides, so I was able to download most of them onto a card to take home. Once I got home, I discovered I didn't actually have them. Grrr. So now I've got to figure out how to have them get them to me.
But slideshow! Do you remember those? Sitting in a hot dark room for an hour or more, while someone shows you all the pictures from the vacation to Florida or whatever? Brings back the memories. But it was mostly pretty cool. All kinds of photos of family members from the sixties and seventies.
Dick and Jewell were really appreciate of our visit. Really appreciative.
And then it was raining pretty hard. It let up by the time we actually left. It was one of the latest nights of the trip.
In the morning we were up pretty early again, to get the first tour of the day at Glen Canyon Dam. It was pretty cool. Hoover Dam gets all the exposure, since it's so close to Vegas, but this one is almost as big. Sixteen feet shorter, and I think the canyon is narrower. They lowered it by sixteen feet, from the original design, so as not to flood Rainbow Bridge. The tour guide, Paul, said when he was a kid, he used to run around inside the dam. The tours were self-guided, and he and his friends would go through any door that wasn't locked. Now everything is closely monitored by post-9/11 security. We didn't have to take our shoes off while going through security, but we weren't allowed to bring carry-on items. Anyway, my uncle was the maintenance manager at the dam for many years, so I asked Paul if he knew him. He said yes, and he Jewell since she was a schoolteacher, and he knew a couple of their kids.
After a look at the outside of the dam, and a walk out on the bridge, we left town. It was an hour and a quarter drive to Kanab, Utah, but we stopped a couple of times. First at the Toadstools. It was a half mile walk up to the toadstools. Then we went to Paria Canyon. It was a couple of miles down a gravel road. They had recently graded it, and fixed the washed-out sections, so it was an easy drive. We saw some beautiful painted canyons. I could believe all the colors of the layers - red, gold, chocolate brown, dark maroon, even green! We took a lot of pictures. There had been a small town there, in the late 1800's, and there were signs that gave info on the the settlers and their trials. There used to be some ghost town remnants, and then it was used in the sixties for a movie set. The old-style western buildings remained there for a long time, until vandals destroyed them. I guess one was rebuilt, but it was burned down too. Now, the only thing that remains is a cemetery. It's been cared for and updated. All the graves have new headstones. None are marked with names, but the sites are marked.
Then we drove to Kanab where we had lunch. Nice little place, the Rocking V. There was a nice gallery upstairs. It's just down the block from where they're building a big new hotel on the site of the old fashioned motel I stayed in the last time I was there. The Treasure Trail Motel. That was disappointing. But at least there's economic activity in the town. So we drove on to Bryce.
Bryce Canyon is spectacular. You've probably seen pictures. The sun was often out while we were there, so that was nice. The trail I wanted to take was closed for the winter, so we had to do a down & back, rather than a loop. It's a long, steep trail with lots of switchbacks, so that was tiring. Then we drove up the road, stopping at a couple more overlooks, until we got to the end of the road at the top of the park. 9100 feet. And it was cold. It dropped below 50°, for the first time on our trip. Earlier in the day in the desert, it was 70°.
We drove back to our motel in Mt. Carmel Junction. The Thunderbird Lodge is a Best Western, they way they used to be - independently owned, rooms in several buildings, with doors to the outside. The rooms have balconies or patios. A pool and hot tub, and a golf course. Attached gift shop and restaurant (home of the ho-made pies!). It's about a half hour from Zion and an hour from Bryce. I recommend it.
This was the middle two days. Part 3 coming up soon.
So we went off to Horseshoe Bend for an while. We came back a little over an hour later, and the place was packed. We then had to wait another hour for our rescheduled photo tour. Our guide took the four of us (another guide had six photographers) down the trail to the entrance to the canyon, where several large groups of people were waiting to get in. Not only is Antelope Canyon a busy place on a normal day, but an extra hour and a half's worth of tourists were backed up there. Our guide got us past three or four groups, since there were only four of us, but then we were in the midst of the crowds, and had a little trouble getting decent shots. And we didn't have much time to spend on them, since we had to keep moving to stay in between the regular tour groups. So what was supposed to be a leisurely stroll through the winding canyon, turned into a rush. Finally, about halfway through, the crowds thinned out, and the corridors were roomier, so we were able to slow down.
The photography was still a bit tough, though. It was a photography tour, and the other two photographers seemed to know what they were doing. I felt like a hack. Which I was. Cyn was an obvious amateur. I brought her along on the photo tour, since I wanted to go on the photo tour. But I didn't even prep her on how to use her tripod. Which doesn't work well for some things anyway. I wanted the photo tour, because you get more time in the canyon, and can bring along a tripod for some quality shots. About halfway through, my camera slid off my lap and into the sand (I forgot the strap wasn't around my neck). I got sand on the lens, which pretty much shut down any chance I had of getting good shots. I borrowed Cyn's camera a couple of times, but I was mostly relegated to viewing the canyon. Which wasn't all bad.
Afterward, we drove down to Antelope Point Marina. It costs $15 to get in, but it was covered by our National Parks Pass. The Marina is home to lots of huge houseboats. The little ones rent for a couple grand a day, and cost about half a million. The big ones... are outrageously expensive. Luxury furnishings, bigger than my house, etc. It's also home to the largest concrete-based floating restaurant in the world. We got some burgers to go, so we could make the 1:30 boat tour of the bottom of Antelope Canyon. There was a family from France, a family from Russia, a couple of Denmark, and we Americans, stuffing our faces with burgers. The cruise was nice. A little chilly on the water, and not much to see except canyon, but the canyon is nice and I learned a few things, so it was good.
We drove back to the B&B to freshen up, and then went to Dick's and Jewell's house. Dick is my great uncle. We sat and talked with them for a while, and then we went up the road to the Chinese buffet. We went back to their house, and Cyn recorded Dick telling some stories, before they gave us a slideshow of old pictures. They'd scanned all the slides, so I was able to download most of them onto a card to take home. Once I got home, I discovered I didn't actually have them. Grrr. So now I've got to figure out how to have them get them to me.
But slideshow! Do you remember those? Sitting in a hot dark room for an hour or more, while someone shows you all the pictures from the vacation to Florida or whatever? Brings back the memories. But it was mostly pretty cool. All kinds of photos of family members from the sixties and seventies.
Dick and Jewell were really appreciate of our visit. Really appreciative.
And then it was raining pretty hard. It let up by the time we actually left. It was one of the latest nights of the trip.
In the morning we were up pretty early again, to get the first tour of the day at Glen Canyon Dam. It was pretty cool. Hoover Dam gets all the exposure, since it's so close to Vegas, but this one is almost as big. Sixteen feet shorter, and I think the canyon is narrower. They lowered it by sixteen feet, from the original design, so as not to flood Rainbow Bridge. The tour guide, Paul, said when he was a kid, he used to run around inside the dam. The tours were self-guided, and he and his friends would go through any door that wasn't locked. Now everything is closely monitored by post-9/11 security. We didn't have to take our shoes off while going through security, but we weren't allowed to bring carry-on items. Anyway, my uncle was the maintenance manager at the dam for many years, so I asked Paul if he knew him. He said yes, and he Jewell since she was a schoolteacher, and he knew a couple of their kids.
After a look at the outside of the dam, and a walk out on the bridge, we left town. It was an hour and a quarter drive to Kanab, Utah, but we stopped a couple of times. First at the Toadstools. It was a half mile walk up to the toadstools. Then we went to Paria Canyon. It was a couple of miles down a gravel road. They had recently graded it, and fixed the washed-out sections, so it was an easy drive. We saw some beautiful painted canyons. I could believe all the colors of the layers - red, gold, chocolate brown, dark maroon, even green! We took a lot of pictures. There had been a small town there, in the late 1800's, and there were signs that gave info on the the settlers and their trials. There used to be some ghost town remnants, and then it was used in the sixties for a movie set. The old-style western buildings remained there for a long time, until vandals destroyed them. I guess one was rebuilt, but it was burned down too. Now, the only thing that remains is a cemetery. It's been cared for and updated. All the graves have new headstones. None are marked with names, but the sites are marked.
Then we drove to Kanab where we had lunch. Nice little place, the Rocking V. There was a nice gallery upstairs. It's just down the block from where they're building a big new hotel on the site of the old fashioned motel I stayed in the last time I was there. The Treasure Trail Motel. That was disappointing. But at least there's economic activity in the town. So we drove on to Bryce.
Bryce Canyon is spectacular. You've probably seen pictures. The sun was often out while we were there, so that was nice. The trail I wanted to take was closed for the winter, so we had to do a down & back, rather than a loop. It's a long, steep trail with lots of switchbacks, so that was tiring. Then we drove up the road, stopping at a couple more overlooks, until we got to the end of the road at the top of the park. 9100 feet. And it was cold. It dropped below 50°, for the first time on our trip. Earlier in the day in the desert, it was 70°.
We drove back to our motel in Mt. Carmel Junction. The Thunderbird Lodge is a Best Western, they way they used to be - independently owned, rooms in several buildings, with doors to the outside. The rooms have balconies or patios. A pool and hot tub, and a golf course. Attached gift shop and restaurant (home of the ho-made pies!). It's about a half hour from Zion and an hour from Bryce. I recommend it.
This was the middle two days. Part 3 coming up soon.
