Page, Az to Monument Valley, Utah.....5th Oct

A double whammy....I thought you all might be having water-tower withdrawals and there's more to come !!
On the move today, a short drive on quiet roads, 150 miles up to Monument Valley....

Water-towers and a train what more can a girl want.....this railroad is unusual as it's electric but then again it's moving coal from the Black Mesa 65 miles to the power station at Lake Powell....

I did warn you there would be more water-towers....I can hear you yawning......

Our first glimpse of the majestic Monument Valley area....

Sunset reflecting from the rocks at our campsite at Gouldings Trading Post, Monument Valley....
A good drive here......we've booked an 8 hour guided tour for tomorrow....7am alarm call :)

Lower Antelope Canyon.......3rd Oct 2013

This is the entrance to the Lower Antelope Canyon, a tour guide is just about to descend into the slot canyon !

Yes we will descend into the canyon here even the rather larger folks on the tour....

This slot canyon differs from the Upper Antelope  Canyon which is A shaped and more like a narrow cave where as this one is a thin deep gash in the ground......
It is a one way mile long tour and more strenuous than The Upper Canyon with many ladders and steps up and down to the various levels but boy is it worth it, if possible this canyon is even more amazing than the upper one....

As before there is no artificial light it is all natural and mind blowing.......

This photo shows the narrow sand floor of the canyon.....many areas are even narrower than this......

We were slightly concerned when we discovered there were 30 people on our tour, especially as some tripod users (they do pay more) thinking oh dear this could be a zoo, but after the first hundred yards or so we all found our own space and peace.......

The top of a ladder down to the next level......

I did forget to mention when posting the blog for the Upper Canyon that a  couple of years ago National Geographic bolted a million dollars worth of high speed underwater  camera to the side of a wall of the canyon to film the actual flooding of the canyon during the monsoons......the power of the water ripped the camera/bolts from the wall and were never to be seen again......

Yorkieman getting a good shot.....

One of our favourites.......

As with the previous tour our guide helped us get the best shots.....

One of the narrower areas.....not had enough fried chicken yet !!!

Another shot showing the sand floor and narrow passage....

We took time to be amazed as well as just taking pictures......

The exit a mile farther down the valley........what a mind blowing awesome experience....
Next stop for The Happy Campers is Monument Valley, Utah.......

Lake Powell & Navajo National Monument......1st/2nd Oct.....

Part of Lake Powell from The Rim View Trail....a good hike mostly sandy some rocks....there is one area where the trail is a narrow ledge with a sheer drop down to the lake.....

Yorkieman has taken a shine to this piece of rock and calls it Knotts Knoll.....

A very peaceful hike we did meet a couple from Upper New York State and had a good chat.....they had had their  trip to the Grand Canyon cancelled due to the wretched shutdown....

We disturbed this little chap and his mate...having said that he wasn't so little a good 18 inches long...

Back to Horseshoe Bend for the sunset........some good affect on the rocks but nothing special

As our boat trip was cancelled due to the shutdown we take ourselves off to  The Navajo National Monument approx 65 miles from Page......this is just an interestingly shaped rock....
A good drive mainly through vast ranch lands....

This and next pics are the Navajo National Monument......the remains of  Betatakin Cliff Village....

By 1286 the village had grown to fill even the most precarious shelves, most of the 135 rooms can still be seen.....

The valley of Betatakin Village......

The view from our lunch spot........

Upper Antelope Canyon......30th Sept...

No apologies for the amount of photos on this blog as this place is  mind blowing and it's all natural light nothing artificial, total nature at it's best.........
Antelope Upper and Lower Canyons are a few miles east of Page on the Navajo Reservation: thousands of years of wind and water scoured a narrow crevice in the mesa to form the 2 slot canyons...
Visitors must go with a licensed guide, the entrance is reached from the main road by 4 miles of 4 x 4 along the dry (most of the time and today) wash, an experience in itself as our  driver and tour guide, Vivian,  didn't know slow !!! 

This is the first amazing sight.....

The colours and swirls of the water erosion on the sandstone are  fantastic.....

When the floods come through the water can be up to 35 foot deep creating over time this amazing canyon....

The upper canyon is a quarter mile long and 130 ft deep....

Needless to say a selection of the hundreds of photos taken will eventually be on the wall at The Gables.....

The canyon was "first" discovered by a young Navajo girl herding sheep.....

Vivian was a great guide helping us all set up our cameras to get the best shots from  this  superb slot canyon...

It's a an easy stroll through the canyon as fairly level with no rocks to climb.....
you do have to return back through the canyon as no exit to the wash at the other end, this does mean a bit of congestion at times especially with the tripod guys and the Japanese !! But having said that we'd do it again tomorrow at the drop of a hat......

What an amazing experience.......this as I've said before is a few days late being posted. The shutdown continues and there is no sign of it getting sorted for at least a week so the tourists and general population suffer but that's governments for you they don't give a d****m ! 

Partial Government Shutdown.....on going

Hi All, sorry for no posts in last few days....all is well here but because of the shutdown this campsite is full to overflowing and therefore the wifi is flaky :( At least like so many others we are not having to boon dock in the local Walmart car park....

So far we are fine and the only thing we have missed out on was a lake boat trip yesterday as it leaves from the marina which is part of the National Park......

We feel so sorry for the Park Rangers (we have nothing but respect and admiration for the parks service) and others affected by this crazy situation,  if the politicians didn't get paid then this situation would have been solved days ago.....don't get us started.....
So many folks like our friends Pat and Simon have had their holidays  cancelled at the very last minute....there was talk on the news yesterday evening of even closing the main road from Williams to the Grand Canyon......

We have our next campsite booked until 8th, we leave wonderful Lake Powell Saturday and move up to Monument Valley....at least we can be flexible and hopefully ride out the storm which is more than a lot of folks can do.......

The next posts should be the mind blowing Upper and Lower Antelope Canyons.......

Until later...
Yorkieman and Mrs Blogger....