Off the beaten path

For more of the stories behind these pictures, please see my previous entry: Too Hot to Blog, Part 2.

The Hummer tour we'd booked got canceled due to flash flood warnings, so instead of the "Secret" slot canyon, we asked them to just take us off-roading. My husband and daughter love off-roading. We used to do quite a bit in the Anza Borrego Desert in San Diego. I've always had a thing for thunderstorms in the desert, so getting to experience one up close was quite a treat for me. And of course, the scenery wasn't bad either.

It was particularly interesting to watch as the water accumulated in a dry wash and formed a river right before our eyes.

Blair's Trading Post

For more of the stories behind these pictures, please see my previous entry: Too Hot to Blog, Part 2.

The private collection at Blair's Trading post has to be the hidden treasure of Page, Arizona. The trading post itself looks like just another shop in a strip-mall, except it has a pawn-shop section in back. There were no signs advertising the collection, and they didn't charge admission, but the owner was happy to show us her father's treasures when we asked. Over the years, he'd kept the best of the things for which he traded. Not only were there beautiful and valuable pieces, but there was also a historical context.

The majority of the things were Navajo, who are well known for their weaving and jewelry, but there was also Hopi and Zuni.

I'm a fan of Native American baskets. I even took a workshop where I learned the basics, so someday when I have time, I hope to give it a try again. This magnificent basket was Hopi.

Lake Powell

For more of the stories behind these pictures, please see my previous entry: Too Hot to Blog, Part 2.

After Antelope Canyon, we drove down to the marina at Antelope Point. We hoped to rent a kayak and explore the flooded part of Antelope Canyon that way, but it was too windy.

There were no jet skis available there, so we went up to Waheap Marina. No luck their either, so we went to the beach near Waheap.

From the viewpoints near Waheap, we could see great views of the dam, Navajo Mountain, and the Navajo Generating Station. Considering that the dam is a source of hydroelectric power, I wonder how necessary the coal powered Navajo plant is. I imagine it's a good source of income for the Navajos, but it seems so contradictory that a tribe with such close cultural connections to the environment would run such an environmentally unfriendly facility.

Later that afternoon we walked out to a scenic viewpoint overlooking the Glen Canyon Dam.

Antelope Canyon

For more of the stories behind these pictures, please see my previous entry: Too Hot to Blog, Part 2.

These are pictures from lower Antelope Canyon. The entrance to the canyon is an unassuming narrow crack in the ground that would be easy to ignore, but once we squeezed through, there were stairs to help us negotiate the steep parts.

Upper Antelope Canyon is apparently more popular, and this time of year, it's described as a human conveyor belt. Since I had a photographer's pass and didn't have to keep up with the tour, I got to enjoy a bit of solitude as my fellow photographers and I spread out through the quarter-mile long canyon. The experience was absolutely magical. Because of the angles of the canyon walls, beams of light reach the floor of the canyon at certain times of day in the upper canyon, but not the lower canyon. Since it was cloudy the day we visited, this wasn't an issue.

The solitude was broken briefly when a group of Japanese tourists hurried by, giggling and snapping pictures literally on the run. I can imagine that their experience of those few minutes in the canyon was not very similar to mine.

The mood was heightened by the music that our guide played on his flute.

I can't wait to go back and see the upper canyon and it's sun beams, but I'll try to do that in the off season.

For more of my pictures from Antelope Canyon, see my other blog.

Glen Canyon & the Glen Canyon Dam

For more of the stories behind these pictures, please see my previous entry: Too Hot to Blog, Part 2.

A great place to view the Colorado River in Glen Canyon is Horseshoe Bend. Because of shadows, it is best seen around the middle of the day. We went out there a little after 10 AM, and it was already oppressively hot and humid with thunderstorms in the distance. Despite our discomfort with the short (1.5 mile round trip) hike, it was well worth it.

From here we could admire the magnificence of Glen Canyon and wonder what the rest of it was like before it was filled with water. I remember reading things by or about Edward Abbey and David Brower and wondered how it was that even the Sierra Club made only a halfhearted attempt to save Glen Canyon. I guess it was its isolation which was its undoing; because so few people had been there, their voices were easily ignored. I wonder, will we let the same thing happen again with the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?

Normally I'm very happy with my camera equipment, but this was one occasion where I was frustrated by my insufficiently wide angle lens. 28 mm was just not enough.

My daughter and husband really struggled with the heat (103 F/39 C), so we chose to cool off by visiting the Glen Canyon Dam. They had a very interesting and informative tour of the dam which had the added benefit of being naturally cool.

The tour included a lot about how the dam was built and the engineering marvel that it is, and I was able to appreciate it on that level. In 1956 when they started building the dam, it was the most remote location in the country with no roads and no way to cross the Colorado River anywhere in the vicinity. The town of Page came into existence as a place for the workers to live.

During construction of the dam, a layer of sandstone was unearthed which contained dinosaur tracks. A piece of this was displayed in front of the visitor center.

From Las Vegas to Page

For more of the stories behind these pictures, please see my previous entry: Too Hot to Blog, Part 2.

The view from our hotel room in Las Vegas.


Pipe Spring National Monument, and the main building of the Tithing Ranch, Windsor Castle.


I love the landscape of southern Utah, and the area around Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was particularly stunning. These pictures are taken through the not particularly clean windows of a moving vehicle, but they give you the idea. I'd love to go back to the area some time when it's cool enough to go hiking.

Despite my numerous trips to this part of the country, I've never been to Lake Powell before. This is probably because I've always felt it shouldn't be there in the first place. Of course the decision to build a dam in Glen Canyon was made long before I was even born, but I guess I've considered it an abomination and held a grudge anyhow. However, when planning a trip to the desert with a child in the middle of the summer, proximity to water based recreation was suddenly more appealing.

When we drove down the hill and caught our first glimpses of the blue waters of Lake Powell against the red Navajo Sandstone, it was breathtaking. However wrong it was to fill a natural wonder with water in the middle of the desert, the result was spectacular.

Home Again

We got home yesterday after three weeks in the States. It's always a long travel day, but Lufthansa seemed to do everything possible to make it seem longer. The airplane was old and uncomfortable. There was no audio for the movies, and the monitors were green.

Frankfurt was even more chaotic than usual. We knew our flight was connecting from one of the B gates, but they didn't post which one until 45 minutes before the flight was supposed to leave, and since they are divided up into several different security areas, we couldn't even line up for the security check until the last minute. We tried to ask at the transfer desk, but there was only one person working there, so that line hardly moved. Of course the line at security was really long, and not all the scanners were open, so it took 40 minutes to get through. Fortunately SAS held the flight, so we and one other person made it. However, our luggage did not. In fact, we don't even know if our luggage made it to Frankfurt at all. It's really weird coming home and not having anything to unpack or laundry to wash.

I'll continue soon with posts about our vacation.