Moving right along.....
From Monument Valley we motored on to Page, Arizona, which is outside Navajo land, so we could once more get a DRINK.
While based in Page, we checked out Antelope Canyon, Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell, and Susie did a boat trip on the Colorado R while I got my very sore neck checked out at the local hospital, which cost a bomb. $1800 for a doc to check me out and an MRI, but my Travel insurer came to the party. Yaay!!
Antelope Canyon is another photographer's delight. The most visually stunning slot canyon I have ever seen. Unlike the slot canyons up in our own Blueys, which are mostly wet, this is super dry (except for the odd flash flood a couple of times a year), with a sand floor. Once again we took a gazillion pics.
I can't comment on Susie's trip on the Colorado, other than she enjoyed it immensely and said it was REALLY GREAT!!!!
Next day we did a one hour tour of the Glen Canyon Dam. This thing was completed in 1963, and contains something like 4 million tons of concrete. Pretty spectacular, and it holds back a HUGE amount of water in Lake Powell.
After Page, we did a little side trip south a few hours to Sedona, visually stunning, being surrounded by red and orange rock towers, buttes and mesas, with lots of green pines to offset the blaze of bright rock. The Lonely Planet describes Sedona as kinda New Age Trendy, and when we first drove in we thought it was just too trendy for words. As Susie described it, Byron Bay on steroids. But it grew on us, and we had a great time there, communing with the vortexes.
Susie didn't enjoy the drive down there that much, though. With my neck in a support brace courtesy of the doc at Page, Susie got to drive, and had a fun time negotiating the steep switchbacks of Oak Creek Canyon on a slippery road in a full on snow storm. But she managed really well, and came out of the canyon and the weather into brilliant sunshine. We relaxed a bit in Sedona - did some walks, ate well, and spent some time in the spa pool with a glass of red in the arvos.
From Sedona it was back north to the Big Daddy.... THE GRAND CANYON.
What can I say? The place just leaves you gobsmacked. Just the dimensions of the place are hard to get into your head. A mile deep, on average 10 miles wide, and 277 miles long. The south Rim is at 7000' and the north rim is at 8000', and the Colorado is at about 2200'. We stayed 4 nights at the canyon, mainly because we got lucky, and were able to get a night at Phantom Ranch which is right at the bottom of the Canyon. It is almost impossible to book (we tried months before!), but you can get lucky, as we did, by going on a wait list to fill in for "no shows". So at 7am on our 3rd morning, we got the go ahead.
After that it was a 5 hour walk down the Sth Kaibab Trail to the Colorado and the Ranch. We were lucky that our no shows had booked a cabin with it's own toilet, which was a bit upmarket from the dorm accom some had. Meals were at 2 sittings in the Lodge. Very cowboy rustic and lots of fun.
Next day we had to get our slightly weary bodies up for the walk out - a bit over 7 hours up the Bright Angel Trail. We topped out at 3pm, tired but otherwise fine, and headed straight to the Bright Angel Bar for a celebratory beer.




From the GC we headed for the vastly different, but equally stunning Bryce Canyon NP. After arriving at the park around 5, we stashed our stuff and headed out to the canyon rim for some sunset shots. Next day we did the same for sunrise, back to our digs for brekkie, then out to the canyon again for a walk down into the bowels. The place had had heaps of snow, which against the stunning red rock towers, minarets, spires, creates the most amazing scenes. Highlight of the day was "Wall St", where the walls are very close together and there are a couple of huge pines which claw their way towards the sunlight. The track at this point was closed, but the Ranger almost told us "If you go under the chain a bit further, you can get some stunning shots", so we did, and did.





We thought GC and Bryce were the icing on the cake, but Zion NP, a couple of hours away, blew us away again. We entered the Park, and Zion Canyon, through a mile long tunnel completed in 1932 straight through the rock of one of the towering sandstone mountains which line this stunning valley. Driving around the park was a real trial as I was constantly wanting to look up at the towering walls all around us. We got in a walk that afternoon before finding our accomodation in the happening little town of Springdale, just out of the park. And whaddaya know, they had great hot tub next to the pool. More relaxation with a glass of red - just what we needed!
Next day we headed back into the park to do one of the "must do" walks of the park. It's called the Angel's Landing, for reasons which become obvious not long after the start. The trail climbs 1500' above the valley floor in 2.5 miles, the first 2 miles steep, but well made track switchbacking up the side of the mountain to Scouts Lookout. Big dropoffs, and not for anyone phased by heights, but otherwise fine. The last 1/2 mile then turns out onto the spine of a rock "fin" with Omigod drops on both sides, mostly just rock hopping assisted by chains in the hard bits. Nothing any reasonably fit person couldn't do, but nice and airy. Absolutely stupendous views from the top, and we were treated to a group of young Dutch guys who tried to fly a cheap model aeroplane off the top. It refused to fly away from the tower, turning back and crashing into the rocks repeatedly. After one of the young guys had dangerously "rescued' it a couple of times from just below the top, they christened it The Non-Flying Dutchman, and gave up! After that spectacular walk, we figured we'd "done" Zion, and headed back to the spa!











From Zion, we headed for the lights of Las Vegas, and that's another story.