Antelope Canyon
I visited Antelope Canyon near Page, AZ for the first time back in June 2005. At that time, you did need to go with a Navajo guide and there were groups of people in the canyon. But, these were more like groups of 10 people at one time. Back then, if I recall correctly, it was something like $30 and I was with a small group. About 3 of us were more into photography and had tripods, so the guide said that we could stay longer and left us there while they shuttled the others back and said we could ride back with another group since they brought groups in every hour. So we stayed and had the place to ourselves more or less until another group came in. But it was always something like a small group of ten or less. So, I had assumed I would have the same experience this time around. Ummm, no. A lot has changed in the past 8 years. I am pretty sure that at times there were more than 50 people in the canyon at once. It was crazy. Also, we were restricted to stay with our group and basically had to get stuck in one position with the group where our tripod was placed. No moving around as we only had 3 minutes in each spot. I understand that this is a good business for the Navajo people involved, it being so popular and all, but I must say that I won’t be going back. Being in a slot canyon with 50 other people isn’t my idea of a good time. I did get a few nice shots nevertheless, although the infamous beams of light were elusive since while we were in there, the clouds decided to cover the sun.
I went on a tour with a company that provides “photographic tours” of the canyons and included two other canyons besides Antelope. The other two were Owl Canyon and Rattlesnake Canyon. The guide was very knowledgeable about the canyons and photography, so this part of the tour was good. Also, the first two smaller canyons were inhabited only by our small group (3 of us in owl and 5 of us in rattlesnake).
It was quite expensive to do this as I also had to get an additional $50 permit for commercial photography in case I get some good shots and want to try and sell them. I’m glad I included the other two canyons and not just Antelope as at least we got to spend some time in some canyons without hoards of other people with us as the other two canyons were only $20 extra for each canyon. So that was a good choice, on my part, as I had contemplated only going to Antelope.
Antelope Canyon
Antelope Canyon
Rattlesnake Canyon
Rattlesnake Canyon
Rattlesnake Canyon
So now I’m in Escalante, UT and this morning I’m going to explore some slot canyons on my own (although likely there might be a few other people exploring them too, but certainly not 50 at once). I’m headed down the “Hole in the Rock” road in the Grand Staircase Escalante and want to check out Peek A Boo Canyon and Spooky Canyon, plus Devil’s Garden.
The weather has been quite strange the last two days and it was even snowing near Bryce Canyon (and a bit of snow in the air when I was at Rattlesnake Canyon). Last night was quite cold – in the 20s, so I stayed in a cozy cabin instead of camping like I had planned. But tonight it will be back to camping at the same place (no cabins available) – Escalante Outfitters – same place I stayed back in 2005 when I passed through this area.
So new desert adventure begins! Tomorrow I’ll head to the Burr Trail (like I did in 2005) and then onward to Capitol Reef National Park.
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