Day 7: Antelope Canyon....and some other stuff

After Zion yesterday, we stayed in the most adorable hotel in nearby Kanab:  Canyons Lodge.   They gave us free wine!  When we entered the room, we were greeted by this guy:

 

Our room was so cozy, and the beds were the most comfortable we've had so far.

 

The next morning, we got to actually see what it looked like.

After a quick continental breakfast (freshly squeezed orange juice and scones!), we were headed across the border to Arizona to tour Antelope Canyon.  The tour left from Navajo country outside of Page, AZ.  We piled into the back of a specially equipped pickup truck and headed across the sand to the entrance to the canyon.  The ride was rough.  Let's just say we were glad nobody bounced out.

 

Henry, our native Navajo guide, was as entertaining as he was informative.  We had a great time, and were thrilled to have taken some pretty awesome pictures. 

 

 

 

Heading back to Pagosa Springs, we stopped at Four Corners Monument (and flea market).  We had to get a "Look! I'm standing on four states at once!" picture.  This was our first trip to New Mexico! 

 

 

We shopped, had snow cones, and headed back to Colorado.   This wrapped up our Four Corners loop, and now we're headed north toward Yellowstone!

 

 



Days 5 and 6: The Pictures

Here are some of our favorite photos from Days 5 and 6:

*Disclaimer:  Any of the paved roads seen in these pictures were roads we traveled on.  Even the tiny ones. :-)

 

Drive to Moab:  We approached this mountain for a long time, and then the rocks started turning red and started forming interesting shapes.

 

 

Arches National Park:  This park was much more than just arches.  The structures were huge!  In some of the pictures you can see tiny people or tiny cars for perspective.

 

 

Dead Horse State Park:  We were introduced to Dead Horse State Park at an art show.  One photographer had lots of pictures of this park, as well as Canyonlands and Arches, and we knew we had to go.  Look for the tiny van in this first picture.  We didn't take this route.

The Green River ran through the canyon and wrapped around Dead Horse Point.  It eventually joins the Colorado River.

 

 

 

Canyonlands National Park:  We arrived just in time to see the sun begin to turn canyon different shades of red before eventually setting over the west side of the canyon.

 

 

Day 6 began with the Scenic Drives down UT 24 and UT 12, which included Capitol Reef National Park, Dixie National Forest, and Escalante Grand Staircase National Monument.

Our first Golden Eagles sighting!

 

 

The next two pictures are of the petroglyphs in Capitol Reef National Park.

 

 

 

 

Bryce Canyon National Park:  Hoodoos!

 

Zion National Park:  After the LONG drive into the park, a 1.1 mile tunnel through the mountain, and some white knuckle switchbacks, we found ourselves at the bottom of the canyon.  We were surrounded by massive structures and tall red walls. 

We rode the bus down the length of the canyons.  The views were good from every direction, even the skylight of the bus.

 

The water was COLD!!

 

*Disclaimer 2:  This really is a small sampling of the pictures taken during these two days.  We promise. :)