Antelope Canyon - Page, Arizona

Antelope Canyon (or Slot/Corkscrew Canyon) is a narrow crevice sliced through a mesa by rushing water. Some canyons measure less than a yard across at the top but drop a hundred feet or more from the rim to the natural floor. Slots are cut and scoured by water and wind with the striations of the sandstone becoming almost incandescent. Seen from the surface, Antelope canyon appears as a large gash in the sandstone surface.

In 1931, twelve year old Sue Tsosie was herding sheep from Manson Mesa toward Kaibeto when she discovered Antelope Canyon. It has also been referred to as the Corkscrew, Upper Antelope, Wind Cave, or the Crack. This fragile canyon is one quarter mile in length and although its beauty is widely phtographed it is not well known. That's what I like about it so much.

"This is where you go in", our Navajo guide whose name was Sam explained. "Are you KIDDING???", Mom cried in disbelief. Here you see Mom backing down into the crevice and entryway for what was to be one of the most incredible experiences of our lives.

Dad helping some very nice women we met on our journey (they gave us much needed water before the excursion). You can see Sam at the entrance (top right) making sure none of us met with a nasty fall. The metal ladders went down about 40 or 50 feet to the bottom of the canyon. The canyon floor sloped slowly downwards and the footing was precarious at times where the "path" was no wider than several inches. In order to properly navigate the trail, one needs to use the walls to balance...

This is what one sees when one is at the bottom of the canyon -- unearthly beauty and magnificent colors. The camera cannot capture the majesty of this place.

Mom and Dad at the bottom - whew! It's a bit unnerving navigating the slot canyons...

We continue on our journey...

Yours truly - a bit dishevelled (of course). It made me a little nervous to be below ground, but it was comforting to know that you could still see "slices" of sky from wherever you were.

This is a shot from below to the "ceiling" of the canyon. You can see the dust blowing over the layers of sandstone. As the morning sun began to rise, it began to illuminate the canyon walls with the most brilliant of colors.

Lo and behold, a natural arch halfway down!

More Antelope Canyon (click here)