SwiftVets.com

[GenrXr]

Horseshoe Bend, Upper/ Lower Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell, and Zion National Park Photographic Road Trip

On Thursday November 1, 2007 I decided to take a road trip to Arizona and left Dallas at 4pm, arriving in Arizona the following day at 2pm Pacific Time. 22 hours on the road with a 3 hour rest stop. First stop upon arrival in Page, Arizona was Antelope Canyon Tours on Lake Powell Blvd, where I paid for entry to Upper Antelope Canyon. Next stop was Horseshoe Bend, where supposedly mid day provides good lighting for the canyon shot.



The hike to the rim base was 1 mile at 5000 ft and reminded me of the need to get in better shape. The hike back up was worse, yet stills an enjoyable trek. Hopefully one day, a return trip will allow morning and night shots. After leaving Horseshoe, I toured Page and visited their hydroelectric power plant, the Glen Canyon Dam.



It was now 6:00 pm and with the sun setting needed to find the camp site. Located at the beautiful Lake Powell, I decided to pitch a tent in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area at the Wahweap Campground.



Entry to the park was 15.00 for a 7 day pass or 80.00 for a 1 year pass to all national parks. My later visit to Zion would cost me 20.00 so in all 35.00 was spent on park entries.

By now the sun had set and I was exhausted, hungry and no tent was pitched. The thought of getting a hotel room was occupying my mind while sitting at the camp site table. While staring at the tent bag placed next to the four D battery powered lamp, the thought occurred this tent looked very similar to one my sister and I pitched 2 months ago in The Netherlands.

Around thirty minutes and after the removal of over one hundred very annoying tiny weed sticklers, the tent was miraculously finished. Upon completion, I went to Super Wal-Mart to get a cooler and food. I can report The Navajo Nation is alive and well and they love to shop at Wal-Mart. Fruit, veggies, milk and sandwich stuff was the order of the night and by 10:00pm was fed and asleep in the tent.

I slept poorly the first night, due to the uneven earth and resulting sore back. Woke up at 5:00am and headed out for coffee and an early morning inspection of the Page Regatta Balloon liftoff area. Shot the hot air balloons, some of which turned out nicely, then at 8:30 went to the Upper Antelope Canyon departure spot.





While on the canyon tour, I met two brothers, Chad and Trevor Jenkins who recommended a trip to Zion National Park. Only 2 hours away and Chad further explained how to set priority settings on my Canon 20d. Great guys and enjoyed shooting the slot canyon with them.



Now noon and finished shooting Upper Antelope Canyon, I headed for Zion.

This place is a true gem. Earlier at Upper Antelope a young lady said it rivals Yosemite and I concur, it truly is majestic.



Arriving at 3pm gave me only 3 and half hours of daylight to find and shoot locations. I tried to make the hike up Weeping Rock trail, yet got worried it was getting too late upon halfway and decided to turn back.



My main objective was the stone bridge looking westward mountain shot at sunset and wanted to make sure not to miss it. Good decision, the shot is great.



Saw some of the same people from Upper Antelope at the bridge. One hundred twenty miles away and seven hours later five of us manage to find ourselves at the same spot. Photographers!



On the drive through Zion, I noticed a rock with a tree sticking out of it.



From the moment of arrival in Arizona I was searching for a good nighttime spot to practice painting with light and star trails and that rock was perfect. Only problem was it was a good distance from the bridge, night was falling and I needed to set up before I lost all visibility. Fat chance of that. Was close to pitch black by time of arrival, yet was still able to get positioned and produce one decent beginner shot.



At 11:00pm, a few strange noises from the valley below signaled it was time to get off the mountain.

It was 2am upon arrival at base camp and after a quick grading of the earth, slept like a baby. Sunday, day three and time to get on the road back home to Dallas, yet still had Lower Antelope Canyon to shoot. After packing up the tent and grabbing coffee, I made my way to the lower canyon. The balloons were out again and along Highway 98 is where I got some great shots of the balloons being piloted to their landing spots.



Amazing they can pilot those balloons as well as most were. It was obvious some were more experienced than others; while also apparent the wind wasn’t cooperating with a few.



Shot a nice landing series of the Xcess Balloon Team at work.



Unlike Upper, a person can drive their vehicle to Lower Antelope Canyon.



Cash only and entry is $21.00. Lower is very narrow and more rigorous of a journey. Many stair steps and tight spots abound. It took around 2 hours to reach the ladder at the end, where I climbed out and walked the trail back to the truck. In 1997, 11 people died here during a flash flood.



The Navajo were not to blame though. Talking to one of the guides, he explained the Navajo guide could sense possible flooding and took the group out. She told the group of French people to wait on her while she scouted for signs of water. Unfortunately, no one spoke English and all were unsure of what she was saying and when a second group came along, the French group followed them back down. Minutes later and before the first group leader could arrive back, everyone drowned. In order to help prevent another catastrophe, both sides of Lower Antelope Canyon are now lined with rope ladders, which can be lowered quickly in case of flash flooding.







At 1pm, I headed home. 16.5 hours later, it was 5:30 am and I was sound asleep in bed. Horseshoe Bend, Upper/ Lower Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell, and Zion National Park ended up producing some great photographs and as far as road trips, a fun and memorable journey. I highly recommend visiting this beautifully enchanting area of our lower forty eight.
_________________
"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy

[Me#1You#10]

Absolutely awesome pix Genrxr...and most suitable for wallpapering. What's the original resolutions and have you posted them anywhere on the net?

BTW, the phpbb formatting is wreaking havoc with your post, at least on my screen.

[GenrXr]

[GenrXr]

[Me#1You#10]

Once you exceed 600 pixels, you're venturing into horizontal scroll bar territory.

Probably best to give each pic its own line.

[GenrXr]

[Me#1You#10]

Looks OK now...but how 'bout posting a link to #25 in hi-resolution? I'd like to see that on my desktop

Oh...btw...have you ever visited Wunder Photos, a pix feature hosted by "Weather Underground"? You should place some of your work there...it's a great place to browse

[GenrXr]

[streetsweeper95B]

Excellent photography, GenrXr! Excellent!
_________________
"Proud Member of the Freak Show"

[Theresa Alwood]

Breath taking!
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Born to raise a little hell!

[streetsweeper95B]

Ya know....this young man should be the official photog for swiftvets....whoa! Again....Excellent GenrXr...............most excellent!
_________________
"Proud Member of the Freak Show"

[GenrXr]

Thank You streetsweeper95B & Theresa for the kind words. Means a lot.
_________________
"An activist is the person who cleans up the water, not the one claiming its dirty."
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing." Edmund Burke (1729-1797), Founder of Conservative Philosophy

[streetsweeper95B]