THE ANTELOPE CANYONS: THE ANTELOPE SLOT CANYONS

My Wife Caroline Sicard

Me: Silently giving my respects to the 12 that perished here during a flash flood.

In 2007 my wife and I went to Kanab, Utah to try to get a permit for "The Wave" through their onsite lottery system. We camped the day before and got to the Ranger station before it opened. There, close to 100 people from all over the world stood in line.

They only gave out 10 permits and 4 went to a group from Norway and 6 went to a group from Germany.

Having driven all the way from Las Vegas, we felt that we should lift our heads up and enjoy what was around. After a couple of hours of reading tourist infos, we discovered so many things to see there. One of them, was the Antelope slot canyons. I have seen pictures of this famous place, but I did not realize that it was only a 35 minute drive away. So we jumped in the car and headed over to Page, AZ.

After finding an excellent Navajo guide (Chief Tsotsie), we were out negotiating slippery red sands on a 4x4 towards the entrance of the Canyon. There are 2 famous slot canyons, Upper and Lower Antelope. We went to the Upper first and our guide showed us all the excellent spots where the rays of light enter the shafts. It was amazing, however, it was very stressful, as it was so jam-packed with tourist. Not at all what we had expected. I came out with some pretty cool pictures, but I was quite disappointed with the experience.

I was looking forward to a somewhat spiritual and serene one, but instead, sweaty and dusty tourist getting into your shot during long exposures. This bad experience was off-set however, by the Lower Antelope Canyon. We simply crossed the street and there was the entrance. Paid only $20 to get in and we were given 4 hours without a guide to satisfy our photo needs. We stumbled into 3-5 tourist the whole time and the experience in the almost silent, beautiful and awe inspiring place recharged me for months to come.

These places are sacred, please give them respect by leaving no trace and showing respect to the Navajo people who run and guide these places. It is sacred to them, but it should be appreciated immensely and held at the highest regards by everyone, regardless of nation or creed.

Added bonus: the discovery just a few minutes away from the canyons - the Horseshoe Bend.