Antelope Canyon

A visit to Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona was part of an 8-day bus trip through the major U.S. national parks that catered to Chinese tourists.  The bus had 55 seats and 52 were taken, so it was rather cramped and some parts of the drive were lengthy; we were not allowed to use the toilet on the bus and invariably arrived at the hotels after 8 p.m. so we could not enjoy hotel amenities such as the pool, gym, or onsite restaurants.

Nature made up for any inconvenience and Antelope Canyon turned us all into awestruck and appreciative photographers.  The beautiful underground canyons were formed by millions of years of rainwater erosion of Navajo sandstone.  It was easy to imagine the Indians chasing antelope into the canyons to trap their next meal.  Flash flooding has taken lives over the years and one of the worst instances occurred in 1997 when 12 hikers were trapped in rain water that was funneled into the canyon.  The flood waters rose to 11 feet in that particular part of the canyon and was started by a cloudburst that occurred 15 miles away.  A woman’s body was recovered and a guide survived but the other 10 hikers’ bodies were never found.  The guide had been bounced around the narrow canyon and was able to grab a ledge.  His shoes and all of his clothes had been ripped off his body by the force of the water.

I was thankful that steel ladders and stairs were installed to give us access to this wondrous place.  After I returned home, I learned that Peter Lik, an Australian born photographer who now resides in Las Vegas, sold a black and white print of a photo he took in the upper canyon of Antelope Canyon for $6.5 million!