Letters from...Grand Canyon (2)

Toadstool Rock

   On the fourth day of our trip (after Monument Valley, Gooseneck Bend, Rainbow Bridge and Upper Antelope Canyon) after visiting Lower Antelope Canyon we left Page and went further to Kanab.

   To me, Lower Antelope Canyon seemed more interesting than Upper... not only it was cheaper, but longer and more fun. Although one group was of about 20 people (compared to 6 in Upper) it didn`t seem crowded because the canyon was big enough to spread out.
Our young guide was very euthanistic as well, showing us the photo spots, even setting up our cameras to take nice colored pictures. (The secret is to set up the camera for cloud AWB and a bit darker than usual. By that the brownish-orange sandstone walls come out beautiful, vivid orange on the pictures.)
   Usually it is said the lower is longer and more narrow than upper, which was true. However, Upper is usually preferred because at noon there are nice beams of sun entering the canyon. Well, we as well saw such sunbeams at several places in Lower Antelope Canyon... also, the good thing was that we didn`t have to care much about the timing, it is said that the light reaches the canyon at almost any time of the day (compared to the Upper Canyon where the best timing (around 11 and 12) is also the most expensive).
We went with the 10.45 tour, and after a short talk we arrived to the canyon`s entrance. Different from the Upper Antelope Canyon, it wasn`t like a cave entrance, rather we had to climb down some narrow and steep stairs to start our journey in this unique land.

going down to the canyon

   After about over an hour we came out on the other side of the canyon. It was really strange seeing how narrow the slot is where the exit is.

the exit

   Actually, that`s why they are called slot canyons... both the upper and lower canyon is created by the fierce force of water and wind. It was interesting to hear that the horizontal stripes in the sandstone are made of water, while the diagonal stipes show the force of the wind.

horizontal and diagonal stripes show different forces

   Anyway, around the Vermiliont Cliffs area (near Kanab) there were other slot canyons, but the Antelope is far the most popular.

   It was past noon when we left Page and headed to Kanab. Kanab is about 1 hour from Page, but as it is in Utah state, we lost an hour. (The time zones are a real mess around here, Arizona has summer time, Utah doesn`t, but even in Arizona the Navajo areas do manage daylight savings... so, just driving here and there it was really confusing - thanks to our GPS however we were always aware of the current time.)

at Vermillion Cliffs

   On the way to our lodge in Kanab we stopped by an interesting set of rocks, the Vermiliont Cliffs. There was a short trail to Toadstool. The trail was about 3 mile and although it was hot, on the plain rocks, it was a nice walk. The trail was amazing as it went through pinkish then white rocks and just at Toadstool rocks it was orange and white. The rock formations are called toadstool but it could be called mushrooms as well, as the harder rock is formed as the hat of a mushroom while the softer rock below it is narrower. By the way, these formations are called "hoodoos" and one can see many examples of it in Bryce Canyon.

   After this short stop at Toadstool Rock, we headed further to Kanab. After checking in we didn`t have much plans, so we just strolled around the town (cute little country town), window-shopping and checking out the place for the next day`s lottery to the Wave.

   Next morning we woke up early to join the lottery for the Wave, the amazing, wave-like rock formations at Coyote Buttes. On the lottery there were about 100 people and only 10 got it. Of course, we didn`t have that luck... however, it was interesting to get known that the area around Kanab is called "wilderness" which is a level above national parks. In the wilderness no parking lots, paved roads or trails are allowed, the wilderness is much more closer to the real "nature" than national parks. The Wave and other parts of Coyote Buttes are in such wilderness, that`s why the really limited number of people let inside per day.

   After the Wave, there was a lottery for the South Coyote Buttes as well (for that lottery the people were vanished), but unfortunately it required a 4WD vehicle due to the deep sand.
It is said that the South Coyote Buttes are more interesting than the North (where the Wave is), so it might worth the few buks to rent a 4WD as the lottery for the South Coyote Butte is much more probable than for the Wave.

   As we missed the lottery, we went with plan B: Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. (The lottery is always for the next day, so we had Zion as plan B in case of no luck.)

In my last letter, let me tell you about Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon National Parks.

For more pictures, click here! →(Half) Grand Circle