Wednesday, 9th August, 2017

Ok, one last attempt to finish one trip before the next. I am typing this aboard the P&O cruise ship, Adonia, just north of the Azores, on Thursday, 19th October, but you are going to have to wait for our tales of life in the high seas until I have finished our USA road trip. Hang in there, I will be with you as soon as possible. And I am hoping I will be publishing this today, Saturday 21st October……..

Well, we left Junction, Utah with clean laundry and eager expectations for the day ahead. I had reckoned that we might just have time to fit in a visit to Bryce Canyon on our way to the main event which was the fantastical Antelope Canyon and we were so glad that we did. The drive took us through Red Rock Canyon which was just a taster for the real thing, but spectacular nonetheless with strong red works of nature transformed by wind and weather.

On we drove, not really knowing what to expect at Bryce Canyon, which made the eventual vista all the more stunning. It is hard to describe and I hope the photos give you a reasonable sense of the scale and uniqueness of the landscape with its colours and pillars of stone all under a blue, blue sky and white fluffy clouds. Very photogenic and it was a shame we were on a bit of a schedule as it would have been great to have explored further, but time was of the essence having booked our place on the tour at Antelope.

Off we set, heading south until we reached the rather unprepossessing car park that was the venue for our tour of the unique Antelope Canyon – along with thousands of others it would seem. The temperature was rising into the high 30s and we were downing water and slapping on the sun cream, whilst Nick kept up a steady spray from the now venerated bottle. Luckily we were in time and although there was a delay before we were able to join the queue, we did at least know we were able to get in, not least as we were supposed to have confirmed our booking the day before. What was slightly odd was that there is absolutely no sign of the canyon from the car park, so we did wonder how the tour was going to work – and even where the canyon was! We enquirer and discovered that first we had to join the throng in the visitor centre where we waited before being allowed to join the throng again in the waiting area before our guides split us up into groups and, already a bit hot and harried, we walked to another waiting area at the entrance to the canyon. We were starting to see what was ahead – or more correctly – below us. Note the tiny people at the bottom of the first photo……

Now Antelope Canyon is not your average Canyon with wide views and deep drops. It is definitely below ground, but you walk or climb through narrow gaps with swirling walls of smooth rock rising above your head. Almost certainly one of the most photogenic places I have ever been to and I have tried to limit the photos below to the best, but there are lots, lots more if you are interested, believe me. Absolutely fascinating and stunning even with the crowds. And delightfully cooler!

We still had one last destination and one last canyon to add to our day and that was, of course, the one and only Grand one. Time was getting on now, but we did manage to get there in time for the sunset and to get a feel for its majesty and sheer scale. I had entertained a thought that we might be able to see enough for us to avoid the hour drive there and hour drive back the next day, but you don’t come all this way for a brief glimpse of something as huge as this. Val and I had seen it before, though not at sunset, so it was lovely to see the colours and light changing as the sun dropped below the plateau in the west. Indeed we only had time to see the eastern end, so we resolved to come back again the next day from our overnight stop in Williams and our distinctly utilitarian motel which I have to say was completely devoid of character, but affordable and did what it said on the tin. Views of the GC at sunset below…..

Now to post this before the internet runs out!