Neither Nick and I had seen the Grand Canyon before this visit.  People had told us you’ll be amazed at how big it is, how grand it is, how vast it is.  And while driving in the Northern Arizona landscape, we saw a ton of vast canyons, incredibly huge rock formations and the whole area seems to just exude grandness.  So on the drive to the Grand Canyon, we kept saying “it can’t be bigger than this can it?”  And let me tell you, nothing can quite prepare you for the “grand-ness” of the Grand Canyon.  It is very aptly named and I was blown away.

It’s pretty easy to get to the South Rim of the canyon, you’ll pay an entrance fee for the park and then you’re on your way.  We stopped at the first couple lookouts to find one we wanted to stay at for sunset and from the first stop, we stood in awe of what was before us.  I’ve never seen anything like it, the vast canyon, multiple canyons on top of canyons, stretching miles and miles long and miles and miles wide.

We found a spot we liked at one of the look outs and set up to stay there for the sunset.  What I found most striking about the Grand Canyon wasn’t the sheer size of it, but the way the colors seemed to change as the light changed and the detail in the formation of it.  Millions of years old, the canyon seems to have a world of its own, a momentum of its own.  As the sun started to fade beyond the walls of the canyon, the colors really started to amaze me.  Once red or orange-ish canyon walls turned to purples and blues, enhanced by the green fauna and the blue water.

There is a reason why it’s is so famous and why visiting the vast and awe-inspiring Grand Canyon is a must for so many people: it truly is an incredible sight to behold and one that seems to overwhelm the senses and show us that our Earth is truly a remarkable place.

After our incredible morning at Antelope Canyon, we drove the 10 minutes or so down the road to Horseshoe Bend.  I was under the impression this was right off the road and when we arrived, we soon found out it’s an uphill trek for about 15-20 minutes to actually get to the viewpoints known as Horseshoe Bend.  To be honest, at high noon after already hiking all morning into and out of Antelope Canyon, I was totally beat after this.  But, for scenic points out over the Colorado River it is a great spot to stop in the area.

In all honestly, by the time we hiked out there, we were hot and tired and then to see people sitting out over cliffs thousands of feet tall, it kind of freaked me out.  I usually don’t mind heights, but seeing people so far out on ledges over the canyon and the river below kind of ruined this spot for me.  Maybe if we’d gone in the early morning before the crowds (and loads of tourist busses) or hadn’t hiked so much already that morning, we might have enjoyed it better because it is a beautiful viewpoint, but it was my least favorite stop of our trip.  If you’re in the area, it’s worth stopping but I think this spot is worth timing a little better to make more of a visit.

I’ve been waiting a long time to see the intricate and beautiful Antelope Canyon in Northern Arizona and when we decided to make it the focal point of our trip to the Sedona Area, I was really intrigued to see what it really was like in person.  I’ve seen all the photos of this slot canyon and I wondered if it would really be worth it, would it really seem as magical in person as it looked?

Long story short to answer that question… yes, yes it does.

This slot canyon, named after the herds of antelope that used to migrate through here (they don’t anymore due to weather pattern changes), is truly an amazing work of nature.  Located on Navajo land just outside of Page, Arizona, this canyon is only accessible by hiring Navajo guides and if you’re interested in visiting, I lined up how to visit this amazing place here.  While we visited in February, the famous shafts of light that radiate into the canyon weren’t visible yet… those are best seen in June or July.  But truthfully, that’s peak tourist season in the area and I can’t imagine the canyon being even more crowded than it was when we visited in the morning in off season… so I guess, you pick your choice: seeing those light beams the canyon is famous for but being swarmed with people or experience no light beams and less people.

Truthfully, when you get into the canyon, I was a little blown away.  At first, I was trying to take it all in, trying to figure out how the Earth can create such majestic landscapes.  At first, you’re overwhelmed.  Then you start picking out the little details, like the crevices in the side of a vertical wall, or the way the canyon walls change colors with the changing light – reds to purples to blues.  Or the way the curvature of the walls echoes a painting, a fantasy landscape more reminiscent of Lord of the Rings than Planet Earth.

Half way through our tour, the rest of the photographers were snapping away and I planted myself in the red sand, under an alcove of the canyon and just sat there, stunned and in awe of my surroundings.  It’s places like this that truly make you in awe of our world, of this planet that we call home, of what time and thousands and thousands of years can create.  Antelope Canyon is one of the most stunning places I have ever seen in my life, a place that not only explains the spirituality of the Navajo people in the area, but will leave you in wonder of all that this world can offer.

Nick also posted a blog post on his site about our day at Antelope Canyon which you can read here if you’re interested!

Ah, the famous Antelope Canyon.  I’d bet that if you’re a blogger, you know of this beautiful place or at least have seen photos.  Though I’ve found that most I’ve told about Antelope Canyon that aren’t in the blogging world, haven’t a clue what it is.  And for that I’m a bit glad honestly, because I can only imagine what a tourist trap this spot is going to become in the next few years.  Isn’t it sad how sometimes by having certain places blow up on the internet, it completely changes them when you visit?  Anyways, for now, it’s still somewhat of an unknown spot for the majority of tourists visiting Northern Arizona, but due to how many people were there when we toured this majestic slot canyon in the off season, I can’t even imagine how many must go through in high season.

But long story short, if you want to visit the lovely Antelope Canyon, it’s still somewhat of a process, so here’s everything you need to know for how to visit Antelope Canyon, just outside of Page, Arizona.

1. You must book a tour.  

To enter this slot canyon, you have to be guided by a Navajo guide.  You can’t just drive up to the canyon, take a look and leave.  And all the tours the morning we went were fully booked, so don’t just show up either.  We booked through Adventurous Antelope Canyon tours and would highly recommend them.  They seemed to be the premier tour group in the area.

Be sure to book a tour before your visit.  I would also suggest booking the first tour of the day which is usually around 10am because after we left, entire bus loads of people were being dropped off and you want it to be the least crowded as possible when you visit.

2.  When choosing your tour, book a photographer tour (and here’s why)…

When we looked at tours months ago, we decided to pay the extra and go with the photographer tour and the reason is this: the guides on the photographer tours actually coral people away in the canyon so you get it all to yourself.  Nick had read about this from a photographer friend of his that did the tour last year and so we knew this going in.

Because we did the photographer tour, we were in parts of the canyon all to ourselves, no other massive groups parading through.  Our guide, Roman, who I’d highly recommend as well, would also tell us when the best light was in each part of the canyon, therefore letting us get the best photos.  He was knowledgable and great about keeping other tours out of our photos and views.

A couple notes on the photo tours though… first, you have to have a mirrorless or DSLR camera and a tripod.  I do have our Lumix mirrorless camera I often use when traveling but I never use a tripod.  Luckily Nick had an extra one, so we were fine, but they do ask and check, so be sure to have those items before booking the photography tour.  Second, the total is $176 for 2 photographers for this tour which can be a little steep.  But in the end, it was entirely worth it to see this incredible place and have it all to ourselves in many instances.

*The tour options have changed since we went to Antelope Canyon, so be sure to do your research for up to date information.

3. Cash is preferred upon arrival.

Long story short, bring cash to pay the tour guides onsite.  They charge a pretty hefty fee to use a credit card, so bringing cash is the easiest.  I actually didn’t know this upon arrival but luckily we had cash from Vegas the previous day so it worked out, but it’s good to know ahead of time.

4.  Photographer Permits are now in effect.

Starting in 2016, the Navajo are now enforcing photographers that intend to sell or publish their photos of Antelope Canyon to buy a photography permit.  So if that’s your intent, be aware of that beforehand.

5.  It’s not a comfortable ride to the canyon and back.

The actual slot canyon is about 20 minutes drive away from the drop off area.  We were jam packed into suburbans and trucks to get us out to the canyon and it’s a very bumpy, not comfortable ride in not comfortable cars to get out there.  On the way back, we actually didn’t have enough seats so I ended up having to sit on Nick’s lap in the back seat of the Suburban and crane my neck sideways for 20 minutes.  So just be aware of that – it’s not entirely organized with how many people can fit into the necessary vehicles.

6.  The Light Shafts are really only visible in Summer.

The famous shafts of light that fall into the canyon that you always see in photos, those are really only visible in the Summer when the Sun is directly overhead.  So if that’s what you’re going for, wait until June or July.  But the canyon is gorgeous any time of the year and even without those famous shafts of light, it was well worth seeing.

7.  Take some time to just take it all in.

I have a whole post about this next week, but one thing I noticed while at Antelope Canyon is that everyone is so busy trying to get the best photo or angle that the novelty of the beauty of the place was somewhat overlooked.  So try to take some time during your tour to also just take in the incredible beauty of this unique place.

After arriving in the late afternoon in Sedona after driving in from Las Vegas, we awoke the next morning bright and early.  We had a tour of Antelope Canyon at 10:15am and with a 3 hour drive ahead of us, we wanted to be sure and leave early.  We were up before sunrise and headed out of Sedona to Flagstaff, where we grabbed breakfast and watched the gorgeous sunrise that morning.

Upon leaving Flagstaff, we noted many times along the drive North how different the landscape of Northern Arizona is than we were expecting.  It reminded us a lot of Bend or Central Oregon, here in my home state, and it was quite shocking how it changed into really interesting landscapes and rock formations.  We drove through high desert, then through canyons with intensely high rock formations, then with small hilly landscapes that very closely resembled what I envision Mars to look like.

During the drive through Northern Arizona that day, I was constantly in awe of how grand the landscape is in that part of the world.  Whether in sheer size or in a grand feeling we got, the land in Northern Arizona is truly unique and such an incredible experience to see.  I can’t wait to get back to this area in the future and I’d highly recommend the drive from Sedona to Page to see it in all it’s grandiosity.