Gotta Love Those Buttes!

After hiking the Grand Canyon in the morning, 

we had lunch and headed 2 hours north

to our next destination.  

I very much wanted to visit Antelope Canyon in Page, AZ.

The road was long, flat and mostly straight 

with long stretches of nothing with very few cars,

so Vance took this opportunity to see 

how fast the rental car could accelerate.

The landscape was barren with many buttes and mesas.

It was nice to visit,  but I wouldn't want to live there!

The brilliant blue sky against the red stone was very striking.

When we got to the hotel, one of the first things I did 

was find out where to go to see the sunset and sunrise.

I was very excited when the woman at the desk told me

about Horseshoe Bend for sunset.  I have seen pictures

before, but I didn't realize it was here!

It was getting close to sunset, and my very special husband
 came with me.We needed to hike for about 15 minutes 
on a sand and sandstone path to get there.

There were lots of other people with the same idea. 

Horseshoe Bend is a place where the Colorado River 
flows arounda sharp bend in the shape of a horse shoe.

I didn't realize the viewing area was on the edge of the cliffs 
surrounding the bend.  Photographers with tripods lined the cliffs, 
sometimes so close to the edge that I would have feared 
my camera would get accidentally knocked into the abyss.

You HAD TO  get on the edge in order to see the river.  

I didn't feel safe standing up, but sitting was fine.

Vance chose to stand back on solid ground.

The sunset wasn't very colorful, but I loved being here in this lovely spot!

As we were walking back to the car,  I loved watching

 this person posing on one of the rocks!

The town of Page is not a very busy place this time of year.

We had dinner at the motel restaurant and went to bed early.

I set my alarm to get up for sunrise.

The buttes and mesas made for a very beautiful sunrise.  

Navajo Mountain is in the background.

I was driving on Lake Shore Drive along the shores of Lake Powell.

The rock formations are so interesting in silouette.

As the sun rose over Navajo Mountain,  the smoke 

from the stacks turned from grey to a deep orange!

The boats in the water are all houseboats waiting 
to be rented to cruise on gorgeous Lake Powell, 
which is the 2nd largest man-made lake in the country.

Lake Powell is the reservoir of the Glen Canyon Dam.

As I observed the changing light and shadows on the buttes and mesas,

I felt a true appreciation for their beauty!

And with the sun fully risen,  I headed back for breakfast with my husband

before heading to Lower Antelope Canyon!

What's It Like to Hike in the Grand Canyon?

After watching the sunrise,  we ate breakfast at El Tovar lodge before beginning our hike into the canyon.  Driving from the visitor's center to the lodge,  we were surprised to see many elk in the parking lot area.  They seemed to be very accustomed to having their picture taken.

When we got to the trail head,  we read the welcome sign.

  We were unsure how many miles we would hike down.

The sign did a very good job of making us cautious. 

We were not planning on hiking the whole day

 and did not pack a lunch.  

We did pack energy bars and lots of water.

After looking at the map, 

our goal was to hike to the 1 1/2 Mile Resthouse.

We had heard many horror stories about Grand Canyon hikes,

 but we found the Bright Angel Trail 

to be nicely groomed and very safe.

There were many switchbacks, which made the hike a lot easier. 

It was easy going down, but we were always thinking about 

how we would feel going back up.

There were many people of all ages on the trail.

We heard many languages spoken too. 

It was surprising to me to see so many foreigners.

I kept using this peak as a reference point 

to see how far down we had hiked.  

We reached the 1 1/2 Mile Resthouse in only 35 minutes.

  There were 3 latrines and water available.  

Wish we had known this ahead of time 

so we didn't carry so much water with us.

We were feeling good and decided 

to hike down to the Three Mile Resthouse.

It took us 45 minutes to hike this 2nd leg 

for a total of 80 minutes for 3 miles.

Lots of people were turning around at this point.

  Most of the people that continued were the ones 

with the huge packs and bedrolls on their backs

 that were planning to camp overnight at the bottom.

There was also a very large sign at this 3 mile 

point that really made you consider your plans.  

It was so easy to go down.  

How difficult would it be to climb back up??? 

We decided this was the end of the road for us.

After a short rest and bathroom stop,  

we began the ascent.

We felt really bad for the campers on their way back up!

Stops were more frequent and we could feel

 our hearts beating in our chests,

 but we just kept plodding along, 

one foot after another.

It was nice that most of the trail was 

in the shade at this time of year.

This was my attempt at being daring.

  I was planning on standing up, 

but approaching the edge of the rock,  

I lost my confidence!

We made it!  Without any problems!

This is a screen shot from Google Earth.  

I traced the trail that we hiked in blue.

It took us 20 minutes longer to go back up than it did to go down.

Not bad!

The whole hike was just over 3 hours!

I highly recommend this hike!  

Of course, this was at the end of October with the temperature only in the 50's.  Doing this hike in the heat of the summer could be brutal with temps soaring over 100 degrees.

I loved the Grand Canyon

and I am so glad that we were able

to hike at least part of the Bright Angel Trail!