We started our day with a tour of the Lower Antelope Slot Canyon. For those of you who look to me for travel advice, if you have only time to do the Upper or Lower Canyons I would chose the Upper. Both Canyons supply excellent views but the Upper Canyon is managed much better by the tour companies. The Upper Canyon tour groups are smaller and less frequent, making the Canyon much easier to traverse, view and photograph. The Lower Canyon tours are cheaper but have larger groups entering every 20 minutes. This makes it much more difficult to get photos without someone else’s head or hands in the shot. I did manage to get a couple of pretty good shots today but nothing compared to Leonard’s yesterday.
After leaving Antelope Slot Canyon we headed north to Monument Valley. I am sure many of you have been here. If not in person, then certainly in the movies. This has been the site of many motion pictures. John Wayne was a regular here. The hotel has a burger named for him and a salad named for his director John Ford.
Upon arrival we took the Majestic Tour company’s tour of the Mystery Valley. This is not the main tourist area (that would be Monument Valley which we will tour tomorrow). Mystery Valley is the location of the ancient ruins. We visited the remains of the Anasazi tribe. The Anasazi’s were the ancestors of the Navajos and inhabited this area from about 400 – 700 AD. We viewed ancient caves (man made) and petroglyphs. The rock carvings have remained over 1000 years. Some were paintings (see below). How do these paintings last over 1000 years and Patrice and I need to repaint our home after 6? I guess that is the price we need to pay for living near the beach.
Our guide is full blooded Navajo and his name is John (don’t you just love these traditional Native American names like Leonard and John). He gave us a tremendous amount of information about the Navajo Nation. I won’t bore you with details but I was totally enthralled.
Tomorrow to Monument Valley.
Robert Reiss Travel Blog and Other Ramblings 