We had to get up early today as we had to check in at 8AM for the 8:30AM Upper Antelope Canyon Tour. So we set our alarm for 6AM. Breakfast at the hotel gave us a bit more options than past hotels we had stayed at during this trip. As a bonus they had bacon and donuts among the usual waffles, toast and eggs. The orange juice machine was broken, but they were kind enough to leave a serving container of apple juice. I had a bit more extra bacon since it was very thin. Also I managed to get strawberry jam for my biscuits, a rarity since I can’t eat an entire jar for strawberry jam by myself at home (Sharon is adverse to strawberries. 🙂

After a hardy breakfast we checked out of our room simply by putting a key in a basket on our way out. I guess everyone had to prepay before getting their key.

We made the 5 minute journey to the tour operator’s check in point for the Upper Antelope Canyon Tour. I showed the lady at the desk my online purchase receipt and she gave me a pass to get on bus #5. We would be loading at 8:20AM. We hung around the tour operator’s souvenir area, an old converted gas station until our tour departed.

The vehicles being used were 15 passenger vans, an upgrade compared to the pickup trucks on the Google street view. We drove on the outskirts of Page and onto a sandy road leading to the canyon. These vans obviously had 4 wheel drive and off road tires on them to avoid being stuck. Next to us sat a couple from West Virginia who had rode the Amtrak train from Chicago to San Francisco and were working their way back. Obviously a very long trip. They must have been retired or flexible jobs allowing them for having a lot of time off. They recommended that we go to Bryce Canyon as it puts everything else to shame.

We entered the Antelope Canyon simply by walking in. No climbing ladders or stairs. The brochure described it as a walk on the beach. And it was. A nice sandy floor with spectacular views simply by looking up. I set my cell phone to cloudy view to get the colors to really come through. My Nikon DSLR camera did not take good pictures, probably because I don’t know how to use it. I’m sure there were some settings on it I could have tried, but I have not figured it out yet. And during this tour was not the time to learn. So I stuck to my cell phone camera.

It is impossible to describe how beautiful it was inside the canyon. Just about anyone with a cell phone could take spectacular photos with the right settings. Our tour operator was kind enough to point out where to take photos and even took photos for us. I had wondered if this tour had started getting popular only after social media and cell phone cameras had begun to get popular.

After several minutes it was time to walk back through the canyon tightly squeezing past other visitors in the narrow bends of the canyon walls. I quickly snapped some photos on my way out. It was a great tour and Sharon said that it was the highlight of the entire trip so far.

Next was our drive to Kayenta to eat and then visit Monument Valley. During our 2 hour drive through desert and buttes I began to wonder how unpopulated these places were. And then I wondered about ranch houses which were so far from a grocery store…how and when do they shop? Do they have to bring a cooler to keep milk and meats cold? And is this anything like the outback of Australia, except with less cars and less hotels around.

After a while we arrived in Kayenta to eat at Pizza Edge. I got the feeling that theft and vagrants were a problem at Pizza Edge as there were big signs saying “Bathrooms only for customers” and “Water cups are for water.” We ordered a medium meat lovers pizza and cheese breadsticks. The cheese breadsticks were especially good with a lot of gooey cheese.

Next was on to Monument Valley. As we journeyed on the road and buttes seemed to turn into that familiar landscape seen in Western Movies. Surprisingly the area around the buttes seemed to be green rather than yellow or brown covered. I guess the area had some rain lately.

We stopped at the Navajo Welcome Center to get tickets before moving on to the Visitors Center with gift shop and museum. This area had a great iconic view of the mitten buttes. There were people there getting the usual Instagram shots. We shopped around at the gift shop. Sharon got a blanket and I got a Christmas ornament.

Next was on to the drive around the buttes. It was on a gravel road which was a bit narrow at times. Along the way there were stop offs for photo opportunities. Sharon’s phone battery had run out, so we opted for photos with my camera.

Our Buick Encore was getting pretty dusty throughout. Along the way we’d occasionally see tour groups riding in the back of pickup trucks with just a canopy over it. I couldn’t imagine riding in the back of a truck considering how dusty it was. Sharon concluded it must have been visitors without cars who arrived on a tour bus not suitable for the Monument Valley Drive.

Sharon was anxious to get back to the Forest Gump point as we were burning daylight. So we exited the park and drove north outside of the park to mile marker 13. There were already several people there standing in the road where Tom Hanks as Forest Gump stood and said “I’m pretty tired, I think I’ll go home now,” and then walked the opposite direction as Greenbow, Alabama.

We drove back to Kayenta to check into our hotel and get supper. Sharon was craving a meat and three, while I couldn’t get enough of Pizza Edge. So we compromised. Sharon got a chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and green beans from Amigo Cafe, while I got a meat calzone from Pizza Edge. Both were across the street from each other. Amigo Cafe was very small and crowded. I put in my order and had to wait to get out the door to get to Pizza Edge. While driving around I saw some shady characters walking around the roads and I wasn’t sure what to think. I decided that we should keep our motel room locked. I just get the feeling that crime might be a problem in Kayenta as there seems to be a lot of poor people here would love to rob a tourist.

After eating the huge calzone I swam in the motel’s indoor pool (I was the only one there) while Sharon worked on her blog.

Tomorrow we go to Cortez, Colorado and on to Mesa Verde.