WW: Lower Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona

Happily sharing more photos from Lower Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona for this (almost) Wordless Wednesday.

Well, we went there in 2016 but with breathtaking beauty and amazing landscapes, I have tons of unpublished photos from this trip alone.
Read the story at Spring Break 2016: Deeper Underground at Lower Antelope Canyon

Hope you like it as much as I do!
Feel so small standing amidst these naturally shaped rocks.

after thousands of years..

with a bit of ray of light

indigenous shape and colors..

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and have fun with the links! 

Spring Break 2016: the Quest of Horseshoe Bend and the Missing Antelope

"Mama, where's the missing antelope?

Why do we have to walk around these rocks?"

Obi innocently asked me while we were stepping down the steep don't-look-down stairs in Lower Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona. She thought we would meet antelopes, lots of lots of them, in our adventure that day.

And I broke a smile as my answer as I scaredly looked at the stairs in front of me. The gust of ancient wind whispered a welcoming lullaby in my ears.

Welcoming myself back to the magnificent mother nature. 

To the Navajoland.

***

It all started from a book.

Smithsonian level four, Endless Exploration.
Yup, Bo's book.

One of its many chapters is the World Wonders. 

And we have Grand Canyon there, listed as one of the amazing places to see.

Then our eyes captured the flip-out card of Grand Canyon, showing an iconic photo of Horseshoe Bend in the eastern part of the canyon. We got to see that!

And we're back on the road again :).

The Frakarsas..

We have another series of adventures during this spring break. The kids have their holiday for a week and we just can't wait to explore this country more.

So, my hubby and I had planned a rather ambitious (as always :)) road trip.

Destinations: Las Vegas - Page - Lower Antelope Canyon and the surroundings - Grand Canyon National Park - Death Valley National Park - Yosemite National Park - San Fransisco.

Frankly, I have to drop Yellowstone National Park due to the time constraint. 

So, at this point, it remains in my bucket list ;).

We were planning to do it all in 12 days.

Flying to Las Vegas then renting cars then stop in all those lovely places and small town in between. 

We flew from New York City, - or rather Newark,New Jersey, to Las Vegas. It was a lovely flight, transiting in Chicago for a couple of hours, then overlooking the astonishing views of Nevada and Arizona. We just couldn't wait to see them up close and personal.

the view from above..

Arriving at Las Vegas on Friday evening, we grabbed our rented car and headed to our hotel. We stayed at Holiday Inn Las Vegas Desert Club Vacation. Using my points, we got our free night here. 

our room :)

We didn't do much that night, just enjoying dinner and strolling around the city. But we all were pretty much tired from our flight. Not to mention 3-hour time difference which is not that much but quite annoying.

The next day, we were heading to Page, Arizona, our gateway to the Grand Canyon. Before that, we drove around the Las Vegas strip, posed in the fabulous Las Vegas sign, grabbed some ice cream and souvenirs. It was fun indeed. Las Vegas and its ageless charms really captivated us. But as I said, LV is the gateway, so our real adventure soon began.

Cheeers...

Las Vegas - Page is around 4 hours drive. We took the eastern entrance of Grand Canyon National Park. As we browsed around, Page is indeed beautiful. Such a scenic route we took and along the way we stopped several times just for photos and rest for a while. 

photo break :)

Not to mention the legendary Route 66.

If you watched Cars, one of Disney's famous movies (I'm a big fan!), then you got an idea what route 66 looks like. For us, who just recently live in the US, the idea of exploring Route 66 is super tempting. We were lucky that we passed at least 2 small cities which are part of this historical route.

Route 66 :)

Another lucky thing is that Bo et Obi were very cooperative along the way. 
No tantrums, no (too much) are-we-there-yet sessions and we all tried to enjoy the trip. I was of course equipped with laptops filled with their favorite movies, books, stack of paper and crayons, and munchies.

kiddos enjoying the trip..

Here in beautiful Page, we took some time to go to the Horseshoe Bend. 
Coming from Las Vegas, we arrived almost late at this spot. I mean we arrived there as the sun began to set. And mind you, we have to walk (and hike) for about a mile before arriving at this exact spot. 
You can imagine how crazy we hiked, in the middle of the chill windy desert weather, to catch the sunset before it would be completely dark.

Welcome to Horse Shoe bend :)

Horseshoe Bend is basically one standing rock surrounded by Colorado river. 
Its distinct shape and unique location surrounded by the Colorado river has made it very special.

Running to this particular spot catching it before the sun went down was worth it.

Then on our second day at Page, we joined Lower Antelope Canyon tour with Ken's tour. I guess the name refers to the  herds of pronghorn antelopes used to roam freely in this area. And I have to say, the trip was amazing.

The perfect collaboration of water and wind have created an amazing array of unique, one-of-a-kind forms and shapes of sandstone. I just can't explain it. Better check these pictures.

Looks familiar? It's one of the screen savers in windows :)

Deeper underground

Well, that's the first part of our trip yhis spring break. And Page still got a lot to offer.

Let me get back to you with more stories and pictures.

Do you manage to go somewhere lately?

Spring Break 2016: Deeper Underground at the Lower Antelope Canyon

Good morning from Page, Arizona.

And welcome to the Navajoland.

Shall we continue our journey here :)?

Page is indeed a beautiful city.

I am glad my hubby insisted on staying here as our gateway to the Grand Canyon. 

So many interesting spots to see and enjoy.

Before that, we have considered other cities as well, including those closer to Grand Canyon or on our way to Death Valley.

As I have shared before in Spring Break 2016: the Quest of the Horseshoe Bend and the Missing Antelope, we spent a half day taking the Lower Antelope Canyon tour. 

It takes around 30 minutes drive to Lower Antelope Canyon from our hotel at Best Western Plus Lake Powell, Page. 

The typical landscape of the area is desert, but underneath is another world indeed. Never crossed our minds that beautiful, one-of-a-kind rocks constellation is waiting down there.

The desert..

So early morning, we went to the Lower Antelope Canyon. There are two tour operators here and we chose Ken's tour.

I read in Trip Advisor that they are well recommended.

It's also better if you reserve before coming in. They assigned a group of approximately 15-20 people every 15 minutes. And the list is filled up fast.

We came at 9.15 but got a slot for 10 AM. There are 2 types of tours, genera one and the photographer one. We took the general one because the photographer tour filled up already. Unless we wanted to come back later that day. There are a few things we have to consider before chosing those tours, as you can see in my picture below.

No selfie stick :)

The fee is $20 per adult, and kids 7 years and older is $12. 

Oh, in front of the gate, we also paid our contribution to the Navajo tribe, which can be used for the whole day in other part of the Navajoland, like Upper Antelope Canyon. I think it was $8 per adult and $4 for kids

So we waited for a while at the cafetaria and browsed around the souvenir shop 
(as always :)).

while waiting for the tour..

For sure you can not take a self-guided tour here. 
We were wondering about that and once we were at Lower Antelope Canyon we know why we have to take the guided tour.

This canyon is amazingly located underneath the ground. 

Yuuup.

Underground.

You have to take stairs, many of them. 

Some of them are very steep.

But no need to worry as it is indeed safe to do so.

Take it as a little effort we have to make before we can witness the fantastic sandstones, curves, turns and magically curved and sculptured by the wind and water for thousands of years. 

Not to mention that this area was recently flooded. Therefore, it's rather dangerous for you to go down there alone or with someone who is not familiar with the area.

watchout...

Our tour guide, John, was very nice and patience as well. 

our guide, John...

He explained a lot about the story of the canyon and the names of the rocks. 

one corner..

We saw the lion's head, the lady, the Indian chief.. Complete with his headdress. 

the chief....

And soooo many other incredible shapes, forms and colors.

what do you think it looks like?

Here are some more photos in a collage. I have tons of them but I know it will be too heavy for the blog :).

So when you happen to be in Page or the neighborhood, don't miss the Lower Antelope Canyon. Truly a great experience for us, and for you as well.

Check out more of my stories at #Steller :)

Boat Trip at Lake Powell : Photo Album

Ready for another series of our half-day adventure in Lake Powell?
On a boat in one sunny afternoon?
Under the magnificent sky?

As I have shared here on Spring Break 2016:  Boat Tour at Lake Powell, we really had fun exploring the western part of this country. Still at Page, Arizona, we have more photos to share here.
Hope you enjoy them as much as we do :)

some part is cloudy, some part is sunny :)

It was only 1.5 hours but we couldn't stop admiring God's grandeur creations.
Who wouldn't admire the magnificent landscape beautifully sculptured in thousands of years?

while waiting for our trip...it looks like the Devil's Tower in the back, but it's not :)

Jumpin' high..

Join us on Skywatch Friday and enjoy beautiful skies from all over the world

Spring Break 2016: Boat Trip at Lake Powell

"Mama, are we going to do that as well?" Ask Obi while pointing her finger to 2 ladies kayaking on Colorado River that afternoon.

"Oh.. We will, nak. As soon as you and Abang are big enough, we'll have another adventure and try kayaking, okay."

Spring break is way behind us but I still have so many stories and photos to share. I have just shared some parts of our trips in Page, Arizona, including to Horseshoe Bend and Lower Antelope Canyon. Another great activity that you can do here is taking a boat excursion of Antelope Canyon and the Lake Powell.

some of the lovely spots we passed..

And I have to admit, Page has a lot to offer and this time we also took the boat trip at Lake Powell. When we flew from NYC to Las Vegas, we saw Lake Powell from above.

seen from above..

After spending approximately 3 hours at the Lower Antelope Canyon (1.5 hours tour plus registering and waiting for our tour), we headed to Antelope Point Marina for a boat tour in Lake Powell. 

clear blue sky..

Antelope Point Marina is part of the National Parks and as we went there on Sunday, April 24th, we had a free access to the Park as it was part of the 100 years celebration of the National Parks. But we have an annual pass of the Parks by the way. Only with $80, you have a free pass of America the Beautiful, which allows you and your family ( of two kids or maximum 3 extra adults) to national parks and federal recreational lands pass.

We had our lunch as well here, in one of the restaurants at the Marina. Big juicy burger, fried calamari, hot chicken wing and a big bowl of mixed salad was delicious.

lunch timeeee

Then we waited for a while for our 3.45 boat trip. The ticket for this boat excursion is $28 for adults and $18 for kids (age 4-12). Children 3 years old and under are free. They have several departure times, starting at 9, 10.15 and 11.30 in the morning, then 1.15, 2.30, 3.45, and 5 pm.

The trip took around 1.5 hours.

The kids were given the safety vests before we were on board and while cruising, we were free to take pictures and move around on the boat carefully.

Along the way, we listened to the explanation about Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon, Colorado river and some more facts, while enjoying the beautiful sceneries.

Antelope Canyon seen from the boat..

Lake Powell itself is a huge man-made reservoir of Colorado River, named after Major John Wesley Powell. He was famously known as the leader of Colorado and Green Rivers expedition back in the 1869 onwards. 
And he's a hero.
He was an American civil war veteran and only had 1 arm! 
And look what he managed to discover with three canoes along those great American rivers.

back in early 1900, how did it look? Hmmm

After hours of walking under the sun at the Lower Antelope Canyon, it felt good just to sit down, relax, and enjoy the magnificent rocks and Colorado river.

The river ...

Bo et Obi enjoyed the trip as well. The cool breeze proved to be a great lullaby for Obi, who slept on her seat after cruising along Colorado river for 30 minutes. 

sleepy heads :)

We also saw many people kayaking and canoeing along the way. Too bad we cannot do that with the kids as they are still too young.

the panoramic photo of our boat tour..

It just felt incredible to be out here and wander the magnificent Antelope Canyon, Colorado River and Lake Powell.

Have you ever joined a boat trip?

How do you like it?