Canyons

Canyons blog:

On Saturday we went to the Navajo Reservation and were taken by our local guide in a truck to see Slot Canyon. The ‘road’ was more of a long sand trap and should have been named “Bum Busting Boulevard”. But the rough ride was truly worth it. Slot Canyon’s beauty defies description, so we have included a photo to give you some idea of what it is like (photo 3). The Canyon was carved by flash floods, and twists and turns narrowly through magnificent natural features. Sue’s claustrophobia was sorely tested as the canyon was quite narrow, and you could not always see in front of you. But she managed, and it was well worth it!!

That afternoon we took a raft ride on the Colorado River through Antelope Canyon. The beautifully coloured canyon walls rose up to 340 metres above us. Once again we have included a photo (photo 2). But no photos can possibly do justice to the magnificent immensity of the West’s great natural wonders. You just have to be there.(This canyon ride was in an inflatable raft – we thought it was in a boat that had 2 decks and shade. Boy were we misled!!! 4.5 hours of full sun, and no back rest!!!) But once again it was worth it, and we even asked the driver to make like we were in the rapids!!

On Sunday we travelled into Utah to Bryce Canyon, then into Zion National Park. Bryce Canyon is like a huge amphitheatre with many impressive natural sculptures called ‘hoodoos’. The firstphoto says it all. To digress, as we travelled we kept coming across police / sheriff’s cars at the side of the road. Our tour leader pointed out that they were all dummy cars with dummy drivers! Apparently a lot of poorer communities that can’t afford enough traffic cops use dummies as a deterrent. Why does this make me have thoughts about the ACT Assembly? Another good laugh on this trip was the sign at one of our rest stops that said: “Home of the Ho-Made Pies”. So what do ‘Hos’ put in their pies? We didn’t buy any .

Zion National Park is awesome! It is set in rich, forested country and has the largest sand monolith in the world – the Checkerboard Mesa. More about this in the next blog.