Red Rock Country

Since Mike and I signed up for the Antelope Canyon Ultras 50 miler and 55k (more on that here), we (I) decided we should spend a few days doing a bit of exploring northern Arizona. We flew into Las Vegas to spend a day visiting family and eating delicious Mexican food. I have a huge weakness for tacos. Mom lent us her Mustang so we could cruise the desert in style.

The race was held in the stunningly scenic landscape of Page, AZ. The town itself is not super memorable, but the surrounding vistas are incredible in every direction. I booked us tours of the famous upper and lower Antelope Canyons. They are slot canyons which you really have to experience to fully appreciate. They're different, one being wider at the bottom and narrow at the top, the other being more V shaped. Upper Antelope was the canyon Mike ran through on the race. Since it wasn't part of my course, and would likely be very dark for his, we used the time to take a bazillion photos of the dynamic, flowing tunnel. It was way cool! The guide told us that in a flash flood, it only takes 6 minutes to completely fill with water. There's literally nowhere to go. YIKES! It was REALLY hard to sort through pictures of this trip to find my favorites.

After the tour, we tried to visit the Horseshoe Bend trail, but the parking lot is closed. So there's a shuttle on a 15 minute rotation... sounded like it would take too long. We drove up to a short loop called Hanging Gardens which is right by the Glen Canyon Dam. It was a fast walk through the desert to a cool formation that had enough shade to protect a wall of ferns from the brutal Arizona sun. Once again, it was absolutely gorgeous everywhere I looked.


From that little "hike" we drove to Lower Antelope Canyon. The canyons aren't actually attached. They're a few miles apart, but no one was clever enough to come up with two names. This second canyon was incredible. The light was on point; there were ladders to climb on. It was MUCH less crowded than the upper canyon. Our guide was like all of the Navajos I met down in Arizona: polite, shy and very nice. But, again, the pictures do more than words can.

I guess I really didn't talk about the weather, it was mid-50s with a polar wind that cut right through our clothes and laughed at our thin Hawaii blood. I was beyond nervous for the run the next day. Elevation, cold wind, dry air and thirty-four miles??! EEP! Luckily the wind settled to a nice off-and-on breeze by race day. I decided the race deserved to be its own post. So, let's just skip that day and talk about the rest of our AZ activities.

The morning after the race, I decided we had to explore a place called The New Wave before heading to the Grand Canyon. The Wave is a way cool sandstone formation that is next to impossible to get permits for. They only issue 15 per day. I put in for the lottery for three different days and was unsuccessful. The New Wave supposedly looks the same (I disagree), but is open access. Anyway, this place is a cool formation surrounded by the area's characteristic red sand. We did some wandering around, followed a path that loops the formation, and played with the drone for a few minutes. My knees were very stiff, but I was able to do some exploring. Mike seemed to be fine, but was definitely grumpy that I wanted him to move his legs. I'm an abusive wife like that.

We entered Grand Canyon National Park through the east entrance. We were heading to the hotel to meet Mom and Wayne, but decided a short detour for a peek at the canyon and a bathroom break were definitely in order. The canyon is almost unfathomable. It is so vast and impressive that my brain can't actually comprehend it. It appears to look flat, like a poster. I was immediately resentful that my knees weren't pulling their weight so that I could go hiking. They reminded me with mean little twinges that it was MY idea to force them to run through sand for nine hours. Touche, knees.

On the way out of the park to our hotel and rendezvous point, we had a five minute delay due to elk all over the road. Way cool! After a late lunch or early dinner, the four of us headed back into the park to do all of the east side lookouts. Each one has a different close view with changing colors of rock. It's absolutely awe-inspiring.

We woke before dawn to try to catch a sunrise at the Visitor Center. It was cloudy and not particularly spectacular, but enjoyable nonetheless. I mean, ignoring the fact that it was 30 degrees out and my toes wanted to fall off. No big deal. When did I turn into such a wimp? I'm a big fan of my tropical island lately.

Once everyone had warmed up, caffeineated, and had sandwiches for the road, we headed back to the park and jumped on the red shuttle to see all of the lookouts to the west. It was really beautiful. The skies cleared to that deep, rich blue that really pops against the reds, oranges, and tans of the desert. We stopped at almost every stop, but I was pretty glad when we were done. My knees were making sure I didn't forget abusing them two days past. My favorite stop was the Abyss, and I am still unsure if that's because of the name or the scenery. 50/50 shot there.

Aside from not having time or ability to hike, I really enjoyed visiting the Grand Canyon and now want to add three more items to my bucket list: backpacking to the bottom, doing a rafting trip down the Colorado, and visiting the North Rim.