Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [56]
In a way it’s cheating, but guides often throw dirt into the air to help people capture the beams of light that illuminate the canyon floor like spotlights on a crooked stage.
To get to Lower Antelope Canyon, follow Hwy 98 east out of Page for 2 miles and look for signs on the left. If you’ve already gone on the Upper Antelope Canyon tour that day, show your receipt to avoid paying the $6 Navajo Permit Fee again. After parking in a well-signed dirt lot, the cost of a tour is $20 per person, but if you have a tripod (which seems to be the main qualification for being a “real” photographer) you can just pay your $20 and wander the canyon at will for up to four hours.
The tours start whenever the group gets big enough – four seems to be the magic number. The plaque outside the entrance of the canyon has the names of 11 tourists who died in a flash flood here in 1997. Nowadays, the tour guides say, there’s a flash-flood detection system located in Upper Antelope Canyon which gives a 20-minute heads up on water danger.
The entrance to Lower Antelope Canyon looks like a small slash in the ground – just a small hole in the desert floor and poof! Once inside it’s a narrow world of stairs and ladders and scrambling to find the perfect place to capture the gorgeous rock. If you opt for a guide, most of them are willing to give loads of time to finding the perfect shot.
Spend another night in Page whooping it up at the bar and enjoying the fine art of conversation on the back patio. It’s best to let the other worldly colors of Antelope Canyon fade a little in the mind’s eye before moving on to take in the subtler hues of Monument Valley.
The next morning, load up on coffee and head 100 miles east to Kayenta, which is really just a small cluster of fast-food places, gas stations and chain hotels at the junction of Hwys 160 and 163. It’s the most convenient base for Monument Valley excursions.
Travelers who aren’t expecting much after the trip through long stretches of empty road, where even seeing a gas station is an event, will be surprised to stumble on Hampton Inn. After using the hotel’s fast wifi to upload photos, head another 20 miles northeast to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. If you’ve seen a Western movie, chances are you’ve seen Monument Valley – it’s visual shorthand in many a film for desolate cowboy country.
It’s easy enough to book a jeep or horseback tour on arrival to Monument Valley, but if you want to book ahead, Sacred Monument Tours gets good marks for its jeep, hiking and horseback outings. Or, in the parking lot of the Monument Valley visitors center, arrange a horseback ride (starting at $140 an hour for two people), or a 2½-hour off-road vehicle tour ($65 per person). If you want to get back in the saddle but don’t want to pony up so much cash, a souvenir stall on the scenic drive loop, near John Ford’s Point, can arrange horseback rides for $35 per person, per hour.
The 17-mile dirt road that loops through park is the way to go if you’re packing lots of glass or a tripod. There are some off-road sand dunes and arches that are only accessible via guided tour, but there’s nothing like having all the time in the world to set up a shot just so. And walking right up to the towers of stone for close-ups gives your photos a whole new feel.
The best time to photograph Monument Valley is at sunrise and sunset. August sometimes brings ominous storm clouds over the valley, while January and February are good months to catch the place with a light dusting of snow. Otherwise, it’s a year-round destination as long as you can handle the hot summer days (another good reason to visit at sunrise).
Capturing the sheer scale of it poses the biggest challenge in Monument Valley. The best shots here have something in the background (clouds or the moon usually) or more commonly, in the foreground. There are plenty of cactus and juniper trees ready to stand in as extras. The second biggest challenge is making the colors stand out – there are many shades of deep red here. Avoid