Antelope, Rattlesnake, and Glen Canyon
Serene and I went on our spring break trip with Xuanming and Nancy. We visited Antelope Canyon, Zion National Park and Death Valley during the week long trip. Antelope Canyon is a series of spectacular slot canyons carved by rain and wind out of Navajo sandstone. We visited Upper Antelope Canyon, which is located near Page in Arizona. Rattlesnake Canyon is an open slot canyon near Antelope Canyon and is quite a bit narrower. On the way out of Page, we stopped at a scenic overlook perched above Glen Canyon.
I started having a problem with my camera at this point, which I later found out to be the aperture blades getting stuck and overexposing my photos. I've been very happy with my Sigma 18-125 when it works, but I'm not very pleased with Sigma customer service. Even though my lens is still under warranty, the only help offered by the Sigma tech support on the phone was that I should send the lens in at my expense and they'll figure out if it's really a lens problem. Fortunately, a friend diagnosed the problem for me and I sent it in (still at my expense even though it's under warranty).
Antelope Canyon
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Upper Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon that is almost entirely enclosed from the top. The small amounts of light that gets in illuminates the walls and makes them glow. Since Upper Antelope Canyon is part of the Navajo Nation, they require a guide to bring you to the canyon. The best rates are found by going to the entrance to the Indian reservation site near the powerplant and signing up for a guide with the Indian family that lives there. The extra benefit of signing up with them is that you get to also visit Rattlesnake Canyon, which only they have the permits to bring visitors to.
Rattlesnake Canyon
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Rattlesnake Canyon is about half a mile from Antelope Canyon. Because the top is more open than Antelope Canyon, you don't get the shafts of light or the glowing walls. On the other hand, it's a far narrower canyon and has interesting sinuous passages that resemble a snake.
Glen Canyon
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The Glen Canyon Dam is just outside of the town of Page and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is the lake behind the dam.