Antelope Canyon

I cannot explain how spectacular the views are inside Antelope Canyon. If you are ever in Arizona, these slot canyons are a must-see. I will go even further and say that no matter where you are, these canyons are worth the trip to Arizona just to see.

Looking up from the bottom of the canyon, you can marvel at the beautiful sandstone structures above. Light bounces off the walls of the canyon, creating the most beautiful colors and shapes. The sandstone is so smooth that it looks as if it it was sculpted by a master artist.

Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land, and the tours are given by Native Americans who can not only tell you the names of the various rock formations, but who can also talk about the spiritual connection they have with the canyon. My husband and I felt that spiritual connection as we touched the walls of the canyon. God created such beauty here.

We took the Lower Antelope tour, which has more steps down, and then eventually up, than the Upper Antelope tour. And we were all glad that we picked this one. To start the tour, you walk down several flights of metal stairs. Over the next 45 minutes or so, you eventually wind your way up smaller sets of stairs and even ladders to a small slot that you emerge out of at the end of your tour. If you walked up to the end of the tour, you would think you were just looking at a crack in a rock. You would never know that below your feet were some of the most fantastic views ever.

Throughout the tour, your guide will show you rock formations that look exactly like their names: chief, dragon, princess, lion, eagle, and more.

My best advice is to book your tour ahead of time. You may need to book it months in advance if you want to take the tours with the best sunlight for photographs. But these canyons are so magnificent, I think you can get cool photos no mater what time you go. We were traveling from Grand Canyon toward Zion, so our tour was around 1 p.m., and we booked it through Dixie Ellis.

Be warned that the tours are crowded. Our guide was really good at keeping our group behind the other groups in our cluster so that we could get the best views and photographs without anyone else in them.