AMak Color

Page, AZ 2008

(This is Post #6 from a series about our Arizona trip. Here are the links to Post #1, Post #2, Post #3, Post#4, and Post#5)

From Grand Canyon we drove up North for 2 hours to spend one night in Page, AZ. Again, the landscape changed. The drive to Page made me feel like we landed on Mars. Most of the area surrounding Hwy 89 is a Navajo Reservation. The land is dry and barren, with mountains in the distance and strange sand formations along the road that look like little creators. There are no trees, and barely any shrubs growing. Houses, huts and trailers are sprinkled throughout. We passed maybe 2-3 stores and a gas station. Other than that, there was little evidence of modern existence. This was one of those scenarios that makes you wonder: “How do these people live? What in the world do they do for a living?” They sell Indian crafts, apparently. The Navajo craft huts were seen everywhere along the highway. But, most of them were either closed or empty...


Page, AZ, is also a bit strange (or, should I say “unique”?). It is small town located on the southern end of Lake Powell, not far from Utah border. It is an artificial town sitting near an artificial lake. By “artificial” I don’t mean anything negative. Both Page and Lake Powell exist because of Glen Canyon Dam. Page doesn’t have much history - it was established in 1957 to house workers during the Dam construction. And Lake Powell is a result of the Colorado River flooding the canyon after the Dam was complete. The land for Page was obtained in an exchange with the Navajo Tribe – so surrounding the town, almost all of the land is owned by the Navajos. What was interesting about Page is the amount of churches we saw one main street – maybe 10 or 20 right next to each other - all for a population of 7,000! This was a view from our hotel balcony:

Our reason for driving here was a visit to the Antelope Canyon. If you have never heard of Antelope Canyon, chances are you have probably seen the photos – it is, hands down, a photographer favorite. Antelope Canyon is a “slot canyon” formed by erosion of sandstone. A little bit of sunlight comes through the crack at the top, just enough to give the canyon a very mysterious look and endless photo possibilities. The canyon is located on Navajo land and can only be accessed with a permit, so we had to go through a Navajo tour agency just to see it. After paying $20 per person, we were taken by a 4-wheel drive several miles to its location. The road leading to Antelope Canyon pretty much looks like this (yeah, we’re glad we didn’t drive there):

The Canyon’s beauty lives up to its descriptions. It is surreal, and so narrow at places, that only one person can pass at a time. Once inside, we were given a guided tour, most of which, of course, I spent clicking the buttons on my camera. Good photography inside Antelope Canyon is not easy – limited light requires long exposures, and a tripod is a must (which we didn’t have). Here are some samples of the million plus photos that I took.
 

And the outside view:
 
Back in Page, we paid a visit to the Glen Canyon Dam. Its huge size and its electrical power capacity are overwhelming.

Past the dam is a beginning of Lake Powell. Again, it looks like something extraterrestrial. I don’t think I have seen a lake before without anything growing around it. Even through it is an artificial reservoir, it is gorgeous, and gets plenty of tourism and water sport activities. When we come back to the area, I am hoping to kayak on it. This time though, Page was out Northernmost destination.

A little further downstream there is an overlook officially called – what else? – “The Best Dam View”. As you can see, it lives up to its name.

After spending one night in Page, we headed back down, towards Prescott. Just outside of Page, there is another gorgeous overlook: The Horseshoe Bend, where Colorado River takes a very sharp turn. My photo, though, didn’t come out so well because of strong mid-day shadows.

Arizona travel report is continued here

Drake Hotel Painting

Meanwhile, back in Chicago, the winter has just started but we’ve already had enough snow, ice, and freezing weather to cover most roads with potholes. I have been staying busy with holiday orders and commissioned work. Earlier this week I finished a 9x12 acrylic painting is of Chicago’s Drake Hotel. My customer commissioned it as a surprise Christmas gift for her husband. She wanted the focus to be on ballroom windows, since it is where she and her husband had their wedding reception.
 

The Bottom of Grand Canyon, AZ 2008

(This is Post #5 from a series about our Arizona trip. Here are the links to Post #1, Post #2, Post #3, and Post#4)

Serious hikers wake up at 4 am, get on the trail by 5 and are often done with their long hike before the sun starts casting strong shadows. Recreational hikers…well, they don’t always have such big goals. Today, we were more on the serious side, as our goal was to get on the trail before sunrise. And let our pace dictate our day. And, hopefully, reach the river and come back to the top before the sun goes down. After all, we were blessed by the White Buffalo! (see Post #3).

We prepared by packing multiple layers of clothing, food and snacks, a ton of water, and a flashlight. Signs like this one pictured below are posted all over Grand Canyon trails. I don’t advise that everyone ignores this sign, especially in time of summer heat. Know yourself. We were about to ignore the sign because we knew our bodies and our hiking pace. We also knew that this November day was going to be hiker-friendly, with temps ranging in the 40s-60s. Our sole limitation was having only 10-11 hours of daylight. Hiking at night is just not as pleasant.

Naturally, I am not a morning person and waking up is often the hardest part of my day. Once I am up early though, I love it. We got on the Bright Angel Trail (a short walk from our cabin) at 7:00 am, with sunrise scheduled for 7:20. The Canyon looks blue and beautiful before the sun colors it. The trail was pristine and quiet, with no mules or other hikers in sight. I loved being there so early.

Our average pace was about 2 miles an hour, including occasional stops for rest and photos. We also had our camcorder with us and started filming a goofy documentary about reaching the bottom of the canyon (or failing to do so). Once I refine my editing skills, sometime in 2009, I will post our short movie on this blog.

Bright Angel Trail is very well maintained, and is the least steep one out of the three we hiked. After descending switchbacks, the trail flattened out. We reached the Indian Garden Campground (4.5 miles from trailhead) fairly early, when campers were still waking up (and complaining about cold November nights!). Indian Gardens looks like a mirage – it is a sliver of green vegetation in the midst of otherwise barren canyon landscape. The trees and plants are here because of a consistent water supply, flowing form the pipeline and the creek. This is also the only spot on the trail where you can get fresh drinking water during winter months.

Continuing towards the river, the trail stays flat and passes along some impressive sandstone formations, crossing the creek once or twice. Then, half a mile later, more beauty opens up. Wow. All of a sudden, we felt like we were in an Asian painting. This area of the trail is called Devil’s Corkscrew, an abrupt descent to the bottom. The light was hitting the rocks just right, and we kept stopping for more photos.

We came across many hikers walking up after their overnight Phantom Ranch stay, many of whom, I am happy to note, were seniors. The trail then flattened, went on for another mile, and brought us to the Colorado River. Yay! We reached the bottom of the Grand Canyon, and it was only 11 am! The River, 8 miles from the trailhead, is just gorgeous.

I wanted to get in, but its currents are too fast (and the water is probably too cold) for swimming. Looking at the Colorado River, it is amazing to think that most of its shoreline was never touched by human foot. The Grand Canyon Beach (as we called it) gets limited direct sunlight and thus looks surreal. This was a perfect location for our lunch and a half-hour rest. The trail goes on for 2 more miles to Phantom Ranch. I wanted to continue, and SEE IT ALL, but my husband, the rational mind, protested, so back up the canyon we went.

The Devils Corkscrew switchbacks were not as hard to hike up as I imagined. We just weren’t tired yet. Walking back along the creek, we watched a family of deer feeding on leaves and branches. We were doing well on timing, and back in Indian Gardens, decided to do a 3-mile round trip detour to Plateau Point. The walk on the Plateau is well worth it. The trail is flat, surrounded by shrubs and cacti, and at the end there are stunning views of the river. Not for the vertigo-challenged! Here is an aerial indication of where Plateau Point is on the trail:

And this is what you see from Plateau Point:


From there, we started a 6-mile journey back to the top. The hardest part, of course, came at the end. After having walked all day, my legs started to feel like concrete. And that’s when we began our uphill climb. The last 3 miles of switchbacks became a dreaded exercise. Now we walked at the pace of old people, taking frequent breaks. We started dreaming about what we’ll have for dinner. I got a craving for a prickly-pear margarita, my favorite local drink. The thought of that margarita kept me walking uphill until the end. At 5:30 pm, just before the sun disappeared, we were out of the canyon – exhausted, but SO happy. We hiked a total of 19 miles in 10 ½ hours. Our honeymoon goal was complete! After dinner, I passed out at 9 pm.

The following morning we left Grand Canyon National Park via East Entrance. There, we briefly stopped at the medieval-looking Observation Tower, and then headed to Page, AZ.

Arizona travel report is continued here