Have you ever traveled somewhere that just blew your mind? For real, when you got there you stopped and said, “it just doesn’t make sense.” Well that was me at Antelope Canyon. I had scoured pictures all over the internet to try to grasp what all I was going to see, but those small images on Google did not do this place justice. AT ALL. From the moment we entered the canyon, I was speechless. I stood in AWE of the canyon walls that towered over me, radiating these blush and orange hues. It truly was one of the most magical places I have ever experienced…and I would return in a heartbeat.
A few months ago, Darian and I took a little road trip. We started in Vegas, drove to Antelope Canyon, to Moab Utah then to Salt Lake City. It was such a fun trip and I would recommend it to anyone! BUT, my favorite stop was definitely the canyon. Originally when I started planning, I thought we would just park and walk through on our own. Thank goodness I dug a little deeper because you actually have to have a tour guide to see the canyon. Not only that, but there are TWO to choose from! You can visit Upper Antelope Canyon, or Lower Antelope Canyon in the same area. It just depends on the experience you are looking for. Unfortunately, we only had time for one, so we chose to visit the Lower Antelope Canyon.
Based on reviews, I think you get the same feel at both places. The main difference they said was that the Canyon is wider at the top of the Lower Canyon, allowing more light to come through. At the Upper Canyon, the opening at the top is small, which helps create the famous light beams seen there. Naturally, we wanted pictures so I decided the more light the better.
So as I was saying before, you actually have to book tours to see the canyons. They say you do not have to book in advance but I was not going to risk losing a spot on the tour. We decided to go with Dixie Ellis Tours and they were great! You can see in some of the photos above, you actually walk down on top of the canyon to get to the stairs. Then you take several flights of stairs down into the canyon to begin the tour. When we went it was pretty crowded so you walk slowly through the canyon. Be sure to wear comfortable/closed toe shoes because it is all sand at the bottom and you even have to climb over some rocks. Nothing hard, but still an activity! Obviously there are SO many great photo opportunities, I would do this tour all over again FOR SURE!
Photos by Darian Kayce Photography
