“And now behind me and then into the corner there,” Josh our guide knew where and how to take a picture in the most famous slot canyon in the US, Antelope Canyon in Arizona. The canyon is located on the Utah border, just 30 minutes from Page and Lake Powell, the second largest reservoir in the US.
The Antelope Canyon is since 2008 on our bucket list, when we stumbled into a Peter Lik Gallery in San Diego and saw his picture “Ghost”. This painting was exhibited in 2011 at an exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution, a major US research and educational institution based in Washington. It was recorded in the Antelope Canyon.
The small Slot Canyon impresses with its sandstone formations that reminds of different animals, mythical creatures and shapes. Even if you sometimes need a lot of imagination ;-). Additional to that the combination of color and light. There are violet and purple tones in the middle of the sandstone. Then red, orange to scarlet. The canyons, there are three (Upper, Lower and Canyon X), may only be entered with a guide as they are located in Navajo Land. Our group is unusually small, with only 9 people and our Navajo guide Josh. We took a jeep from the meeting point to the canyon. Surprisingly, the canyon belonged to us alone and we had time to marvel at this wonder of nature and take plenty of photos.
The canyons are formed by erosion of the Navajo sandstone. Mainly by “flash floods”. Rainwater, mainly in the rainy season, runs into the sprawling pools above the slot canyons, picks up sand and flows through the slots with increasing speed. Over time, parts are exposed, smoothed and deeper. This process produces the characteristic “flowing” forms of the rock.
Hi, my name is Jürgen. Most know me as Jay. I know, this can be confusing. My new name was caused by hundreds of Starbucks cups, all labeled with different names. I have never encountered life as powerfully as it has in recent years and I should not be surprised that I have left behind the realm of quick and impersonal business and conforming to society’s expectations. I swapped my jacket for hiking clothes and shorts, the aftershave for bug spray, and my car for a camper.
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