After a campsite breakfast, packed up and hit the road, headed east towards Dessert View, the last viewing area of the Canyon along the road. We stopped to check out a small Indian ruins site and museum, more view points, then for some food at Desert View. They had an impressive ‘Watch Tower’ modelled as an old Indian style building, complete with extensive artwork on the walls inside. We climbed to the top, enjoyed more views of the changing canyon and the desert vista.
The watchtower at Desert Views park entrance
One of the last scenic stops before leaving the Grand Canyon NP
The drive on the highway to Page was pretty bland. The landscape changed to desert quickly, we were now on Indian Reservation Land so passed a lot of Navajo Trading posts. Also drove through the painted desert, which looked exactly how it sounds.
In Page we Bee-lined for a tour operator of Antelope Canyon, most tours were sold out already but managed to get one leaving at 5pm. (You can’t enter without going on a Navajo tour)
Found and booked a campsite a little ways down the road (in the desert and gravel-not very tent friendly!) set up camp there.
Our tour started with a Navajo ‘Hoop Dancer’ a young man dressed up and dancing with 8 hoops whilst another sang and beat the drum – really cool! Then in the back of trucks down a rough sandy road to the Canyon. It was unfortunately a very popular spot with many other tourists coming and going. However the Canyon was worth the crowds, it is very impressive to just stare upwards and back every time we turned a corner. Took as many pics as we could with the light fading fast. All the guides were Native Navajo, with interesting stories to tell, particularly of when it floods in there.
Antelope Canyon
After the ride back to town, we found a car wash and finally pressure washed all the dust/dirt and oil from our bikes.
Then to the Texas BBQ joint for dinner, complete with line dancing, huge meat smokers out front and a cowboy band playing. We were a couple states late for this experience, better late than never T thought!
Next up tomorrow, a new state..
–Zoe
How many kms have you done till now ?
See you tomorrow 🙂 with new fantastic pictures…
I read a lot about Indian villages and remains from their culture.
At some stage the white invaders must realize what their fore-fathers so willingly destroyed to win the West, or are they too dumb and/or superior.
Nevertheless all very out-of-this-world experiences and jobs for those who survived.
Baci
The white invader (English mainly) didn’t care, it was and still is all about power and money. Shame as there is much to learn from the natives be it here or anywhere else in the world.