Contrary to how I titled this post (well, we were mostly in the Utah National Parks), we were actually still in Arizona, within the LeChee Chapter of the Navajo Nation, at Upper Antelope Canyon.  The Navajo name for it is Tse’ bighanilini, which means “the place where water runs through rocks.” 

The sandstone walls are breathtakingly beautiful, rising 120 feet above the sandy trail that runs 660 feet long.  It is the most photographed slot canyon in the Southwest, and I added to that statistic during our last day of the tour, along with everybody else being led through the canyon by Navajo Nation tour guides. 

Tourism to this slot canyon is tightly controlled and has been run by the Pearl Begay Family since 1983.  In 1997, the Navajo Tribe made it a Navajo Tribal Park, and it has been an important source of income for them.

Photography is difficult in the canyon due to the wide exposure range made by light reflecting off the canyon walls.  My compact travel camera was challenged by these light rays, but I managed to get some shots that will hopefully give you an idea of the beauty of this canyon.

(For all pictures, click on the image to see full screen view.)

Following our hike back out of the canyon, we returned to St. George, Utah, for our final night, which included a farewell dinner with the group.  In all, we had traveled 1,272 miles during our Grand Circle trip.

Coming up later this summer:  Iceland & Scotland