April 17, 2023
I’m a National Park Nerd. I’ll admit it. I love the concept, and I love Teddy Roosevelt for making an impact on the National Parks system. They are here for us to enjoy, and I certainly do! I’ve been privileged to visit many of the parks in the western US.
I also like to find those less-famous National Monuments. A friend suggested that I stop at Pipe Spring National Monument on my way from Zion to the Grand Canyon.
Pipe Spring is worth a visit, especially if you like history. It is a Mormon pioneer site with the main building, Winsor Castle, and two cabins intact. There’s even a corral with longhorn cattle, and the spring still feeds the ponds on the site.
You can also walk a half-mile trail above the buildings for spectacular views. It’s a perfect stretch-your-legs stop.
My next stop was the Glen Canyon Dam. Sorry, I didn’t take the dam tour. I had other things on my agenda. I did walk out on the bridge, though.
I wanted to tour the Lower Antelope Canyon but found the numerous ticket websites daunting. Instead of booking online, I opted to stop at the local tourist office to see if I could get in that afternoon. I was in luck, but I also had time to kill before my 2:45 tour. (I had gained an hour since Arizona does not recognize Daylight Savings Time.)
I decided to drive to Antelope Point on Lake Powell. From the map, I could see that there was a marina and restaurant.
It was an interesting lunch stop, to say the least. We customers were shuttled down to the marina in golf carts. It wasn’t as scenic as I had anticipated, but the food was decent, and it was an experience.
I have mixed feelings about the Lower Antelope Tour. First, the rock formations are incredible. It truly is a sight to see, and if you enjoy taking photos, the results can be genuinely awesome.
What I didn’t enjoy was that it was crowded. Thirty of us left in three groups of ten to “tour” the slot canyon. It was more like a “stand and wait” than a tour. What took 75 minutes could have been a 15-minute tour. I’m not sure if there would be a better solution. They are limiting the number of people on the tours. I guess I prefer to avoid big crowds.
It was 4:15 by the time I got back to my car, and I still had an hour and a half of driving to get to the Grand Canyon. I was exhausted by the time I checked in at Yavapai Lodge. But I was at The Grand Canyon!
Wandering Shannon 