day 04.
I woke up, feeling good! I remember I woke up particularly early this day, but ended up waiting around at the campground for the showers to open. This campground was the only one where I had to pay to shower. And in quarters at that. $5 = 10 minutes. The water was nice and hot though. It was cold and snowy at the Grand Canyon, so I was grateful. Once I got situated, probably made myself some tea, I took my time passing back through the canyon to the exit and began my journey to my first stop of the day, Antelope Canyon.
MORNING FROM:
The Grand Canyon.
I WAS EXCITED FOR THIS.
Antelope Canyon wasn’t on my original itinerary. In fact, this is where I pivot off-itinerary for the second time so far. Of course I was behind, and it was one of the only times I felt like I was “rushing” to get somewhere. Antelope Canyon was the only canyon I visited that requires a certified tour guide while in the canyon. So basically, you have to book thru a tour company with scheduled slots and my eta was less than 15 minutes before the tour time I was wanting to be on. Thankfully I made it on time, cause otherwise it just would’ve known me back several hours.
I couldn’t bring any tripods or bags on the tour (apparently people vandalize these gorgeous canyons). So I was left to bother strangers to take pictures of me, which is why I don’t have very many inside the canyon. That, and you couldn’t take your mask off at all, EVEN for pictures. This canyon was amazing tho. Jane from *insert tour company* was so thorough and shared a lot of really cool information about the canyon and surrounding areas. She even suggested my next impromptu stop on the way to my “home” for the night. HORSESHOE BEND.
Ugh, what a treat. Like mostly everything else, I spent more time here than I thought I would because it was THAT amazing. Now, if you’re this far into reading, you’re either my friend or actually interested, and probably wondering how in the world did I even put an itinerary like this together. And you’re right. It was quite daunting and took weeks if not a couple months to solidify. Horseshoe Bend was on one of the earlier drafts of the itinerary and got cut out. The fact that I somehow ended up 10 minutes from it is a testament to divine road trip energy and I’m grateful it happened that way. Boy, was it something!! Short hike over to the bend, and there beholds the most amazing horseshoe bend. The perfect landscape and views for you to explore. There were no barriers here, (kinda alarming), kinda cool, cause, you could ultimately walk along the bend. I met a lovely couple here and they ventured to the highest point with me. Nice to have some company when climbing these gigantic rocks. Really cool stop and I highly recommend.
I barely wanted to leave here but arriving after dark seems less attractive, so I pressed my way after a little exploration and picture taking. From there I drove to Zion National Park. I just happened to be passing the Utah/Arizona state lines at sunset, and stopped by one of the postcard signs and flicked it up some more. It was unreal. Truly, LIFE ELEVATED.
Driving thru Zion National Park at night was special. Unlike the others I had driven thru at night, you could actually make out the outlines of the canyons. And with the snow on it, it was even prettier. They felt really close, and I really enjoyed the drive in. Once I got to the campgrounds, things were pretty lit, as they are close to a surrounding town on the outside of the park. The trees were decorated with lights, and I went to sleep thinking how cute the night scenery was.
