Antelope Canyon, Arizona

Antelope Canyon is probably the most photographed slot canyon out there. If you've seen a photo on someone's wall with the reddish-orange wavy curves like this, chances are it's Antelope Canyon. It lies on Navajo land, requiring a Navajo tour guide to access the canyons. There are an upper and lower portion. The lower portion has 5 sets of metal stairs going down into the canyon, which makes it not very kid-friendly. For this reason I did this one on my own.

looking straight up

these are not the entry stairs, but other sets inside

 my tour guide caught a lizard and let it bite his ear

The upper canyon requires a very bumpy 10-15 min jeep ride to the entrance of the canyon. The four of us did this canyon together. It was more of an A shape with a very small opening at the top to let light in. This canyon was much more crowded with visitors and the wind was blowing the sand down into the canyon making it difficult to fully enjoy the view.

Lake Powell, Arizona

We spent 5 nights at Lake Powell's Wahweap Marina, just outside of Page, Arizona. We enjoyed spending time at the beach at Lone Rock, an island mountain surrounded by bluish green water. That night we enjoyed dinner at the Marina's floating restaurant that just opened for the season that day.

We hiked up to Horseshoe Bend where the Colorado River wraps almost completely around a mountain that's inside a canyon. Pretty cool place.

We hiked Water Holes Canyon, a slot canyon on Navajo land which required a permit from their tribal office. It was tough to down climb into the canyon, but after that it was an interesting hike. The kids wore out before we made it to the end, so Daddy and I took turns staying with the kids while the other finished the hike. We were so glad we finished it because it was the best slot canyon we had been in, with walls so curved that you had to change direction every couple steps.

um, yah, that ladder looks safe...this is where we turned around.

The Marina has two pools that overlook the lake, boats and mountains. A beautiful place to relax, until you have to jump in the freezing water because someone thru a dinosaur in the deep end.

The kids had been wanting to ride on a boat, so our last day there we took them on a boat tour thru the Antelope Canyon waterway. They really enjoyed the ride and we were amazed at how narrow the curves of the lake became. At one point we had to back out of the canyon and turn around to leave.

This is a portion of the lake that we boated thru. Davis Dam is at the top right.

*btw- their personalized shirts are from www.itsapreemiething.com 

We also hiked Antelope Canyon, but that is so amazing it deserves its own post.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah

This park is an ATV paradise....if only we had one! Oh well, it was still a blast playing and climbing on the sand dunes. The sand itself was so soft and beautiful.

Those are people on the dunes, to give you an idea for scale.

This is just outside of Kanab, a mecca for hikers and climbers. We went into town for dinner and talked to a local who had also lived in Vegas for awhile and left for Kanab's proximity to Zion, Bryce, etc. We stopped in to the famous Best Friend's Animal Sanctuary featured on the TV show, Dogtown. They rescue abused and neglected animals of all kids and have around 1700 on property.  They showed us a video about their history and mission, but we had to skip the 90 minute tour to meet the dogs and cats. The kids would not have enjoyed it as it was almost all from inside a van. We added this to our list to visit again and hopefully come with enough time to volunteer to help with the animals.

That night and the next day we spent more time playing and exploring the dunes. The kids and I tracked bugs and lizards from their footprints in the sand, amazed at how each one had a different pattern.

We even found the very special Tiger Beetle, it is only found at this park and they are working on saving it from becoming extinct.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

I never realized that Bryce was at a high elevation, so I was shocked to get out of the truck from Vegas wearing shorts and a tank top in 30 degree weather...in the dark at 10pm...with snow on the ground! We had passed a sign warning of a low clearance tunnel. We didn't know for sure our height, so armed with flashlights, we got out, Daddy climbed to the top of the RV and dropped a tape measure down. 13 feet, good, we continued on our way.

The next morning we went for a hike thru Red Canyon. It still had quite a bit of snow on it, so we enjoyed our first ever snowball fight while Asa (our dog) rolled around in the snow. 

Later we drove the whole length of the park, stopping for short hikes to see the magnificent views of the hoodoos. We saw deer and more antelope than we could count and as a bonus we saw a bird chase and catch a butterfly mid-air! I've never seen that before.

Look very closely at the photo below and you'll see a group of people to the top far left for perspective!

The next day we hiked the Queens Garden/ Navajo loop/ Rim trail combo, a 3 mile hike from the canyon rim to the floor and back up to the rim. Yes, it was strenuous, especially since the kids demanded preferred to be carried. There were about 20 switchbacks just to climb up the steepest part of the rim! Despite the effort involved, it was incredible! I learned about this trail in a book of best trails in Utah. It called this one "Dr. Seuss-like", and it was. The trail weaved down and around the hoodoos and other odd rock structures throughout the canyon. It was a magical place and I can't wait to come back and hike it again someday when the kids are older. 

As you can see, this place is incredible! I took a ton of photos and had a hard time narrowing down which to post here!