You can hardly see it!Īntelope Canyon is a slot canyon that was formed by flash floods which carved a narrow path through the smooth, soft sandstone. Our little group walked a short ways out into the desert, watching our footing in case the canyon suddenly appeared in front of us. Okay, enough about Broderick (not! there will be more).

He was quiet at first but quickly started opening up and joking with us, explaining that people on TripAdvisor ask for his tours specifically. Broderick was half-Navajo (he even taught us a few phrases which I promptly forgot), a quarter Mexican, and a quarter Swedish (which is where he got his nose, “like a little ram,” as his grandfather apparently says). Tour guides are a special breed anyway, I’m convinced of it. Broderick might just take the cake (okay, he’d share it with Billy). The guy in London who signaled us with a bottle of blue Gatorade instead of an umbrella. Now, you all know we’ve had some pretty excellent luck with tour guides in our time.

It’s amazing to think how easily you could drive past without realizing what’s right next to you.Īmity and I milled around as four or five other people collected for our tour group and finally our tour guide, Broderick, appeared. The place seems like a random turn off of a nondescript road into a parking lot like any other. We showed up at Ken’s for the first tour of the day under cloudless blue skies. Though both are made of similarly spectacular formations in the Navajo Sandstone, Upper Antelope Canyon is an easier, wider walk – it’s in the shape of an “A,” whereas Lower Antelope Canyon is in the shape of a “V” – so it’s the more frequently visited, and therefore more expensive, option. There are two sections of Antelope Canyon, Upper and Lower. In years past, visitors were allowed to wander through on their own, but the canyon is now accessible only with an authorized tour guide – unless you’re a professional photographer. One of those was Antelope Canyon.Īntelope Canyon is located on Navajo Tribal Park land just a few minutes outside of Page, Arizona. Can you imagine if the vistas of Bryce Canyon were peppered with houses and office buildings?ĭespite all that, we also made a fair few stops outside of the park system which were equally incredible and noteworthy. The US park system has taken some of the most beautiful, unique, and delicate natural landscapes in the country and preserved them for everyone to visit and enjoy. You don’t have to share Leslie Knope’s enthusiasm to understand that there’s good reason. Like many Great American Roadtrippers, our itinerary consisted largely of state and national parks.

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