6. Page, Arizona

Days 12-14

We drove out of sunny Moab heading to our 4th state line, Arizona, destination Page.

Fortunately before we set out of Moab our delightful campsite neighbour enquired which route we would be taking to Page. We confessed we had yet to work that bit out (nothing like winging it!). He suggested that we could easily go via Monument Valley. Result!

The journey through Monument Valley was absolutely spectacular (and we tipped over the 2000 mile mark) !

We were in Page for two reasons – to visit the stunning and highly photogenic Antelope Canyon and to take possession of the houseboat we had hired for 3 days.

Luckily Ed had pre booked our Antelope Canyon Tour as once we arrived we realised how popular it is. All the tours were sold out for days! There are two sections to Antelope Canyon – Upper and Lower. For no particular reason we had opted for the Upper tour. It was a bumpy but fun 20 minute ride on an open 4×4 truck along a sandy river bed to reach the Canyon.

We were then able to walk into the canyon to explore the interior and marvel at the beautiful rock formations. Our guide was great, showing us the best spots for taking cool photos. The most expensive photograph in the world was taken in Antelope Canyon. It’s called The Phantom (a shaft of light hit at exactly the right moment and a ghost like figure is captured in the image) and allegedly sold for $6.5M. Unfortunately I don’t think our shots are going to be quite as valuable – except to us! There are dedicated ‘Photographic’ Tours on offer which allow you to spend extra time in the Canyon – in the hope, I guess, of getting ‘the’ shot! Maybe next time!

After the tour we hiked to another iconic photo spot – Horseshoe Bend. It was magnificent.

One thing we had not realized is that Utah and Arizona are in different time zones – Arizona is one hour behind Utah. There is nothing to indicate this on any signage – I guess Americans just genetically ‘know’ these things! Fortunately Apple does too – our phones had adjusted automatically so we realized just in time (i.e. at 6 am) and we managed not to arrive an hour early for our 9.30 am canyon tour! We’ll know to check the local time as we enter new states from now on!

What Ed says: There seemed to be a sense of urgency to leave Moab which I later realised was due to the fact that the troops were overjoyed that we were headed to a hotel for a couple of nights – after 9 glorious days of camping.  And we now have a teenager travelling with us…..”Izzy the Teenager” has arrived! If you have not seen Harry Enfields sketch “Kevin the Teenager” then U tube it. It is just so accurate it’s scary. God help us when JJ gets to 13!

Charging devices is also becoming an issue. We have 2 USB ports in the front which is plenty for two adults but the Millennials in the back appear to require 4 each……I am now wondering if the Houseboat was going to be a good idea with such a motley crew!

Next destination: Lake Powell, Arizona