To Instagram and Beyond

When I first suggested Page as a possible spring break destination, the boys asked what we could see there. I told them to google "Antelope Canyon" or "Horseshoe Bend" and find some images...

Thanks to social media, there were a plethora of pics to view.

And to no one's surprise, it didn't take much to sell them on the idea!

We weren't the only ones to be lured in by those photos, as there were hordes of people waiting to tour Lower Antelope Canyon this morning. Good thing I booked our 10:15AM tour with Dixie Ellis as soon as we settled our itinerary because everybody we saw who tried to walk up and buy tickets was leaving disappointed. Guided tours of Upper Antelope Canyon are also available from other companies, but we chose the Lower Canyon because there was more climbing involved.

When it was our group's turn to go, we followed our guide Buddy about a quarter mile to the stairs to descend into the canyon.

Truth be told, there is a constant stream of bodies funneling through the canyon, but the groups get spaced out enough that it doesn't feel too much like a herd of cattle. And thankfully Buddy pointed out all the prime photo ops, adjusted the settings on my D90 for me, and took some nice family pics for us.

"Woman in the Wind"

Fish are friends, not food

"Rocky Mountain Sunset"

Buddy emerging from the canyon

Walking through the slot canyon, seeing the lines and waves in the red sandstone in the ever-changing light, was such a cool experience! We would highly recommend it!

Our next stop was Horseshoe Bend. Another casualty of social media popularity, the parking area was closed for construction in order to better accommodate the crowds coming to visit. So we had to park in a remote lot and take a shuttle bus ($5/person) over.

We arrived close to noon, which was just about perfect timing since the sun was directly overhead, limiting the shadows from the canyon walls.  The hike up to the overlook was about 0.75 miles, completely exposed/no shade, but totally worth it!

Since Horseshoe Bend is part of Glen Canyon NRA, the National Park Service has erected barriers along portions of the rim. It does mar the view, but it's clearly necessary. We still saw a lot of people standing perilously close to the edge of unprotected parts, posing for their selfies. This really bothered J, who kept saying, "They aren't supposed to be there!" Yep, he's my rule-follower!

We rode the bus back to our minivan, and then headed south on US 89 towards our final destination for this trip. To save time, we decided to eat sandwiches in the car (road trip tradition!) and after about two more hours of driving, we reached the eastern entrance of...

Someone was still napping in the car

Of course, something as magnificent as the GRAND CANYON really deserves a post all to itself, so I'll just wrap this one up here by saying how much we all enjoyed what we were able to see and do today!