Antelope Canyon - Page Arizona

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This page last updated on 12/12/2017

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Location: Only a short jaunt from Lake Powell, Antelope Canyon is located east of Page, Arizona in Coconino County and is a part of Lake Powell Navajo Tribal Park. Take Highway 98 East. There will be one stoplight (Coppermine Road). Stay on 98 for 2 Miles and you will See Lower Antelope Canyon to your Left, Just west of the Navajo Generating Station. Take a left. Refer to (Fig. 02) above.

Description: Because Antelope Canyon is located on land owned by the Navajo nation, the road to the canyon is gated. Since 1997, the Navajo have allowed access to the canyon only on authorized guided tours, both to protect the canyon from overuse and vandalism and to ensure the safety of visitors. Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon carved out by the same waters that flowed into the Colorado River and carved the Grand Canyon. The canyon walls have been carved into what looks like fluid rock. Water from above Antelope Canyon travels through cracks and caverns in the sandstone until it builds up significant speed near Antelope Canyon. As the flood water rushes and spirals through the present formations, the water continually sands and reshapes the walls into sandstone masterpieces. This water eventually makes its way to Lake Powell and ultimately the Colorado River. Unaccompanied visitors to the Antelope Canyon are prohibited due to potential flash floods. In 1997, 11 tourists were killed by a flash flood. The danger comes from the water accumulating far from the canyon itself. It could rain 10 miles from Antelope Canyon and create a flash flood. See Note (1) below.

Antelope Canyon is the most famous slot canyon in the southwest. More people visit and photograph Antelope Canyon than any other formation of its kind. In short, Antelope Canyon is a canyon that consists of two distinct areas: the upper antelope canyon, also known as Tse' bighanilini, and the lower antelope canyon, commonly referred to as Hasdestwazi. According to Native American history, large herds of antelope once roamed Antelope Canyon, providing the canyon with its name. The canyon is regarded as a spiritual place where Native Americans can connect and seek insight from Mother Nature. Antelope Canyon formed due as a result of erosion caused by flash flooding during the monsoon season. Over time, rainwater rushed across the canyon, picked up speed and washed the ground away.

Trip Notes: The pictures in this post are from a road trip that my wife Connie, Marc Resnic and I took back in took back in October of 2009. To get the most out of our visit, we split up; Connie and Marc toured the 'upper' canyon and I toured the more difficult 'lower canyon. While the Navajo call this canyon "the place where water runs through rocks," most tourists come to know the upper section as the Crack, and the lower as the Corkscrew. The pictures shown here from the upper canyon were taken by Marc.  I took so many photographs here, each beautiful and unique in its own way, that it was really hard to select just a few for posting here. Some provide beautiful color, some unique geometric-like shapes, some smoothed textures like you have never seen before.

The Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, 'the place where water runs through rocks' by the Navajo. Upper Antelope is at about 4,000 feet elevation and the canyon walls rise 120 feet above the streambed. It is the most frequently visited by tourists for two reasons. First, its entrance and entire length are at ground level, requiring no climbing. Second, beams or shafts of direct sunlight radiating down from openings at the top of the canyon are much more common in the upper canyon vs the lower canyon (Fig. 03). These beams occur most often in the summer months, as they require the sun to be high in the sky. (con't below)

                                  

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As you approach the upper Antelope Canyon, there is no obvious clue as to its location. Sometimes called “Corkscrew” Canyon, Upper Antelope Canyon measures a quarter mile long and 130 feet deep. It is reached by traveling a 3.5-mile-long dry (most of the time) sandy wash. The trail seems to end at the base of a red sandstone plateau about 20 yards high - the entrance is a narrow curved slit in the cliffs only a few feet wide. From the entrance, it’s an easy stroll through the upper chamber, which is fairly level. Once inside, the temperature drops as much as 20 degrees as the visitor enters one of the most beautiful of all natural formations.

The sunlight filtering down the curved sandstone walls makes magical, constantly changing patterns and shadows in many subtle shades of color (Fig. 04). Some sections of the canyon are wide and bright, while others are narrower and more cave-like, with no light reaching the sandy floor. After only 150 yards or so, the canyon becomes suddenly much shallower near the top of the plateau. It may take only 3 or 4 minutes to walk straight through, but the canyon is well worth the arduous trek or expensive journey required to get there (Fig. 05). (Con't below)
                                     

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The Lower Antelope Canyon is called Hazdistazí, or 'spiral rock arches' by the Navajo, is a few miles away from the upper canyon. The lower canyon is nearly 1,400 feet long. The canyon is filled with majestic and narrow passages (Fig. 06) with just enough space for persons to walk single file on the sandy floor, punctuated with occasional shafts of sunlight to shine down from above (Figs. 07 thru 09). The maze of abstract shapes carved from sandstone by twirling winds and water are mind boggling. As you descend further and deeper, making an elevation change of more than 240 feet down, the gentle lighting and textures of the canyon’s sandstone walls create amazing photo opportunities. The sculpted sandstone walls appear frozen in a series of graceful waves, which somehow give the illusion of motion. Even though you have more photo opportunities for capturing beams of light in the upper canyon, the lower canyon definitely provides more interesting twists, turns and shapes. With frequent stops for photo opportunities, the hike from one end of the canyon to the other can take more than three hours. (Con't below)
                                              

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As you decend down through the canyon there are even some metal steps to aid in walking (Fig. 10). Many of the water carved walls look like 'pulled taffy' (Figs. 11 & 12). When I was a kid back in the 60’s, I worked in Junkin’s Candy & Ice Cream shop at Hampton Beach, N.H. Their main claim to fame was making pure salt water taffies right in front of the customers. The water and wind honed sandstone  ledges look almost exactly like the salt water taffy we used to make back then.


Depending upon the lighting from above you are constantly presented with a variety of ever changing colors (Figs. 13 thru 15). Sometimes you can even recognize objects or faces in the carved sandstone. This is called pareidolia. Check out this page (and then use your browser back button to return here. Examples of Pareidolia (con't below)
                                               

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Prior to the installation of metal stairways, visiting the canyon required climbing along pre-installed ladders in certain areas. Even following the installation of steel stairways, it is a more difficult hike than Upper Antelope. It is longer, narrower in spots, and even footing is not available in all areas (Fig. 18). At the end of the journey, we actually had to walk three sets of steel stairs (Figs. 16 & 19) up more than 125 feet to get back to the surface. The picture below was taken at the top of the canyon’s exit, looking down at where the water would run out of the canyon during the rainy season. Once outside, you have a lengthy, steady uphill climb to get back to the staging area (Fig. 20).
                                 

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Using the picture on the left (Fig. 21) that I took at Antelope Canyon, I created a composition titled "LavaMan". Click the following link to view the result and a description of how it was created ... Lava Man - Guarder of the Canyon






(1) Note - Antelope Canyon Floods: Rains during monsoon season can quickly flood the canyon even though rain does not have to fall on or near the Antelope Canyon slots. Flash floods to can whip through from rain falling dozens of miles away upstream of the canyons. Water can funnel into them with little prior notice. On August 12, 1997, eleven tourists, including seven from France, one from the United Kingdom, one from Sweden and two from the United States, were killed in Lower Antelope Canyon by a flash flood. Very little rain fell at the site that day, but an earlier thunderstorm had dumped a large amount of water into the canyon basin, 7 miles upstream. The lone survivor of the flood was tour guide Francisco "Pancho" Quintana, who had prior swift-water training. At the time, the ladder system consisted of amateur-built wood ladders that were swept away by the flash flood. Today, steel ladder systems have been bolted in place, and deployable cargo nets are installed at the top of the canyon. At the fee booth, a NOAA Weather Radio from the National Weather Service and an alarm horn are stationed. Despite improved warning and safety systems, the risks of injuries from flash floods still exist. On July 30, 2010, several tourists were stranded on a ledge when two flash floods occurred at Upper Antelope Canyon. Some of them were rescued and some had to wait for the flood waters to recede. There were reports that a woman and her nine-year-old son were injured as they were washed away downstream, but no fatalities were reported.

Daytrip –Snow Canyon State Park - Utah

On 04/08/15, Harvey, Bob, Blake and I made a trip to the Snow Canyon State Park in Utah, just north of St. George. This picture was taken from the park overview with the Red Mountains in the background. Even though our hiking was somewhat limited due to the five hour R/T drive from Henderson, we still managed to hike three trails and get a lot of nice pictures. Bob’s GPS indicated that we hiked a total of 3.9 miles. The good news is that there are still a couple of interesting trails left for a future visit. Click here for pictures and information on this unique location … Snow Canyon State Park - Utah.

Snow Canyon State Park - Utah

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Directions: From the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino it is about 126 miles and will take roughly 2 hrs and 10 mins based upon traffic. Take the I-15 North to St. George, Utah. When you reach St. George, take exit 10 (Washington). Turn right off the ramp then an immediate left at the light. Follow this road for approximately 5 miles to the intersection with Bluff Street/ SR-18. Proceed through the light and continue on Snow Canyon Parkway for approximately 3.5 miles and turn right onto Snow Canyon Drive. Follow this road to the south entrance of the park.

___________________________________________ Park History: Snow Canyon State Park is a 7,400-acre scenic park tucked amid lava flows and soaring sandstone cliffs in a strikingly colorful and fragile desert environment. It is located within the 62,000-acre Red Cliffs Desert Reserve that was established to protect the federally listed desert tortoise and its habitat. Established as a park in 1959, Snow Canyon has a long history of human use. Anasazi Indians inhabited the region from A.D. 200 to 1250, utilizing the canyon for hunting and gathering. Paiute Indians used the canyon from A.D. 1200 to the mid-1800s. Mormon pioneers discovered Snow Canyon in the 1850s while searching for lost cattle. Over time, the canyon has been the site of Hollywood films such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Electric Horseman, and Jeremiah Johnson. Originally called Dixie State Park, it was later renamed for Lorenzo and Erastus Snow, prominent pioneering Utah leaders. ____________________________________________ Park Geology: Transported by wind more than 183 million years ago, tiny grains of quartzite sand covered much of what is now Utah. These sand dunes, up to 2,500 feet thick, eventually cemented into stone. Burnt orange to creamy white in color, Navajo sandstone, the predominant rock in the park, is what remains of the ancient desert sand sea. Navajo Sandstone can be correlated with the Aztec Sandstone to the southwest in California and Nevada. Over time, water cut and shaped the sandstone to form canyons. Approximately 1.4 million years ago, and as recently as 27,000 years ago, nearby cinder cones erupted causing lava to flow down these canyons, filling them with basalt. This redirected ancient waterways, eventually carving new canyons. Today, you can look up to see lava-capped ridges that were once canyon bottoms. ______________________________________________

04/08/2015 Trip Notes: The “Three Musketeers” (Harvey, Bob & Blake) and I (Fig. 01) made a trip to the Snow Canyon State Park in Utah, just north of St. George. This picture was taken from the park overview, see (Fig. 02), with the Red Mountains in the background. Our first trek of the day was the relatively short, one mile R/T, Pioneer Names Trail, refer to (Fig. 02).This trail involved some minor rock scaling as it passes the side of a cliff where some pioneers wrote their names on the sandstone using axle grease (Fig. 03). The earliest dates back 134 years to 1881. The view in (Fig. 04) is looking north from a spot near the base of the cliff. Next we tackled the 2-mile R/T Butterfly Trail.

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Cutting west across the canyon, past the petrified dunes, the Butterfly Trail had some steep slopes, steps and uneven surfaces (Fig. 05) that eventually led to the West Canyon Overlook (Fig. 02). You can see the top of the West Canyon Overlook just below the arrow in (Fig. 05). The next two views are from the overlook; the first looking south toward the park entrance (Fig. 06), and the second looking north toward the “Whiterocks Trail & Amphitheater” (Fig. 07). From here we headed north to the Lava Tubes and the Lava Flow Trail.

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Just a few hundred feet north of the viewpoint we came to the first of three open lava tubes (Figs. 08 & 09) that are scattered along the Lava Flow Trail. There are three separate and distinct lava flows in the park. The two oldest, dated between 1.4 and 1.1 million years ago, cap the cliff on the east side of the canyon. The flow at the canyon floor is the youngest, approximately 27,000 years old. As you can see from (Fig. 10), the Lava Flow Trail is filled with lava rocks. On our way to the first lava tube, we pasted a cactus (Fig. 11) that had a birds nest with four eggs in it (Fig. 12). Hiking both this and the Butterfly Trail provided the opportunity for capturing a wide variety of wildflowers along the way. From Desert Paintbrush (Fig. 13) to flowering cacti (Fig. 16), to blueish purple (Fig. 17), there was a wide range of color. However, my best find of the day was that of a Sego Lily (Calochortus gunnisonii), a.k.a. Mariposa lily (Fig. 18). Click here for more information on this beautiful flower … Sego Lily (Calochortus gunnisonii). The final three views (Figs. 19-21) were take from the Park Overview, see (Fig. 02). The final two pictures were taken by fellow hiking partner Robert Croke.

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Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant

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Location & Status: On 08/08/2013,stopping several miles short of the actual site I drove about 8 miles out on the access road to the construction site to capture a picture of the solar plant’s 540-foot tower. Located on 1,600 acres of BLM land, approximately 25 miles northwest of Tonopah (Fig. 01), ground was broken on the project September 1, 2011. With an anticipated completion cost of about $1 billion dollars, its 540-foot solar power tower was completed in February of 2012. Currently being installed are the project’s 17,500 heliostat mirrors which will be used to collect and focus the sun's thermal energy. Though originally estimated to be complete by the summer of 2013, the construction of the heliostat field only appeared about 25% complete. Commercial operation, planned to begin in December 2013, may be delayed until spring of 2014.

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire: SolarReserve (see Note (1) below), a U.S. developer of large-scale solar power projects, today announced completion of the 540-foot solar power tower (Fig. 02)  for its 110 megawatt (MW) Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Plant located near Tonopah, Nev. Utilizing the most advanced solar thermal technology worldwide, the Crescent Dunes Plant will be the nation’s first commercial-scale solar power facility with fully integrated energy storage and the largest power plant of its kind in the world (see Note (2) below).                 “Completion of the solar power tower is a significant milestone not only for SolarReserve and our plant, but also for the solar energy industry as a whole. This project is on track to bring American innovation to fruition and is already creating jobs,” said Kevin Smith, CEO of SolarReserve. “Our U.S.-developed technology has the ability to store energy for 10-15 hours and solves the issue of intermittent power generation to the grid, the number one limitation to other solar and wind renewable energy technologies. We can deliver electricity ‘on demand’ the same way a coal, natural gas or nuclear fueled plant does – but without emitting any harmful pollution or hazardous materials – providing a genuine alternative to conventional power generation.”                   The flagship project is jointly owned by SolarReserve, ACSCobra, a worldwide leader in the engineering and construction of power plants and solar thermal facilities, and Santander, a global financial services and banking leader. ACS Cobra’s Nevada-based affiliate, Cobra Thermosolar Plants Inc., is the general contractor for the project and is utilizing Nevada and regional subcontractors to perform the work. “We are pleased to be partnering with SolarReserve and Santander in constructing the world’s leading solar technology,” said Jose Alfonso Nebrera Garcia, Director General of ACS Cobra. “SolarReserve’s molten salt power tower technology will change the face of solar thermal power as the world knows it, and we are excited to help implement this important technology in Nevada.” Construction of the facility began in September of 2011 and currently has over 100 workers on site. More than 70 percent of the construction workers are local Nevadans and 80 percent of the subcontractors are Nevada-based, including union and non-union firms. Construction is expected to peak at more than 600 jobs on site during the 30-month construction period and is estimated to create more than 4,300 direct, indirect and induced jobs at companies throughout the U.S. that provide engineering, equipment supply and manufacturing, transportation and other value-added services. To date, orders for the project have been placed for equipment and services in more than 20 states.                The Crescent Dunes project has secured a 25-year power purchase agreement with NV Energy and will provide clean power to approximately 75,000 homes when complete. The project closed financing in September of 2011 utilizing private equity investment from SolarReserve, ACS Cobra and Santander along with support from the US Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program. “NV Energy is committed to supporting renewable energy development in Nevada and is proud to be working with SolarReserve on the Crescent Dunes Energy Plant,” said Michael Yackira, President and CEO of NV Energy. “We congratulate SolarReserve on this milestone and look forward to when our customers can enjoy the benefits of this new solar technology.”           The project is being constructed on federal land operated by the Bureau of Land Management. In November 2010, Interior Secretary Salazar signed the project’s thirty-year right-of-way and approval to construct. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2013. Once operational, the project will expend more than $10 million per year in salaries and operating costs, and is forecasted to generate $47 million in total tax revenues through the first 10 years of operation – contributing to workers’ paychecks, service businesses, local school systems and police and fire departments.

Note (1) - About SolarReserve: SolarReserve, LLC – headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif. – is a solar energy project development company developing large-scale solar energy projects worldwide. It holds the exclusive worldwide license to the molten salt, solar power tower technology developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation. Since its formation in late 2007, SolarReserve’s team of power project professionals have assembled a concentrated solar power development portfolio of more than 25 projects featuring its licensed solar power technology with potential output of more than 3,000 megawatts in the United States and Europe; with early stage activities in other international markets including the Middle East, North and South Africa, Australia, China, India and Latin America. SolarReserve is also developing 1,100 MW of photovoltaic projects across the Western United States, and is actively acquiring new sites to add to the pipeline in the US and overseas. SolarReserve’s experienced management team has previously developed and financed more than $15 billion in renewable and conventional energy projects in more than a dozen countries around the world.

Note (1) - WORLD’S LARGEST MOLTEN SALT SOLAR TOWER PLANT: Power towers (also known as 'central tower' power plants or 'heliostat' power plants) capture and focus the sun's thermal energy with thousands of tracking mirrors (called heliostats) in roughly a two square mile field. A tower resides in the center of the heliostat field. The heliostats focus concentrated sunlight on a receiver which sits on top of the tower. Within the receiver the concentrated sunlight heats molten salt to over 1,000 °F . The heated molten salt then flows into a thermal storage tank where it is stored, maintaining 98% thermal efficiency, and eventually pumped to a steam generator. The steam drives a standard turbine to generate electricity. This process, also known as the "Rankine cycle" is similar to a standard coal-fired power plant, except it is fueled by clean and free solar energy. SolarReserve’s molten salt, concentrating solar power tower technology was successfully demonstrated in California under a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored pilot project in the late 1990s. The 10 MW pilot facility utilized a molten salt receiver designed, engineered and assembled by Rocketdyne, now a part of United Technologies Corporation.

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Tonopah’s Arthur Raycraft House

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08/09/2013 Trip Notes: After an overnight stay at the Mitzpah Hotel, we drove around town looking for some of the more prominent buildings and residences. Probably the most famous is the Arthur Raycraft House (Fig. 01) located at the base of a mountain on Booker Street on the western edge of town. Unfortunately the house is a private residence and not available for tours.

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History: The Arthur Raycraft house, built in 1906, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1982 and is known locally by residents as the “Castle House” because of its two Queen Anne Style turrets on opposing ends of the front façade. It is said to be one of several houses in town that has been the dream house of just about every kid who has lived in Tonopah during the last century. It was deemed significant for its association with banker and businessman Arthur G. Raycraft. Its substantial architecture is an outstanding example of stone construction (Fig. 02) during the early days of Tonopah’s mining boom and provides an interesting variation of the dominant residential style in Tonopah in the early 1900’s. The structure was designed by architect and builder, George Holesworth, who is known as the "Architect of Nevada." He also designed other Tonopah structures including the Belvada (State Bank and Trust Co.), the Mizpah Hotel, the St. Mark's Episcopal Church and the Frank Golden Block (Masonic Lodge).                     Arthur Raycraft came to Tonopah as a banker in 1904 and over the next several years became an investor in many of the mining camps in the Tonopah area, eventually leading him to become president of the Dexter-Manhattan Mining Company. An enthusiastic proponent of using wireless to keep in contact with the mining camps around the west-central Nevada area, he is also known for installing the first wireless telegraph system between Tonopah, Nevada and a similar installation in Manhattan, Nevada, about 30 miles north of Tonopah. Raycraft installed the first system in the upper floor of the house, and according to the new owners, remnants still remain.              Today the home is the private residence of Joni and Dennis Eastley. In 1998, the Eastley’s  purchased the house from the Pillers family and began restoring it. Being a true purist, and wanting to keep things the way they were, Joni didn’t do a single thing to the house without consulting a historian or architecture preservationist. Without the aid of photographs and because various renters over the years had destroyed much of the homes interior, restoration was a nightmare.               From the reconstruction of the totally destroyed interior banister to buying and stamping sheets of copper to construct the kitchen’s ceiling, to purchasing reclaimed wood from a company in Sacramento for the crown molding and other trim throughout the house, the Eastleys have made every effort to keep the restoration as true to 1908 as possible.  Joni even keeps a notebook where she lists the original home of each chandelier, piece of stained glass, and furniture that has been used in the restoration. They have put just as much care into the restoration and preservation of the home’s exterior (Fig. 03). Because the lower turret was falling apart from overgrown honeysuckle, Dennis bartered for similar reclaimed rock with other local property owners.                 This, now long and arduous 15-year labor of love, has had its ups and downs. On February 1, 1999 during the early stages of renovation, the oil furnace went out causing a fire that started when the space heaters overheated the knob and tube wiring. Two days later, all the pipes in the house froze and burst, causing the Eastley’s replace all the electrical and much of the piping. So far she and her husband have spent well in excess of $100,000 trying to restore it to its original state. Despite these challenges, they have pushed on and have plans to complete the restoration and to landscape the property. Hopefully, they will someday consider opening the house for tours by the public so we can all share in the success of their efforts.

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