July 30

July 30th.

Drove from Grand Canyon to Page, AZ (more amazing storms! never a boring moment west of the Rockies!) to tour Antelope Canyon. Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land and the tours are run by Navajo companies. We took a cool

jeep-kind of big wheeled vehicle for about a 20 minute ride -- 10 on highway and then 10 on dirt, backroads that were dusty and bumpy. Very fun ride. AC is a slot

canyon, so you enter from one side and walk along the sandy bottom of the canyon until it opens to sunlight at the other end. Sun streams down from the top if you catch it at the right time and gives the rock colors vibrancy. As we arrived, it was a bit overcast, but on the way back out we saw some of the sun streaming and the colors Some of the rock formations looked like Abraham Lincoln, a bear, an eagle and Crested Butte at sunset.

Lunch at Pizza Hut (birthday feast for Dad). Hot tip from our chef about where the locals swim in Lake Powell ("The Chains"), so we were off for a dip. Amazing water, deep, blue, cool -- very welcome in the high-90's heat of the afternoon. We were just above Glen Canyon Dam, though, so it was easy to look downriver at what this place used to be like. A wonderful recreation area, no question, but a spectacular piece of America submerged to make it so!

Drove on through more amazing storms up to Zion. Came in through less-used east side (brilliant!) on 25 m.p.h. curving road. No question you're in a different world through here. So glad to have traveled through the amazing mile-long tunnel dug in the '30s right through the sandstone mountains. Just amazing. Saw big-horned sheep, noted cool climbing places, then were sad to find campgrounds full in the park. How lucky to follow a hot tip to milepost 24, 8 miles outside of town, where National Forest meant free camping for those willing to do without facilities. Had late-night smores and sang HB to Dan!