(Originally posted 03.04.2007) As far as locations that generate WONDER, Antelope Canyon may well be at the top of my list for anywhere I've ever been. Over time, water has carved away at this sandstone to create what is arguably the world's most beautiful slot canyon. There are really two different canyons, a couple miles apart - Upper and Lower Antelope. The Lower was closed on my visit, so these shots are from the Upper, or as the Navajo call it: Tse' bighanilini (meaning "the place where water runs through rocks"). Entering the canyon is an undeniable spiritual experience. You go from a hot, sun-bleached, barren desert and duck into a quiet, cool, colorful sanctuary with flowing sandstone walls as high as 120 feet. The canyon itself is narrow, from about 20 feet wide to 4 feet near the end. Not for claustrophobics.
For older Navajos, entering a place like Tse' bighanilini was like entering a cathedral -- a deeply spiritual affair. They would take time to prepare before entrance, and leave feeling "uplifted and in harmony with something greater than themselves."
Unfortunately, the place is popular enough now that tours run through the canyon daily, almost hourly (most visitors must stay with guides on a tour, although for photographers who are in the know, you can slip the guide some extra money and wander on you own and stay much longer than the allotted time). The place can have a slightly touristy feel. But it's not like Disney World. Amidst the crowds and guides and commercialism, most people enter in complete silence with only a few gasps at the unexpected beauty found in such a remote place. There is a stunned sense of awe... of wonder at the Creator of such extravagant sculptures.
