15.08.2017
Rihards writing:
Our run continues. We wake before 5 a.m. to watch the sunrise in Monument valley. There were many like us, both in personal cars and driven in tourist trucks by locals.
We drive on bad dirt road, behind the sign that says “Drive at your own risk”, sometimes scratching the bottoms of some cars, but it was certainly worth it. We saw the rock “monuments” from all sides, but soon the clouds covered the Sun for a pity- the views would have been even more photogenic.
We are leaving at 9 a.m. sharp, as we have reservation to Antelope canyon and we can not be late. We are glad that it was possible to see it at all.
Antelope canyon is impressive, though – it is one of the rare places that look even better in photos than in reality. The place was as crowded as the railway station tunnel in Riga, but in much narrower way. The canyon itself is just couple of hundred metres long, hidden in the ground. When we arrived in visitors centre, I did not even notice it. It looked as a gap in the ground. But from inside- it made a long lasting impression. Well spent USD33.
Later we take a boat trip in Lake Powell for leisure. In an hours ride we go to see the lake and one of the canyons. Later in evening we get one more superview- Colorado river canyon Horseshoe bend.
We continue our run- this time to Utah, to mormons. After almost 3h drive, we arrive in camping in woods after 10 p.m., well after sunset, wishing only to grab something to eat and fall asleep. It later turns out that the first three cars have arrived at a wrong camping area in the darkness, but as the tents are already on- we stay where we are. Agnese’s suggestion to move gets ignored. When we arrived in the camping there was no reception either. In addition to that- it was chilly, ~6°C. But otherwise: “А в остальном, прекрасная маркиза, все хорошо, все хорошо.”.
Supersightseeing objects are now done, if we don’t count the Total Solar eclipse itself, of course.
Agnese comments:
We had booked a tour to the Lower Antelopes canyon as it was said that it’s visited by less people than the Upper one which can be crowded. After those masses and queues that were waiting for the lower one, I don’t even want to imagine what happens at the Upper. We had reserved the tour for a particular time, but in reality we got in about an hour or one and half later – at the beginning we were waiting for half an hour for our guide and then half an hour or an hour we had to stand and wait at the entrance to the underground.
With reservable campgrounds in the US National Parks everything is very easy. When arriving at the campground, need to find your number or the name in the map or on a post where you will also find a sheet of paper with your surname and the date till which the reservation is valid. Of course, the note is not reflective so in the darkness a torch will be useful.