Day 42 (D-19) Antelope Canyon

This 10th day of our trip, June 27th is yet another day with lots to do and see.  After Lake Powell and Horseshoe Bend in the morning and lunch in Page, we head to Antelope Canyon for an extraordinary walk inside this canyon.  I'm sure everyone has seen a photo of Antelope Canyon.  I'll give you just one.  No video.  There are so many photos and videos, but I'll give you just this one photo. To whet your appetite. However, I'm looking forward to putting the students' photos on the blog after we return to Grenoble.  But I'll tell you about the second life of this blog later.  😀

Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon, a narrow canyon formed by the wear of water rushing through the rock.  A slot canyon is significantly deeper than it is wide. Antelope Canyon is on Navajo land.  It is not possible to visit the Canyon independently.  It has been accessible by tour only since 1997, when the Navajo made it a Navajo Tribal Park.  It is a source of business for the Navajo Nation.  Antelope Canyon includes two separate, scenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as "Upper Antelope Canyon" or "The Crack"; and "Lower Antelope Canyon" or "The Corkscrew".  We'll no doubt be visiting the Upper Antelope Canyon, which is more accessible. 

The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tsé bighánílíní, which means "the place where water runs through rocks". Lower Antelope Canyon is Hazdistazí (called "Hasdestwazi" by the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department), or "spiral rock arches".

Do you remember that cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park were discovered in 1844 by two cowboys looking for lost cattle?  Antelope Canyon was discovered by a young Navajo girl, in 1931, when she was out looking for one of her sheep lost here.

Summer months provide two types of lighting.  Light beams start to peek into Upper Antelope Canyon March 20 and disappear October 7 each year.   

Weather conditions are of course to be taken into consideration.  Flooding still occurs, so let's hope we've chosen a good day and our visit won't have to be canceled. 

My best,

Jane

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-- to whet your appetite =   to increase the feeling that you want to have or to do a particular thing
-- whet = aiguiser; affûter
-- narrow = étroit                 
--the wear = "wear" is a noun here, it means l'usure; We have a lot of expressions: wear and tear = the damage that happens to an object in ordinary use during a period ( l'usure normale); I'm worn out = I'm exhausted, I'm very tired.  Hard work will wear you out if you don't take breaks.  Our children have worn out the knees of their trousers.....

-- deeper than it is wide =  le profondeur est plus important que la largeur
-- light beams = faisceaux lumineux