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Whilst in Page I stayed at the excellent Bashful Bobs Motel which is ideally placed for visits to Antelope and the area and the owner Robert wombacher is more than helpful you can reach him at bashfulbobmotel@webtv.net

I reached Bryce just in time for a few sunset pictures though on booking in at Fosters Motel I found my room had not been made up from the previous occupant and there was worse to follow the next day.

Sunshine again and a morning in Upper Antelope before heading north to Bryce. Probably the most photogenic of all slot canyons, Antelope Canyon has two sections. North of highway 98 is Lower Antelope which has a very narrow entrance but at least you can reach it easily from the car park by foot. The arrangement is different at Upper antelope. After paying 5 dollars for your permit you pay for the ten minute ride to the entrance by the hour with a maximum of 15 dollars. I am afraid Upper Antelope has become very popular and almost every hour there are tour parties often firing off flashes indiscriminately and sometimes appearing in serious photographers long exposures !

This dramatic view above the loop in the Colorado river was shot with a very wide angle lens. Keep away from the edge if you do not like heights. There is a sheer drop and no safety rails etc. This was the only dull day in the trip but in the afternoon I did visit the Fatali Gallery in Page which exhibits excellent pictures of the area.

http://www.fatali.com

Today I had a prearranged meeting at Antelope Canyon with a group of photographers from England who had just arrived in the area. Alas the weather had changed and the sun was nowhere to be seen. As a trip down the canyon would have been a waste of time photographically we decided to visit the 'horseshoe' viewpoint a few miles away to check out the lighting conditions.

The exact location is pretty difficult to find. First you have to locate the unmarked dirt road off Route 89. Then you hope that the rough dirt road is going to be passable in an ordinary rental car ! Its about 9 miles from 89 to the Wire Head trailhead the start of a 14km round trip hike over quite difficult but beautiful terrain. If you're a first timer and on your own - good luck because the trail to the waves is not really marked at all and one can easily get lost. Fortunately I met another beginner and with some clues from a German friend of the motel owner where I was staying in Page, we managed to get near our goal. Take plenty of water and ideally start really early to catch the early morning light. That would means walking a fair way in the dark so take a torch. It took us much longer than anticipated as we got lost a few times and later I lost the red inner from my fleece which I had taken off when it got warm. If you come across it send me an e-mail!

richard@rtfract.com

It was a great but extremely tiring day. Next time I'll be better prepared.

Big day today - the one the whole trip was organized around. Its the day I have a permit to visit the 'waves' a protected area between Page and Kanab near Buckskin Gulch. To protect this wilderness only 8 permits are issued each day so normally one has to book at last six months in advance.

As you will see from the above map it was quite a long trip lasting three weeks with quite a few highs and a few lows. The flight via Newark from Manchester ( UK ) to SF was delayed quite a bit so combined with a wait for my hire car I set off to my first motel quite late. Luckily it turned out to be only a block away so my driving skills were not to be tested that first evening. The changeover in Newark was an opportunity for a few pictures and as you can see below you get a view of the New York skyline from Newark airport.