Flagstaff Escape day 1

Colin is away for a week school trip so I decided to go away too.  Since this was a very last minute decision, I wanted to spend as little as possible on the flight and hotel . . . so wanted to use some of my points that I seem to like to hoard.  I had a few places in mind and the winner was Flagstaff, Arizona.  I have been to Flagstaff before but this trip I had two places on my list to see that were not the least bit of interest to Colin.  Flagstaff was the perfect spot to see both of these places on my short road trip escape.  I was shocked that I booked my flight from our tiny local airport (ACT) to Dallas Fort Worth and on to Flagstaff for only 22,000 miles!  I mean that seemed like a deal to me, and I only had to pay the taxes which set me back $22.40.  I had a hard time finding the same hotel for all three nights so did have to change every night but at least they were in the Hilton family and earned me stays towards Diamond status.  I had to pay for a rental car which was $156 but that was expected since the Flagstaff airport is t-i-n-y!  Seriously it is smaller than our Waco airport!  No complaints because it was very efficient.  I settled into my hotel for the night and binge watched cable television since we don't have cable at home . . . sometimes that is all you need . . . and ate DoubleTree Chocolate Chip cookies too.  Tomorrow starts the fun stuff!

Today I go on a guided tour.  I could have driven myself but decided to take a tour so I cold enjoy the ride too.  I have been trying to visit these places for years and finally today is the day.  It is a nice cool start but it sure did warm up to H-O-T quickly!  The tour group turned out to only be 3 people which was super cool.  It was Trent our guide, me, and two NAU college students.  Our first stop was to Horseshoe Bend in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.  It is a bit of a walk to get to the viewpoint but there is no way to get lost with all the people.  It was crowded to me and the majority were non Americans.  I hardly heard anyone speaking English.  Our guide turned us free and off I went.  The walk was nice.  There is something about the Arizona landscape that is just beautiful to me . . .

Then I arrived to the lookout point for Horseshoe Bend.  It is not for the person who is scared of heights.  I managed to wander around and get as close as I possibly could without my heart stopping.  My photos are not the best but it was beautiful!

The walk back was much harder since it was uphill but at least there were good views . . .

It was back on the road to our next stop, Glen Canyon Dam Overlook.

We had a very nice lunch too!  The tour company, Grand Canyon Adventures, really did a nice job with the lunch spread!  Actually the company did an excellent job the entire trip.  Trent, the guide, was also a teacher so we chatted about teaching and school stuff.  So back in the van we go for the real reason I took this tour, Antelope Slot Canyon!  Our tour was of the Lower Canyon with Ken's.  The process was crazy to check in so glad we had a guide doing that for me.  I mean I could have done it but how easy is it to just sit and wait while someone else does the work?  It is nice for someone else to just tell me where to go and what to do.  So we waited for our tour and off we go.  It was a short walk to the start of the tour where we had the first ladder and got another rules talk.

I will say this is the first tour I have been on with strict rules that were enforced.  No bags of any kind . . . only small camera to be worn around your neck and one water bottle . . . and they checked several times before getting to the staring point of the tour.  They were serious and it was nice to see them enforce the rules so we could all enjoy the tour.  No photos could be taken if standing on metal or a step.  They were also very serious about keeping with your group and not lagging behind . . . in fact I saw a group of three people being escorted out of the tour because they were not following the guides instructions.  Now the bad, other than it being hot which was not that bad, it was crowded.  Each guide had a small group of 10-12 people but there is a steady flow of groups one behind the other so it was crowded.  The guides did a very good job of keeping groups together and allowing time to take photos.  They were very knowledgeable on camera settings and best angles to take the photos too.  It was fine but there was zero time to linger and made it difficult to get photos without someone in them.  Don't get me wrong . . . it was really cool!

I probably took 136 photos in less than an hour.  It was so addicting.  By the end I was glad it was over.  It was crowded and hot.  I am glad I went as it really was super cool but once is enough.  If I went back I would go to the Upper Canyon just to see the difference.  Every where I turned I was mesmerized by the views . . . the light shining down at different angles was amazing.

Up the last ladder and back above ground . . .

. . . and just like that our tour was over and just had the drive back to Flagstaff.  This is where I was so glad I was just riding along!  It was a great day and worth the tour.