From Monument Valley, it was a short drive to Antelope Canyon, which is apparently one of the most photographed slot canyons. Like Monument Valley, its inside the Navajo Nation, which means the rules for access can be very different from a state or national park. In the case of Antelope Canyon, there are Navajo companies that will take you out to the canyon and give you a tour. I went with one of the smaller companies, where the doors on the suburban only opened from the outside and the driver did power slides on the dry sandy riverbed down to the canyon. He probably would've been more professional if there were more people that showed up than just me. Or, if he thought I wasn't having fun. It also meant I got a private tour by someone who was very familiar with the canyon and was able to help me line up some good shots.
The next stop was going to be the Grand Canyon, but someone decided it was acceptable to close the main route to the north rim just because its winter. I don't know who thought it was acceptable to essentially close a national treasure just because of some cold weather, but I hope they get a giant sack of coal for Christmas. Not accepting defeat so easily, I found a few secondary dirt roads to take to the canyon instead. The canyon was a good 40 mile drive from the highway. As I drove closer, the dirt road started to get a light snowy coating. Then it got more snowy, then started snowing, got foggy, and dropped below freezing. When I could hear the car bottoming out on the snow ridge in the middle of the road that had built up from the tracks of the other drivers, I knew it was time to turn around. Next stop, Las Vegas.
Defeat
Things flattened out as I crossed into Nevada. I never saw a sign welcoming me into Nevada, but the neon lights from the casinos on the border town made it clear exactly where I was. Then, I ran over a tumbleweed.
Las Vegas was stupid windy and it never got above 45 degrees the entire time I was there. I did a quick drive down the strip and then called it a night. First thing in the morning, I headed down to the Golden Nugget. When my cousin in LA found out I was stopping in Vegas, he had me place roulette bets by proxy. He might have a gambling problem. I fiddled with one of the slots and came out $36.50 richer. Time to head to the Hoover Dam.
The Hoover Dam was constructed by great men that worked together to tame the merciless and savage power of mother nature, thus bringing prosperity to the southwest. At least thats what the film said at the beginning of the tour. The whole site is a time capsule back to the 1930s and still reflects a lot of the nationalist attitudes of the time.
View from one of the vents inside the dam.
While I was in the area, I checked out the Bootleg Canyon Trails. Riding around, it quickly became obvious that these trails were built by Freeride and Downhill riders. Long downhills, banked turns with loose gravel, sections that required lots of momentum. It took some getting used to the different building philosophy, but once I did the trails were fun, though I still stuck to the easier trails. There were also some good views of Las Vegas, about 20 miles away.
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From here, it was a short drive to Los Angeles. Coming into California theres an agricultural inspection and I had to give up my Florida grapefruits because they might have fruit flies. I guess its better than becoming a Typhoid Mary and bringing pestilence to the southwest, undoing the work of such great men.
4900 miles in, looking forward to staying put for a few days. Don't worry, I'll still find some trouble.
Great pictures man!
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