Day 12

Blank Canvas

I got up a little later than I usually do, it felt nice. I got my things together and went to a coffee shop to upload photos and edit them.. I intended on writing and posting but the internet was sooooo slow. It was killing me how slow it was. This was the second day that I had internet but was so slow I  couldn't post a thing! I may as well not have had it, what a tease! I uploaded my slot canyon night shots and it took an hour just to get them up... blahhhhh! Finally I was out of there.




 The drive to the Grand Canyon was nice. It was a pretty chill drive. No radio stations again, I finally remembered to put some songs on my itunes so I will have music when there is no service. Its all old but whatev- it is better than nothing! When I got to the GC, I got the feel of the park. Its pretty much a regular two lane highway that turns into the park. You can ride through and get to the other side and keep going to Flagstaff if you're on the South Rim. I decided to go to the South Rim because it was easier to get to and easier to my next step after that. It worked out perfect, because I was having a hard time deciding which to go to. I wanted to hike and camp to Havasu Falls, (on the North Rim) but you have to have a permit to be able to hike down to the bottom can camp and it takes a while to get. That is more of a planned trip food wise too. Where I ended up was just fine and awesome.

My Motto

 When I got there, I stopped off at all of the scenic points and looked at the amazing views. After a few stops, I went to go find camp. Camp in the park was $18- um no thanks. So I left the park, there is a national forest right outside of it. There are little county roads that you can camp on. They make it easy to get a good spot. I set up camp and made spaghetti- It was yummy:) When it got dark, I played with light some and then crashed. I was going to attempt to do a 6 mile hike into the canyon. Down three and up three. :)

Day 11

Sum up of the evening of day 10:

So I did go to Delicate Arch to check out the sunset. It was about a mile hike up! There were little rock statues all along the way so you didnt get lost, I thought that was neat-  but I am easliy amused, so...

Rock statues that guide the way to the arch

This was the trail up to Delicate Arch

I got to the top and there were tons of people there for the sunset. People speaking all different languages, mostly French. Cameras and tripods were everywhere- I got some nice sunset shots:) I decided that I was going to camp there. I started to hike down, it was getting dark, and I forgot my headlamp so I had to make it down with the light that was left. I started talking to a sweet guy named Anthony on the way down. He is in the military in North Carolina. He was a lone traveler too. I think that is says something about people who don't mind being alone, just wanting to get out there. I admire that.

I had to get a selfie :)

People enjoying the sunset at Delicate Arch

The main goal for that night- success! 

Sleeping out at the arches was pretty amazing. I could have slept right on the rock, it was still warm from the sun all day. It was surprisingly the warmest spot I have slept thus far, also, it was the safest place (as far as living things around me) I felt sleeping too. I'm not sure if it was because I knew there weren't any bears up there-- or people-- I just did.  I thought about sleeping out in the open, but the area where this arch is, is shaped like a big bowl... and the bottom of the bowl.. is well, a huge pit about 200 feet down. So I opted to put my tent up so I couldn't really roll anywhere. It's not like I would actually be sleeping hard enough for that to happen, but it settled my mind a bit. That was the first night I didn't put my rain cover over my tent either, so I could see the stars falling asleep, it was magical. I saw so many shooting stars and one so close it was bright green! I wonder how many rituals have gone down at these arches... they have to have been worshiped by someone at some point. They are too magnificent for them not to be. 

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Day 11--- I woke up at the arch at 5.. I figured there were lots of people hiking up for sunrise to I got up and broke down my tent quick. I brushed my teefies and sat down one more time to just sit and stare. Okay-- on to my next venture. Just as I was walking out, there someone was.. 5:30 in the morning, it really is the best time to go. Its cool out and there aren't many people out. Its kind of hard to take in such a beautiful site when there are 50 other people there too. But that's just me. The chick who walked up was a lone traveler as well, she was doing the four corners of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Keep on keepin on, sista, we got to stick together! 

Horseshoe Bend, Page Arizona- Colorado River

Picture of a picture ^

I left the park and headed towards Page, Arizona to go to Antelope Canyons. The town was real small and had a huge dam that made the city what it is. It also has slot canyons that are stunning. I saw photos on instagram from some photo people that I follow and had to go. They also have Horseshoe Bend that is beautiful. I did Horseshoe Bend at during the day, found a campsite, and got some real food out and then went to the night photo tour with Adventurous Antelope Canyon Photo Tour with Lionel Bigthumb around 9:30. He was a great guy and so glad that I just happened to stop at this place to check out Antelope Canyon. If you get the chance, check them out for sure. They have day tours, but they are packed and I love night photography so I decided to pay the extra buck to do it. So 100% worth it. I had such a great time. 

By this time I was beat.. I went back to my camp site and crashed hard!