Gateway to Canyon Country Winter 2020

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Winter Hours: November 1February 28 8:45 am - 2:45 pm 7 Days a Week

Summer Hours: March 1 October 31 7:45 am - 4:15 pm 7 Days a Week Hiking Tours Depart Every 30 Minutes

$4800* Adults Per Person. Includes Navajo Nation Permit Fee.

$2800* Children 8-12 Years Old. Per Person.

Includes Navajo Nation Permit Fee.

0-7 Years FREE

All Tours Are Guided THINGS TO BRING: HIKERS:

• Bottled Water • Closed-Toe Hiking Shoes • Sun Screen & Hat Hiking Tours Depart Every 30 minutes

TO BOOK CALL:

928.640.1761

www.antelopelowercanyon.com book@lowercanyontours.com *Prices subject to change.

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G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C OU N T RY

Set against the dazzling Glen Canyon Overlook off Highway 89, the Sleep Inn & Suites® hotel and Baymont Inn & Suites® hotel in Page puts guests close to gorgeous Arizona landmarks like Horseshoe Bend and Rainbow Bridge.

SLEEP INN & SUITES 673 Scenic View Rd, Page, AZ, 86040, US Phone: (928) 645-2020 Fax: (928) 645-4950

These non-smoking affordable Page hotels are also near attractions like: • Antelope Canyon • Horseshoe Bend • Lake Powell • Wahweap Overlook • John Wesley Powell Museum • Water Holes Canyon

We want you to feel refreshed when you stay with us, that’s why our indoor heated pools and whirlpool is a great place to relax. Our exercise rooms are the perfect place to keep your endorphins going.

Other amenities include: • Free full breakfast • Free WiFi • Free parking • Guest laundry All guest rooms offer a 40-inch HDTV and desk. Some rooms feature a balcony, coffee maker, whirlpool, microwave, refrigerator, sofa sleeper and in-room tea and coffee.

Dream better at the Sleep Inn & Suites and Baymont Inn & Suites® hotel.

Hotels in Page, AZ offer cozy, modern rooms at a great value.

Book now!

Baymont Inn & Suites 677 Scenic View Rd, Page AZ Ph: 928-645-5050 • Fax: 928-645-0028 G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C O U N T RY

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Model: Andrea Tso-Holt /andrea.tso.1

tso_strong

Photographer: Lyonel Tso

Three Diné women now hold the top three positions on the Navajo Nation Supreme Court in the Alą́ąj́ į́ Hashkééjí Nahat’á. Those three women are Chief Justice JoAnn Jayne, Associate Justice Eleanor Shirley, and Associate Justice Tina Tsinigine. As I write this editorial (Jan. 30, 2020), I learned that local businesswoman Baya Meehan, co-owner of Shash Diné Eco-Retreat, was also named to the Change Labs Board of Directors.

The Navajo Nation, the Diné Bikéyah, is home to strong, powerful Diné women, some of whom have gone on to become professors at a university, lawyers and attorneys, physicians, state senators and representatives. The list goes on. But Diné women’s accomplishments in politics, medicine, media, sports, business, and other pursuits are worth celebrating every day.

It was either a landscape photo or an action shot of Andrea Tso-Holt, a Diné college student at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Arizona. We at the Lake Powell

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Chronicle and at the Gateway magazine chose Andrea soaring over Lake Powell – Dá’deestł’in Hótsaa – for the cover of the winter edition. Chances are, something like this has never been done in Gateway.

Andrea, a personal trainer, is wearing her high-topped moccasins, kénitsaa, with her gym wear adorned with her turquoise and silver – dootł’izhii and béésh łigaii, representing the blend of Diné culture, traditions, and modernization.

When I look at this photo, I see Andrea ascending with her sis łichí’í (red woven sash) and ádístsíín – stirring sticks, carrying with her the prayers and songs of all the Diné grandmothers and mothers. She is a sophomore and will be transferring to Arizona State University soon. I see her leading the charge to change for the Diné. So, this is in honor of all the strong Diné women who are able to stand up for themselves and who don’t need to hide because their fierce hearts don’t settle between walls and their instinct is strong as their upbringing.

Krista Allen, Editor-in-chief

Pow Wow Trading Post Specializing in Native American Arts & Crafts 635 Elm Street, Page, Arizona

powwowtradiingpost.com • 928.645-2140

G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C O U N T RY

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GATEWAY

Celebrating

Gateway to Canyon Country is a travel-outdoor magazine published four times a year.

Publisher Mike Caywood

mcaywood@lakepowellchronicle.com

Editor Krista Allen

kallen@lakepowellchronicle.com

Photojournalist Bob Hembree bhembree@lakepowellchronicle.com rjhembree.com

Contributing writer Shanna Lewis Graphic Design Marty Sisk msisk@lakepowellchronicle.com

Advertising Norma Tsinnijinnie ntsinnijinnie@lakepowellchronicle.com Norma L Y Max Norma L.Y. Tsinnijinnie

Ed Pease epease@lakepowellchronicle.com

Circulation Jim Blittersdorf John Baker

CONTENTS A pair of cowboys herd cows across U.S. Route 89 on Babbitt Ranches Jan. 31 near Cameron, Arizona.

ON THE COVER

PHOTOGRAPH BY KRISTA ALLEN

Andrea Tso-Holt photograph by Lyonel Tso.

10

Page, America Photography tips from a local photographer.

BY BOB HEMBREE

29 6

11

The Chains The Hanging Gardens near Page are interesting to look at, but the best photo opportunities are at The Chains.

Antelope Patterns in nature Adventurous Canyon Photo Tour

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14-17& 28 21 Maps The centerfold features Page-Lake Powell area maps, including the Rimview Trail.

BY KRISTA ALLEN

26-27

Wahweap Overlook It’s a three-act show. And the clouds create a light shadow.

photography Glen Canyon Dam Night tips.

Stepping into silence A WALK IN THE DESERT

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Story by Shanna Lewis | Photographs by Krista Allen and Bob Hembree

o to the desert, my heart tells me.

Where dark canyons etch deep into the earth. Where massive pink and orange sandstone walls loom high above dry sandy washes. Where towering rock spires create an exquisite, yet alien landscape set against the smooth blue sky.

Pick a less travelled area, like Bears Ears or Grand Staircase-Escalante. Rattle the car over a washboard dirt road.

Park at an unmarked turnout.

This is a gateway, a portal to serenity not found in modern life expanded, yet limited, by technology.

Once the clatter of arrival fades, I feel the silence, the utter lack of man-made sound. Motionless, I let the desert stillness wash over me, envelope me, soak in, reach into my body and mind. It courses through my veins and settles into my bones.

Somehow this silence is louder than the anxieties, the chatter, the worries, the fears, the plans, the daydreams.

I walk out across the rock with no particular destination, only the goal of disconnecting from stress. Untethered

from technology, ears unfettered by anything other than the desert around me, my footsteps and breath harmonize into a rhythmic beat that carries me on my path. I get to the rim of a canyon and walk along the edge, until a way down and in opens to me. I descend.

Sliding my hand along the gritty red slick rock, I feel the cool of the previous night, even as the sun begins to warm the air.

The cascading notes of a canyon wren’s song slide sweetly down the canyon walls, caressing my ears. This is not noise; this is nature painting on the canvas of silence.

Finally, I reach the bottom and follow the meandering wash. Then something quietly draws my gaze. The stacked stone masonry walls of ancient Puebloan people nestle high up, hidden under a rock overhang. Easy to miss, the small, strong structures are sited so they’re protected from the scorching summer heat yet warmed by the rays of low angle winter sun. Precarious, seemingly impossible to get to and so, although risky for daily life, they are safe from adversaries.

These buildings have survived the passage of centuries.

The afternoon breezes roll in. A raven soars far above me.

Wings spread, its shining black feathers are beautiful and

Bears Ears (Shash Jaa’ in Diné bizaad – Navajo language) meadows in southeastern Utah.

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Bears Ears National Monument (Shash Jaa’ in Diné bizaad – Navajo language) in southeastern Utah, has an elevation of 9,058 feet. Shash Jaa’ is located in San Juan County.

maybe a little frightening. It caws, circles twice and then flies on. I’m uninteresting to this huge bird, which apparently has other more important matters to attend to.

I stop further down canyon. Petroglyphs are carved into the rust colored wall. Mysterious figures and images, but a connection to the past, to the ancient people who walked these canyons and built their homes of stone perched up high.

People who likely had their own fears, anxieties, worParia Canyon and the Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness area offers hikes to spectacular formations – hoodoos, slender, ghostly rocks that can reach several stories high.

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ries, plans and daydreams, like me.

Time doesn’t exist here - until it does. The sun moves west, and shadows grow, reaching eastward. I return to the car the way I came.

The night sky fills with stars. The Milky Way cuts a misty swath across the heavens. It is cool, the heat of day gone. Silence seeps into my flesh, my blood, my being. It collects in my soul, nourishing the heart that called me to come here.

White Mesa Arch in Tonalea-Red Lake, Arizona, in Western Navajo Nation. Wildcat Peak (Náshdóíts’ǫǫį) and the San Francisco Peaks (Dook’o’oosłííd) are seen in the distance. iPHONE X PHOTOGRAPHS BY KRISTA ALLEN

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Visit our website

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25 Lake Powell Blvd., Page, AZ 928.645.4055 Open 7 days a week 11 am - 11 pm

LIQUOR STORE

Fine Wines and Champagnes Domestic, Imported and Microbrew Fresh Draft Beer To-Go from the GROWLER STATION

www.fredsliquorstore.com • 928-645-3575 902 North Navajo Dr., Page, AZ 86040

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• Individual/Families/Tour Groups • Same Rates as Local Guides • Tips & Ideas to Tour Area • Hike/Boat/Kayak/Whitewater Rafting Helicopter Rides/Swim/Fishing/Dining/Hotels

Need ice? Get it straight from the source, Reddy Ice!

www.PageChamber.com

928.645.2741 www.ReddyIce.com 928.645.8886 ext. 35480 2018 E. Frontage Rd., Page, AZ 86040

5 Lake Powell Blvd., Unit 3

M-F 9-5

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PAGE, AMERICA Tips from a local photographer Story and Photographs by Bob Hembree

I’ve

I used a Nikon D810 camera with a Tamron 24-70 f2.8 lens for this photo. Settings: 1/1250 seconds, f/8, ISO 400 at 24mm. I usually darken the exposure by a 1/3 stop of what the camera’s meters recommend. This helps prevent blown-out whites.

spent a lot of time taking photos in the Page area before making it my home. I’ve spent time in the U.S. and in Canada, seen a lot of amazing sights, and visited many national, state and regional parks. Even two- to three-month road trips weren’t enough.

There were always places I wish I could have stayed longer, always more to see.

When I reached retirement age, I’d planned on moving to a new area every year: a year in Idaho, another in Oregon, maybe Montana or in New Mexico.

I felt it was the only way to learn the area and the photography potential. While wildlife photography is about patience, landscape photography is about persistence and readiness when the weather conditions

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are right. Page, Arizona, changed my plans.

I quickly discovered there’s a lifetime worth of exploration and photographic opportunities – much of it is walking distance from my home. That’s the thing about Page. It’s like a remote island, yet smack dab in the middle of everything beautiful.

While a wide variety of scenic locations are important, and Page has plenty, I look at other factors. Weather conditions are at the top of the list. The beauty of the high desert changes daily. The colors, lighting, and the clouds constantly change the textures and backdrops. I learned to appreciate storms, before, during and after.

In Canyon Country, you can photograph from a distance, safe and dry. Page itself gets very little rain.

Page is on Manson Mesa, though it reaches beyond the mesa to Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell, the Colorado River and the Navajo Nation.

Last November, at the Balloon Regatta, I had the chance to see Page and the surrounding area from a hot-air balloon.

The image on page 10 shows a bird’s eye view of many of the

locations in the following pages. A map of Rimview Trail is also included.

In this photo story, I’ll share locations, tips and camera settings. I shoot with Nikon DSLRs and variety of lenses, but much of the information applies to any camera, including smartphones.

The Chains Settings: Aperture Priority, 1/320 seconds, f/11, ISO 320 at 35mm. I always use a tripod because I use graduated filters, but it’s not needed if the light is good; or with cameras and lenses with good vibration reduction.

FOR THIS PHOTO, I USED A NIKON D600 CAMERA WITH A NIKON NIKKOR 17-35 F2.8 LENS WITH A 3-STOP GRADUATED NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTER.

The Hanging Gardens near Page are interesting to look at, but the best photo opportunities are at the Chains at the end of the road. This isn’t on most maps, but it’s easy to find. There’s a large parking lot at the end of the graded road. From there you can walk down the hill to Lake Powell or explore the rock formations to the east or south.

This is an easy daytime trip, and usually great for water reflections on the Colorado River. The water was clean and clear every time I’ve gone. To the west, there’s a good view of the Glen Canyon Dam. Walk a short distance to the east, Wahweap Marina, Navajo Mountain (Naatsis’áán in the Navajo language) and Tower Butte come into view.

I recommend treaded hiking boots, though I’ve seen many take the hike in sandals and in running shoes. My personal favorites are Timberlands for

traction and comfort. In some areas, the loose sandstone is fragile and slippery. There are trails, but they’re difficult to see and not necessary. It’s easy to look ahead and make your own path.

Landmarks are always visible, so it’s easy to find the parking lot on the return hike. There’s a lot to explore, and you might decide to stay longer once you see views. I always bring a bottle of water.

The sandstone formation in the above photo is below the parking lot at the end of the road. It’s easy to spot. I walked down the hill, then tried a few vantage points. I settled on this one because of the sharp contrasts. Luck brought a storm to the north. This added some depth to the composition.

Luck also brought two speedboats crossing paths.

They added splashes of light to the darker waters.

It works as a counterbalance to the sunbathed water on the other side of the rock formation.

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For the Chains area, I prefer wide-angle lenses. It’s easy to get close to photo-worthy subjects.

I always use a tripod and graduated filters, but it’s not needed if the light is good or with cameras and lenses with good vibration reduction.

Right photo Gear: Nikon D810 camera with a Tamron 24-70 f2.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter. Settings: 1/125 seconds, f/13, ISO 100 at 200 mm.

Bottom photo Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Nikon NIKKOR 50 mm f/1.4 lens.

Settings: 1/100 seconds, f/136, ISO 100.

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Authentic Navajo Tacos!

Great Food & Great Prices come on down and see for yourself!

Fresh Salad Bar!

Open 11 am to 2 pm; 5 pm to close

718 Vista Ave., Page, AZ • 928-645-0908 G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C O U N T RY 13

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89

A

B

B

e. h Av 12t

Ave.

e Butt

Dr.

iew

V Rim

11

.

S t.

.

ral Ave he d

Vist

Rimv i

Pine

a Av e.

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Vista Ave.

3rd Ave .

6

Sunrise Antelope

9

d.

1*

e ll

Blv

Po w

Hopi Ave Ct. Veronica

L

K

3

t.

Diane C

F Aqu

5

r.

Village D

St.

3

a

Av e .

S. La

Cam

K

ero n St.

Sandpiper Dr.

R d.

Via Valdez

Appaloosa Rd.

Morgan Rd.

e Pow

. ll Blvd Powe Blvkde. eSll. La

Cam eron S

Palomino Rd.

Rd. Coppermine

Maverick Loop

Jerome St.t

Azure Rd.

Cascade St.

Cameron St.

C

Haul Rd.

4

.

Osprey Dr

Newburn

Marble Rd.

San Francisco Rd.

Bran Rd.

I

Page Public Library Manson Rd.

Rd.

Cach

e Rd.

Falcon Ct.

Golden Eagle Ct.

Hawk Ct.

Hau l Rd.

7

d. ell Blv

C e meter y

Elk Rd.

Kaibab Rd.

89

e Pow S. Lak

B uckeye Dr.

H a u l Rd. t.

Piute Ct.

Bass Ct.

Packer Ct.

Cliff Ct.

Clydesdale Rd.

Coppermine Rd.

Manson Rd.

Bonita Rd. W

Aztec St.

To Antelope Point Marina Navajo Generating Station & Kayenta, AZ

98 To Flagstaff, AZ

Bonita St.

98

printing

Amado St.

lake powell

Azure Rd.

98

C Sunset St.

San Francisco Rd.

Bonita Loop

Amand Cir.

Amado Rd. W

Shetland

Pinto Rd.

5

O’Neil Loop

Mustang Rd.

To Horseshoe Bend

Cameron St.

Sunset Rd. W

89

Ct. Lakeside

Newburn Rd.

d.

Granada

ke P owe ll Blv

.

ve.

Cheryl A

A

spe n

St.

Ave.

Sage Ave.

S

ke . La

k St.

r. jo D

2

Oa

a S. Nav

E

S. Navajo Dr.

e.

C e d a r S t.

El Mirage St. S. 9th Av

Del Barrco Ave.

e.

2nd Ave.

Tower Butte Ave. Cll Hermosa

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.

Ave 5th t. eS

r. jo D

John C. Page Park Dat

.

Colorado St

e. th Av S. 9

. lvd

Av 7th

B ell

Av 8th

Pow

El

.

Sage Ave.

Willow St.

Vermilion Ave.

t. mS

S t.

Birch St .

Tamarisk St.

Tower Butte Ave.

e Lak

E lm

Pondersoa St.

Red

sa Ave. Me

Crestview

S.

va

r St

Fi

ve. tA

S.

Na

Dat eS t.

Redrock St.

Turquoise Ave.

Spruce

Ave .

.

Ave

4th Ave.

Gum St.

1s

Cypress Ave.

Driftwood

S. 7t h

6th

N. Navajo Dr.

United States Post Office

10th St.

Juniper Ave.

Thunderbird Ave.

Dr.

89

ATM

Gunsight St.

Aero Ave.

Glen Canyon Dr.

S c enic View

Dr.

Pop lar S t.

8

Park Golf Course

Golliard Park

N. 10th Ave.

Gramdview St.

Eagle

School

on Glen Cany

Church

0 th A ve.

Grandview St.

Lake Powell National Golf

N. 1

Castle Rock St.

Fire Station

A

t St. Gunsigh

R

Page Municipal Airport

te Dr.

Police Station

.

Ave

n scala re E Pad

Clubhouse Dr.

Glen Canyon Dam Overlook

Urgent Care

th

Plateau Ct.

Ct.

w St.

N Lake Powell Blvd.

Page Hospital

Ct.

y Valle

Knoll

Ave.

e Grandvi

Lake Access

Dr.

13th

.

t.

13th C

.

15th Ave ve .

14th A

Marinas

14th Av e

D Westview r.

Mesa

Dr.

89

Scenic Overlooks

1 6th Ave.

Ave

.

Pu e blo

Visitors’ Centers

2

4

17th Ave.

W. View Dr.

18th Ave.

. iew St

Dr.

20th

Grandv

19th Ave.

N. Navajo Dr.

jo N. Nava

Must See

1

D

.

20th Ave

To Glen Canyon Dam Wahweap Marina & Kanab, UT

KEY

C

Scott’s Lake Powell Printing ©2015 All Rights Reserved

315 S. 12th Street :: Montrose, CO 81401 :: 928-645-3663 :: scottb@scottsprinting.com |Reproduction of the whole or any part of this publication, by any method for any purpose whatever, without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited.

street index Aero Ave. C, D-2 Amado St. C-4 Amado Rd. W. C-4 Armand Cir. C-4 Antelope Ave. D-3 Appaloosa Rd. B-5 Aqua Ave. D-3 Aspen St. C-3 Aztec St. C-4 Azure Rd. B-4 Bran Rd. B-4

Bass Ct. C-3 Birch St. B,C-3 Bonita Lp. C-4 Bonita Rd. W. C-4 Bonita St. C-4 Buckeye Dr. D-4 Bureau St. C-2 Butte Ct. C-1 Cll. Hermosa D-2 Cache Rd. B-4 Cameron St. B-3, D-3,4 Cascade St. C-4

Castle Rock St. C-2 Cathedral Ave. C-2 Cedar St. B,C-3 Cemetery Rd. B-3,4 Cheryl Ave. D-3 Cliff Ct. B-3 Clubhouse Dr. B-1,2 Clydesale Rd. B-4 Coconino St. C-2 Colorado St. D-2 Coppermine Rd. (89T) C-3,D-3,4,5

Crestview Ave. D-2 Cypress Ave. D-2 Date St. B-2,3,C-3 Del Barrco Ave. D-2 Diane Ct. D-3 Driftwood Ave. D-2 Eagle Dr. B,C-2 Elk Rd. B-3,4 Elm St. B,C-2 El Mirage St. D-2 Falcon Ct. B-4 Fir St. C-2

Glen Canyon Dr. D-1,2 Juniper Ave. D-2 Granada Rd. C-4 Kachina St. C-2 Grandview St. C-1,2 Kaibab Rd. B-3,4 ,D-2 Knoll Ave. C-1 Golden Eagle Ct. B-3,4 Lake Powell Blvd.

Gum St. B,C-2 A-3,B-1,3,C-1,2,3, D-3 Gunsight St. C-1, D-1,2 Lakeside Ct. D-3 Haul Rd. A,B,C,D-4 Manson Rd. B,C-3 Hawk Ct. B-4 Marble Rd. C-3 Hemlock St. C-2 Maverick Lp. C-4 Hopi Ave. D-3 Mesa Dr. C-1 Jerome St. C-4 Morgan Rd. B-4,5

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Mustang Rd. B-5 Navajo Dr. B,C-1,2,3, D-2 Newburn Rd. C-3,4 Oak St. D-3 O’Neil Lp. B-4 Osprey Dr. D-3 Packer Ct. C-3 Padre Escalante Dr. C-1,2 Palomino Rd. B-4 Pine St. C-2

Pinto Rd. Piute Ct. Plateau Ct. Ponderosa St. Poplar St. Pueblo Dr. Red Mesa Ave. Redrock St. Rim View Dr. Rimview Dr. Sage Ave. Sandpiper Dr.

B-5 C-3 C,D-1 D-2 C-2 C-1 C-2 D-2 C-1 C-2 D-2,3 D-3,4

San Francisco Rd. B,C-4 Scenic View Rd. B-1,2 Shetland B-5 Spruce D-2 Sunrise St. D-3 Sunset St. B-4 Sunset Rd. W. B-3,4 Tamerisk St. D-2 Thunderbird Ave. C,D-2 Tower Butte Ave. D-2 Turquoise Ave. C-2 Valley Ct. C-1

Vermilion Ave. Veronica Ct. Via Valdez W. View Dr. Village Dr. Vista Ave. Westview Dr. Willow St. 1st Ave. 2nd Ave. 3rd Ave. 4th Ave.

D-2 D-3 C-4 C-1 D-3 C-1,2 C-1 D-2 B-2,3 B-3 B,C-3 C-2,3

5th Ave. 6th Ave. 7th Ave. 8th Ave. 9th Ave. N. 10th Ave. 10th St. 11th Ave. 12th Ave. 13th Ave. 13th Ct. 14th Ave.

C-2,3 C-2,3 C-2 C,D-2 C,D-2,3 C-1,2 D-1,2 C,D-1 C-1 C-1 C-1 C-1

15th Ave. 16th Ave. 17th Ave. 18th Ave. 19th Ave. 20th Ave.

C-1 C-1 C-1 C-1 C-1 C,D-1

Colorado River

Warm Creek Bay

City Antelope Point of Marina & Page, Launch AZ Ramp

Glen Canyon Dam

Lone Rock Beach/ Fee Camping State Line Launch Ramp Wahweap Marina & Launch Ramp

Wahweap Bay

Padre Bay

West Canyon

Rock Creek

HoleIn-TheRock

Na

v

ajo

Ca

Wahweap Marina

Rainbow Bridge National Monument

Dangling Rope Marina

Lake Powell Last Chance Bay

ny on

G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C O U N T RY 17

San Jaun River

Escalante River

Halls Creek Bay

Halls Crossing Marina

Bullfrog Marina

Bullfrog Bay

Antelope Point Marina

Hite Marina

Colorado River

ZION NATIONAL PARK

At the End of Your Day...

Zion National Park is distinguished by Zion

Canyon’s steep red cliffs. Zion Canyon Scenic Drive cuts through its main section, leading to forest trails along the Virgin River.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB HEMBREE

• Deluxe guest rooms with fridges, microwaves, Coffee pots, irons & ironing boards • Boat parking/AC power • Convenient location • Free wireless Internet • Breakfast • Guest laundry

American Bighorn Sheep (Tsétah Dibé in Navajo) in Zion National Park.

LAKE POWELL Lake Powell Days Inn & Suites 961 Hwy 89, Box 3910, Page, AZ 86040

(928) 645-2800 www.daysinn.net Nationwide Reservations 1 (800) DAYSINN 18 G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C OU N T RY

Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Nikon NIKKOR 85 mm f/1.8 lens.

Settings: 1/100 seconds, f/11, ISO 100, -0.67 EV at 85 mm.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB HEMBREE

Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Nikon NIKKOR 17-35 mm f/2.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND). Settings: 1/125 seconds, f/11, ISO 100, -0.67 EV at 35 mm.

F

or this photo of Lake Powell, the GND filter helped balance the sky and water brightness. I use square filters on the lens. Sliding them up and down in the filter holder controls what areas are darkened. GND filters are especially useful on bright days. They preserve the sky’s color and prevent it from blowing out (losing detail and turning white).

G AT EWAY T O C A N YO N C O U N T RY 19

A

DOUBLE RAINBOW IS QUITE A CATCH. IN HINDSIGHT, I WISH I CARRIED A WIDER ANGLE LENS TO CATCH MORE OF IT. I WAS ON MY WAY HOME FROM A GROUP PHOTOSHOOT AT THE MARINA, AND ALL I HAD WAS THE 35 MM LENS. IT DOES A GREAT JOB, AND I’M HAPPY WITH THE PHOTO, BUT I KNOW TO ALWAYS CARRY A 15-30 MM LENS FOR OCCASIONS LIKE THIS.

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Wahweap Overlook

I

t’s a three-act show.

Act I: For the first hour and half, especially when it’s breezy, the clouds create a lightshow by letting the sun spotlight different features of the landscape. I watch the shadows move and wait for the light to shine in the most interesting places. This is also the best time to catch rainbows during and after rains.

Act II: As the sun descends behind the mountains to the west, colors begin to change. They vary from reds, to oranges to purples. I follow the colors as they shift west to south from across the sky.

Act III: After the sun sets, the blue hour begins. It’s often surprising, and sometimes there’s a small window of time – usually less than five minutes, when the light takes amazing twists and turns.

I’ve seen it cast a metallic tint on everything, and sometimes, it will coat the landscape with surreal pastel colors. Most people leave once the sun sets, but I like to stick around for another 30 minutes in case anything interesting develops.

Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Tamron 35 mm f/1.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND). Settings: 1/320 seconds, f/9, ISO 400.

WHEN THE CLOUDS ARE RIGHT, WAHWEAP OVERLOOK IS UNBEATABLE FOR DRAMATIC PHOTOS. I USUALLY GO TWO HOURS BEFORE SUNSET.

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Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Tamron 35 mm f/1.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND). Settings: 1/15 seconds, f/11, ISO 400.

Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Tamron 35 mm f/1.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND). Settings: 2/5 seconds, f/11, ISO 100.

Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Nikon NIKKOR 85 mm f/1.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND). Settings: 1/500 seconds, f/11, ISO 100.

Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Nikon NIKKOR 85 mm f/1.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND).

Settings: 1/500 seconds, f/16, ISO 100.

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Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Tamron 35 mm f/1.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND). Settings: 1/500 seconds, f/11, ISO 100.

Rimview Trail

Gear: Nikon D810 camera with a Tamron 24-70 f/2.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND). Settings: 8 seconds, f/8, ISO 100 at 70mm.

I

’ve spent more time on Rim View Trail than any other location in the area. It’s a 10-mile trail circling the perimeter of Manson Mesa, which Page is built on. It’s walking distance from any place in town.

In the mornings and late afternoons, I follow the clouds. They keep things interesting. My favorite part of the trail is on the east side, near the airport.

Navajo Mountain, LeChee Rock (aka Sleeping Indian), and my favorite subject, Tower Butte are all visible.

As I’ve mentioned, in the high desert, everything is constantly changing. The changes are not only seasonal, they’re weekly, daily, even within minutes.

The best times for photos are 30 minutes before and after sunrise, and 90 minutes before sunset and 30 minutes after.

For the Rimview Trail area, I prefer the 70-200-millimeter range. The landmarks are in the distance, so a wide-angle lens, or anything below 70 mm is too limiting for me. For a while, I used a Nikon NIKKOR 85 mm lens, which is a practical walk around size for the trail.

Blue hour is shortly before sunrise and shortly after sunset. Above is a blue, misty, winter morning shot of Tower Butte from Rim view Trail. It was dark, so I setup for a long, eight-second exposure, just long enough to soften the moving clouds a bit.

“This is a blue, misty, winter morning shot of Tower Butte from Rimview Trail.”

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Tower Butte

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or Tower Butte, I set up the tripod and frame according to the clouds. I wait until they move into the best positions relative to the subject.

The lighting can change quickly, so I use aperture priority and let the camera figure out the shutter speed.

What’s important to me is using the lowest ISO (measures the sensitivity of the light sensor), like 100, and having the aperture set to get the depth of field needed, that is, to get both near and far in focus.

I usually start with F/11 then then go from there.

There are mathematical formulas to figure this out, but out in the field it’s easier to snap, preview and adjust the aperture as needed.

There’s a trade-off when using different size apertures.

A wider aperture gives less depth of field, but less noise.

A smaller aperture gives more depth of field, but more noise.

Gear: Nikon D750 camera with a Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND). Settings: 1/4 seconds, f/11, ISO 100, 135 mm.

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Grandview I Overlook

t’s not unusual to find Page residents along the eastern side of the trail and watching the sunrise. It’s different every morning. Photographers can easily find the perfect vantage point to align the rising sun with a landmark. Sometimes, I use a phone app called “The Photographer's Ephemeris” to find the best location to shoot for sunrises and sunsets.

Occasionally, races are held in the Rimview Trail area, like the Lake Powell Obstacle Race and the Lake Powell Half Marathon.

This photo was taken from Grandview Overlook, which is scheduled to open in 2020. It’s up the hill, at about mile 3.2 on the Rimview Trail (see Rimview Trail map at the end of this story).

The Canyon Club and local businesses donated time, materials and money to build the project. They will present it to the City of Page when completed in early spring. The above photo was taken from the construction site with a telephoto lens (200 mm).

Top photo Gear: Nikon D810 camera with a Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 lens and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter (GND). Settings: 1/125 seconds, f/13, ISO 100, 200 mm.

Left photo Gear: Nikon D7200 camera with a Nikon NIKKOR 18-200 mm f/3.55.6 lens. Settings: 1/1600 seconds, f/8, ISO 400, 75 mm.

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Glen Canyon Dam

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his a long exposure night shot from about mile 9.4 on Rimview Trail on July 4, 2019. I went there to photo-

graph the fireworks but stayed to photograph Glen Canyon Dam. The traffic was busy with people return-

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ing home from the event, and the 20-second exposure captured the consistent trails of car lights.

Nikon D7200 camera with a Nikon NIKKOR 18200 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. Settings: 20 seconds, f/8, ISO 200, 50 mm (full frame equivalent is 75 mm).

Top photo Gear: Nikon D7200 camera with a Nikon NIKKOR 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.

Settings: 6 seconds, f/10, ISO 125, 18 mm.

Bottom photo Gear: Nikon D7200 camera with a Nikon NIKKOR 18200 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. Settings: 13 seconds, exposure compensation -1.67 EV, f/8, ISO 400, 35 mm.

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C

ADVENTUROUS ANTELOPE CANYON PHOTO TOUR

PATTERNS IN NATURE Story by Krista Allen and Photographs by Lionel Bigthumb

arol Bigthumb’s family dumped around 5,000 gallons of water into a section of Antelope Canyon in August 2001 just so Britney Spears could walk through it for her music video.

“My whole family was down there that day,” said Carol’s son, Lionel Bigthumb, the chief operating officer for Adventurous Antelope Canyon Photo Tour, which is owned by his mother, “and it was kind of embarrassing.”

Then-20-year-old pop star Britney Spears’s music video “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman,” which was released in 2002, was shot in Antelope Canyon and in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.

Carol Bigthumb’s family has also done work with popular celebrities such as Howie Long, John Travolta, and Seal. And they have given private tours to big names such as Tyler Perry and fine-art photographers Peter Lik and Jeff Mitchum.

Lionel says Adventurous Antelope Canyon Photo Tour is more about quality rather than quantity and focuses exclusively on journeys to the labyrinthine underworld where he and a cousin grew up and were raised by their grandmother, Pearl Young Begay, 95.

Since leading her first tour in 1985, Begay has passed the business to her children.

“We used to live in a hogan … that my grandfather, Dan Begay, built,” Lionel recalls. “One summer day my grandparents started getting ready as if they were going somewhere. I wondered what they were getting ready for.

But they didn’t get us ready.”

“Next thing we knew, a Bilagáana (non-Native) lady pulls up in a riggedout jeep,” he continued. “I guess she had made a deal with my grandmother, a certain amount of money or something. That’s when the story of tourism for my family started.”

Thereafter the non-Native woman visited regularly. Eventually, photographers also started visiting, to photograph Begay and her family. Lionel says there is a portrait of his aunt that

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hangs on a wall of a Native American museum in Washington, D.C. Before long, Lionel’s grandparents – experts with deep knowledge on the area – started guiding the non-Native woman down Antelope Canyon, or Tsébighánílíní or Tsébii’ Hazdeestas in Diné bizaad (Navajo language).

“They took the jeep (into the canyon) and we would stop and (my grandmother) would talk about the cacti,” Lionel explained. “We’d drive down and that’s when tourism started for us.”

Today, people from all over the world stop by to see Antelope Canyon with this tour operator situated at milepost 302 on State Route 98. And it has some of the best guides, the best itineraries, and the best value.

In fact, this tour operator has an agreement with Amangiri, the ultra-luxury resort in nearby Canyon Point, Utah, to provide tours to their high-end clients.

Carol’s business though is still fairly new. She started the legwork in 2009 when she ventured outside her brother’s tour operator business, where she

worked after she retired as an educator.

Concurrently, Lionel was an engineering student at the University of Arizona where he thoroughly took in a particular engineering management course and used it take the family business to the next level.

“I understood the dynamics of operating a business,” Lionel said. “So, we turned four products into 14 products.

We have the three extra canyons that we go to (as well), so it’s four canyons.”

Adventurous Antelope Canyon Photo Tour operates 14 trips, spanning four slot canyons – Mountain Sheep, Owl, Rattlesnake, and Upper Antelope.

Each trip is designed to reflect travelers’ broad spectrum of interests.

“So, a lot of hiking, photography, and a lot of colors to see,” said Lionel, a professional, fine art photographer who owns a galleria in Page as well.

“That’s who we are as adventurists.”

This tour operator provides more than 60 jobs during its peak season and around 25 jobs during the off season.

The business sees up to 400 people a day.

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“We’re busy 10 months out of the year,” Lionel said. “So, for us as a family, we’ve been doing this for three decades. We have a connection to Mother Earth to be able to do this because we have songs, prayers, and offerings. We give offerings to the canyons, so for us that connection is there.”

“That’s how we’re able to have a livelihood,” he added, “how we’re able to have jobs and how we’re able to feed families.”

Carol also makes an effort to help the nearby community of LeChee by supporting the senior center, the veterans’ organization, and other programs.

There are five tour operators in Upper Antelope Canyon and two tour operators in Lower Antelope Canyon, according to Navajo Parks and Recreation. At least two operators – Dixie Ellis’ Lower Antelope Canyon Tours owned by Dixie L. Ellis and Ken’s Tours owned by Kenny N. Young – are related to the Bigthumb family. Ellis and Young are siblings.

Information: navajoantelopecanyon. com

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928-645-4082

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