Rambling Wanderers: Page, Arizona

The hospital in the town of Page, Arizona seems to be a magnet for the Latondresse family. 22 years ago Mike was there for X-rays when he had his nearby biking accident (broke his collarbone, fractured a few ribs and collapsed one lung) and this time due to a persistent bladder infection it was my turn. All went smoothly as I had called my insurance company while enroute to Page, and by the time we got to the hospital the approval papers were ready and we didn’t have to pay for anything. In and out in just over an hour, with a prescription for medication. (Later found out the total cost to the insurance company for 80 minutes was $1880)!

Like Arches Ntl Park, and the town of Moab, this place has grown beyond it’s capacity. When we were here previously, I was able to hire a Navajo guide for $5 to drive me onto the Navajo lands to the Upper Antelope Slot canyon and he left me alone for 1 1/2 hours to photograph the unique sandstone formations; what a magical experience. Now there are a over a dozen tour groups that take you to the canyon in groups of 25, starting every 15 minutes, and they hustle you through in 45 minutes. Somehow we lucked on to the “Professional Photographer's” pass for only $10 more than the regular fee of $50, for 2 hours in the canyon and could even use our tripods. We chose to go into the Lower Canyon that previously was only accessable via rappelling down, whereas with a series of ladders and stairs you can now get down into this twisting canyon. What amazing shapes the rushing water creates during a flash flood. It is the swirling sand and water that do all the work; everywhere you look you see a different view. As there were scattered showers for the first two days we were in Page, the canyons were closed for safety reasons so the whole world was there the day we went! From Italy, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, France, Lebanon, Australia, Britain, etc., etc., they all came. This however was the highlight of this whole trip for us!