Click on a photo to enlarge it.
On Monday, we drove to Walnut Canyon where we did a 1.7 mile loop walk around the Sinagua tribe cliff dwellings -
they literally lived in the cliffs up to about 700 years ago. We still don't know how they got to and from their
cliff dwellings perched high above the canyon floor and well below the canyon rim! It was only a short walk but we
soon realised that 2 months in Baja had left us quite unfit! So we got back to the car park and made ourselves even
´unfitter' by cooking bacon and eggs! We also met a woman from Ohio who wanted to buy Winnie!
In the afternoon we went to Meteor Crater to see the three-quarter of a mile diameter hole that a meteor had left
50,000 years ago. For years, they believed it was a volcanic steam hole until the 1960s when it was finally proved
to have been caused by a meteor. We even got a chance to go out onto the rim, even though we´d missed the last tour.
The next day, we had a look at the Wupatki ruins from 800 to 1120 AD and then drove up to Dinosaur tracks to see ...
yes, you guessed it! ... dinosaur tracks left in an old river bed that dried up. There was even petrified dinosaur poo
and an egg! After picking up supplies in Page, we drove to the ranger station to try and get a permit for the Wave.
Only 10 permits are given out per day, but the station had closed 10 minutes before we got there. We looked at the
weather reports and read that there was knee-deep mud in one area so we weren't too hopeful! We parked up for the
night on the car park and got up at 6-30am the next day, as we´d been told by the tourist info in Page that the
station opened at 7am. Wrong! It didn´t open until 8-30 am! At least the ranger said that the walk to the Wave was
dry and there would be no problem. Unfortunately, there were 11 people there who wanted permits and only 10 allowed.
(Permits are issued for the following day). So our names all went into a hat and at 9am the draw took place. We
were really nervous, thinking that we were probably going to be the unlucky ones, but our names got pulled out of
the hat first!
We spent some time looking at the photos of the route, taking photos of the photos (!) and writing down a description
of the walk as there is no path or any route markers and we don't have a GPS. We also chatted to other people who got
permits and to the ones who didn't. (We got an email from them a few days later to say that they´d got a permit the
following day). The ranger also told us about a walk along Buckskin gulch that we could do today.
We drove along a dirt track for about 1 hour and parked up at the free campground. Then went on a super 11 mile walk
along Buckskin Gulch. There was a large drop down from a boulder right at the start and nearly had to turn back. But
we decided to risk it and just hope that we could climb back up on the way back! After 2 more boulder drops, the
Canyon eventually got really narrow, with extremely high walls on either side which undulated like a vertical wave.
The colours were fantastic. There were also a lot of trees and branches that had got stuck between the walls, some
at head height - Kirsten ran through in case they fell on top of her! It was a fantastic walk. If we had known we
wouldn't have taken so much time before setting off. We'd started at 1-50pm and set ourselves a turn-around time of
3-30pm, but that time came and went and we just wanted to carry on - just around the next bend and then the next ...
Eventually, at 4-15pm, we had to turn around and then we really pushed ourselves to walk as fast as possible to get
back before dark! We had no idea how far we´d actually walked and we hadn´t got a torch with us! Fortunately, we
managed to scramble back up the boulder drops on our bums and made it back to the car park by 6pm. We got a lift back
to the campground with Neena and Henry (a geologist) who had also got a permit for the Wave. After an exhausting day,
we had a warm shower outside using our solar shower.
On Thursday, we set off with Neena and Henry at 8-30am. It was only a 3 mile walk to the Wave, but there were a lot
of ups and downs, it was already very hot and we had to concentrate on where we were going so that we didn't get
lost. It was a lovely peaceful walk, through sand dunes and over rocks. After a last, steep climb we got to the wave
at 10-45am. WOW! There is no other word for it, and it is also impossible to describe in words and capture the magic
of its beauty. You will just have to look at the photos!
We spent 3 hours there, exploring around the area and taking photos. No wonder its such a well kept secret - it was
only recently discovered by accident as it is so well hidden. Plus, the area is so fragile that limiting the number
of people allowed to go is a good idea. The whole area is just amazing with unbelievable colours and patterns. We´re
so glad that we didn´t go back to Page after reading about the knee-deep mud and thinking we wouldn't be able to see
it.
Superb day at the Wave.
Although we'd managed to find the way there without too much difficulty, it was a different matter coming back.
Everything looked so different and the only way we managed to find the track over a saddle was because we followed
some others who fortunately knew the way. (We didn't know that when we were following them though!) It was also
hotter on the way back and we finally got back at 4-30pm, exhausted and visually overloaded! What a day! It really
is an astounding geological gem that makes our wonderful Earth humble us mere mortals. We will definitely be coming
back again to do, not just the wave, but also a lot more of Buckskin Gulch. The campground is free too - what more
can we ask!
The next day, we went for a short walk to the Hoodoos also known as toadstools which were just down the road from
the ranger station. It was too hot, so we only spent an hour walking and I think we were suffering from the "Wave
overload". Once you've seen the best, its hard to be satisfied with the rest! A terrible shame, but it did take us
quite a while to get impressed with anything else! Fortunately, we took a "time-out" and went to an RV park in Page
and spent time writing up our diary on the computer and Kirsten tried to catch up on the photos. She had taken no
less than 200 photos of the Wave!!! Needless to say, one nights full hook up was not enough!
On Saturday, we didn't leave Page until 2pm which meant we were too late to drive to Canyon de Chelly and had to
change our plans and go to Monument Valley first. We got there in time to watch the sun setting on these "Monumental"
rocks jutting out of the earth in a somewhat chaotic fashion. The 17 mile dirt track through the valley was not for
our little Winnie - not enough clearance. So we got on our mountain bikes and looked like bandits in our neck scarves
pulled over our mouths and noses to protect us from all the dust kicked up from the lazy ones who were driving. After
our exhausting ride, we decided that we were the stupid ones doing it on mountain bikes! Helen vowed never to get on
another mountain bike - ever!!! The steep hill back up was a killer! We walked like John Wayne for days afterwards!!
Cycling through Monument Valley.
