Day 10

After checking out of the Bumbleberry Inn, we got a Bumbleberry Muffin to go and then popped over the road to Deep Creek Tea and Coffee, which was a really funky little independent coffee place. It had a really laid back, almost surferish vibe and the owner was really funny; after asking us to do him a favour and fill up the straws pot we had a bit of a laugh with him, we wished we’d ordered to eat in to enjoy the atmosphere some more. My vanilla latte was one of the best I’ve ever tasted.

Combined with all the other quaint little stores, this made leaving Springdale even more difficult, but another day of driving awaited us.

We entered Zion National Park and quickly ascended the switchbacks through gorgeous views and high canyon walls. We waited 10 minutes before being allowed to pass through a tunnel (fat RVs coming the other way need both lanes it seems) and stopped to get photos at a few scenic vista points. The checkerboard mesa was really nice.

And then, just like that, the scenery changed to what I’d describe as something like a very English countryside. Odd.

We carried on looking for license plates; Delaware still proving to be frustratingly elusive.

The scenery became more dramatic and we made good time, especially when we remembered that we’d gain an hour by going back into Arizona. This meant that our ETA in Page would be sooner than we thought so we’d have more time to explore.

We stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam and walked over the bridge to get a good look at the canyon and the dam. Pretty impressive!

We then journeyed on to Horseshoe bend and hiked the ¾ mile trail to the canyon rim – in flip flops, oops – but we did take water (which was very sensible as it was hot).

The view from the rim wan incredible, but also terrifying as there’s no guard rail or anything and you get the feeling that the rock you’re standing on could just crumble at any time. Thankfully we had the Go Pro on the monopod pole, so we could extend that over the rim and get photos in safety!

The Go Pro again attracted attention from other tourists and sightseers. One guy, Alex, noticed it and started chatting to us. He was a scouser (or maybe a mancunian – it’s hard to tell the difference) who lives in Chicago and works in the media. He was busy setting up some photos with some considerably more expensive equipment that ours. He offered to take our photo and being a nice chap he stuck our memory card in his camera as he had a super wide-angle lens to capture the whole view. What a nice guy.

After hiking back to the car park we got in the car, stopped off somewhere with a nice view and ate our leftovers from Oscar’s. They were yummy!

Next we checked in with Chief Tsosie for our Antelope Canyon tour. After being split into groups we all sat in the back of trucks and were carted of to Antelope canyon – which was an adventure in itself! The truck sped along the highway making our hair fly all over the place and then we bumped along Antelope Wash (a dry riverbed) to get to the base of the canyon. I think at one point Laura bumped about a foot out of her seat!

The canyon itself was gorgeous. Our guide helped set up our cameras to get better photos (I was surprised how knowledgeable she was – white balance was the key it turns out) and showed us all the best spots for getting photos. I must have taken about a million shots (okay, maybe closer to 500) in the canyon and got some amazing results that I was really proud of.

The canyon was really busy, but the Navajo guides all seem to give each group enough space to experience the canyon and take photos.

After a bumpy ride back to Page, we drove a few miles up the road and checked into our hotel at Lake Powel Resort. When we checked in we were told that our original room with a lake view had been overbooked. To compensate we got upgraded to a deluxe suite, free dinner in the Rainbow Lounge, a free breakfast and a $50 credit to our account. Can’t argue with that! What made it even better was that because of the low level of the lake it meant that the view wasn’t even that stunning in comparison to the ridiculously good views we’ve had everywhere else, so we didn’t even mind, another bit of Johnson luck there!

After making a reservation at the Rainbow Lounge (yep, we were going to get our money’s worth!) we got changed and went to the pool to cool off.

At 8.30 we went to dinner and somehow both ended up ordering the most expensive things on the menu – Prime Rib and Sea Bass – we also managed to find room for a pudding each for once, well we weren’t paying! We’d accidentally left the room without any cash so we felt terrible when we got to the end of the meal and couldn’t tip our server Dominic, so I went back to the room to get a few dollars which I left at reception. We were clearly on the receiving end of some good karma as we were rewarded with a Georgia licence plate on the walk back to the room, just ten to go!