Since arriving in Mesa this time, we have revisited many of our favourite places, such as Tortilla Flat and Gold Ghost Town, on Superstition Mountain, Arizona Opry, and Organ Stop Pizza, often acting as tour guides to visitors or newcomers.

We also had the joy of some new experiences in December. Our Christmas/birthdays gift from Jim’s daughter, Cheryl and her family was a tour of the famous Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona. Jim’s gifts to them were two tickets to come visit us. Cheryl, Craig and their two children arrived the second week of December and the six of us left for Page the next morning. Our only vehicle being the motorcycle, we had to rent a van to accommodate all of us.

We made a stop in Sedona to give them the opportunity to climb Cathedral Mountain, as we’d done last year when Karen was here.

Craig, Victoria & Jim below Cathedral Rock

Our tour of Antelope Canyon was booked for 9:00 am the following day, so we had booked rooms at the Travelodge for the night. The morning was cool; Craig hadn’t had time to pack a warm jacket so had to make a quick trip to a nearby store to find one. In the meantime, Victoria and Sterling were excited to discover that their “elves-on-the-shelf” had found them.

When we got to the tour office, after first going to the wrong one, we learned that this tour, Adventurous Antelope Canyon Tours, included a hike through Rattlesnake Canyon. This is the only tour company that is permitted to do so, because  it is on Navajo land and the company is owned by a Navajo family. We climbed into a big 4 X 4 with our guide, Kim, and headed off across the desert sands to Rattlesnake Canyon. Kim was an excellent guide, telling us some history of the Navajos and the canyons as we drove. When we arrived she also displayed her additional skills as a photographer, setting our cameras up so we would get good photos, pointing out the best angles for certain shots, and often taking photos for us so we could be in them. What we saw was incredible.

Rattlesnake Canyon

Hello Sterling!

Almost stuck!

Climbing Out

Antelope Canyon

This one is more often photographed and has some beautiful walls, but we found Rattlesnake more colourful.

Do you see the heart?