Page, AZ (June 17, 2023

​Left Scottsadale, AZ early in the morning and arrived Wahweap Campground at Lake Powell around lunch time.  After setting up camp, I left to go exploring.  First stop was the Glen Canyon Dam visitor center.  The overlook had a view of Lake Powell and the marina full of boats.  I learned that before the 2023 snows and rains, Lake Powell was within 80 feet of being a dead lake.  One year of snow and rain has been helpful but they need a few years to avoid drought again.  I drove around Page and found the city park with a band setting up and rehearsing.  I hung out and had a picnic dinner before driving out to the location of the Star Gazer Tour.  The Star Gazer Tour was on private land.  John, a young part Navajo from Monument AZ was our tour guide.  Before sunset John drove us through the property to the slot canyon, we would be walking into to view the moon and stars after the sunset.  On the tour was one other couple from Mesa.  We learned a bit about each other, and John answered some questions for us as we waited for the stars to come out.  It was a peaceful and beautiful location to reflect and think about life in general.  After a few hours we drove out and I headed back to camp for a good night’s rest. 
The next day was an early morning and an all-day tour through the Lower Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley with Trulita, a young full Navajo Nation citizen living outside Page, AZ. She was 27 years old, the second oldest of six girls who grew up in a family that instilled a strong work ethic.  On the tour with me was Bruce, a young Thai gentleman in the USA as an intern for the summer.  Trulita was our driver for the day to facilitate all the activities we would experience, and a very willing to share about her family, the Navajo Nation, and her political perspective as it relates to the Navajo Nation. 
Our first stop of the day was Lower Antelope Canyon.  Bruce and I merged in with another group of people and were taken to the bottom of Lower Antelope Canyon by our tour guide Eli, a full Navajo citizen.  The climb to the bottom of the slot canyon was 22 feet down a steep set of metal steps.  I was shaking by the time we got to the bottom of the canyon, but with the morning light and the vibrant hues of color it was so worth the risk.  The walk through the canyon was a slight incline up so we walked out of the canyon at the end.  The colors and textures during the walk were spectacular. 
Trulita then drove us through the Navajo Nation lands to Monument Valley “Where the earth meets the sky”.  She took us to the top rise on the road to Monument Valley that Forrest Gump ran down.  It was a blast to sit in the middle of the road and take pictures, LOL.  Then it was on to the Navajo Nation National Park, Monument Valley.  Monument Valley was formed from timeless erosion.  570 million years ago (Paleozioc era) the entire Colorado Plateau was underneath the Gulf of Mexico.  We were taken through Monument Valley by Fernando, a 30-year experienced tour guide.  Fernando drove us through the 17 miles of scenic roads that public visitors to the park drive as well as behind the scenes to private lands where the 40 people that live in Monument Valley have their horses and petroglyphs.  Fernando shared a tribal offering song with us as we visited the private lands.  Fernando too was willing to share his life experiences, his family story and perspective of living on the Navajo Nation.  Before we left Monument Valley, we visited the Museum where Trulita shared personal stories based on artifacts in the museum, and spoke to the lists of names related to the wars they participated in.  It brought home how tight connected the citizens of the Navajo Nation were, the traditions handed down through the generations, and how small the tribe was (450K citizens). 
Trulita returned us to Page, AZ from which I drove up to Kanab, UT and the Coral Pink Sand Dune State Park where I would stay for the next 4 nights.