We're All Ears :: August Inspiration

One of the least accessible and most photographed vistas in the American Southwest is Antelope Canyon.
Antelope Canyon in northern Arizona is home to some magnificent slot canyons. According to Wikipedia, the Navajo people have a name for the Upper Antelope Canyon - Tsé bighánílíní - which means "the place where water runs through rocks." Slot canyons are chasms eroded over eons by wind and rain and raging floods to create one of the most spectacular natural masterpieces. Antelope Canyon is located on the Navajo Reservation and can only be accessed by licensed tours with a guide and a permit to visit them.

"USA Antelope-Canyon" by Lucas Löffler - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

At certain times of the day, light penetrates the canyons bathing the entire area in a haze of liquid gold. At certain places magical shafts of light - sometimes referred to as "God Spots" - penetrate to the canyon floor, as if a cosmic stage performance is about to begin. These magic shafts of light only penetrate the secret chambers of the canyons for around 30 minutes each day from late May to late June.

"20030820-antelope-canyon". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The undulating views of the sandstone walls play with your depth perceptions and make for fantastic living sculptures that will continue to shift and change with the coming years.

"Lower antelope 1 md" by User:Moondigger - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

Twisting and turning, these corridors of light beckon the viewer to continue on to discover what might be around the next terra cotta bend.

"Upper antelope 2 md" by User:Moondigger - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

Looking up it is not hard to imagine that this would have been revered as sacred ground by the native peoples who live here. There is an aura of hallowed ground in these caverns, a feeling that you are in a Divine presence. These vaulted rooms have a feeling of a grand cathedral in them.

"Lower antelope 3 md" by User:Moondigger - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.

The sandy rock rolls and swells like waves on a molten lava sea. There is an otherworldly feeling to these sandy caves. I wonder what the echo would sound like in there? But mostly I would feel the need to be hushed in wonder at these awe-inspiring vistas.

""Molten lava" (8255556503)" by Šarūnas Burdulis from USA - "Molten lava".
Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

The views in these pictures are breathtaking, and I can only imagine that they are even more impressive in person. I think I want to propose going to the Southwest for our 25th wedding anniversary in a few years! The walls seem to be moving with their curves, like a giant ball of pulled taffy being stretched. It feels like a restful, meditative place, and also one with a lot of energy, spellbinding at every turn. But all this beauty holds a hidden danger. These walls are still subject to dangerous flash flooding, mostly from rain many miles upstream. In 1997, eleven hikers were warned not to traverse the canyons due to the weather and they all lost their lives when a flash flood swept them away.

"Antelope Canyon Mittags" by Raimund Marx (Raimund.Marx@ch.tum.de) - Raimund Marx.
Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

A good reminder that what is beautiful might also be dangerous. But let that beauty sing!

Show us your interpretation of this beautiful natural masterpiece!

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Friday, August 21st.

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