The icing on the cake. That was the best description I could think of to describe our visit to Antelope Canyon X after our Wave adventure. How about a slot canyon tour that is not crowded, rushed, and allows plenty of time to absorb your surroundings? Bingo.

This isn’t Antelope Canyon, the slot canyon Disneyland of Arizona. It is technically an upper segment of its namesake. The canyon is privately owned and located on Navajo Tribal Land; therefore, a licensed tour guide is mandatory. Group sizes are limited to nine, and the length of the tour is 90 minutes.

The morning of the 11:40 am tour seemed to drag on forever. Without much to do after breakfast at La Quinta, we packed up and headed out early, hoping to kill some time on the way. After arriving at the site with time to spare, we were able to get on an earlier tour. Off-season travel can be a beautiful thing.

After a short, bumpy drive, we were dropped off with our guide Marco the mouth of the canyon. The entrance was at the bottom of a steep, sandy, 150ft wash. Marco provided lots of fascinating insight, as well as some excellent camera setting advice.

As we stepped inside the canyon walls, it became chilly and dark. Numerous curves and juts, formed from years of raging flash floodwaters rose high above us.

Sunlight played upon the sandstone, creating a wide array of colors. Dave was amazed that the colors were the real thing—not a photo-shopped illusion. Similar to sunset, a celestial palette created from the absence of light or through beams of sunlight.

It was a sacred place—created by the ravages of wind and water.