We’d all seen the gorgeous, colorful photographs of Arizona’s slot canyons … today we had an opportunity to walk through one of the most famous in the US. A slot canyon is significantly deeper (typically at least 30’) than it is wide (as narrow as 3’ – 4’) and is formed by the inexorable erosive actions of water rushing through mostly sandstone and limestone rock formations.
Our trip to Secret Canyon, one of the two most popular in Arizona, began with a 13 mile drive in a Hummer, mostly off-road (an exciting, albeit slow-motion experience Debbie and I had not enjoyed before).
Then, it was a relatively short hike to the canyon but very informative as one of our two guides had been raised on a Navajo Reservation and was extremely knowledgeable about the local fauna and flora and the uses the native peoples historically had for each.
The beauty of Secret Canyon is hard to describe and even the following pictures can only convey a partial sense of its subtle colors, sinuous passageway and mostly smooth rock faces.
After our slot canyon adventure, we opted for lunch at The Cut Bistro …
where the food was both excellent and extremely inexpensive.