24. Tag - day 24

Today we planned a short trip to the homeland of the Navajo Indians, specifically to the Antelope Canyon. Three days ago, I read that one needs to make a reservation beforehand as this unique section of the canyon is usually fully booked. So, I quickly went online and yes - everything was booked until the end of August.... except for August 3rd at 9am, which still had 9 spots available!! Yay - talk about luck. So, I booked right away and took note that there would be no refund - no matter the reason. Yesterday, at the front desk, I overheard a conversation that apparently the Antelope Canyon was closed due to the risk of flash flooding!!! Oh no, that would be such a shame. So, I sent a prayer up to the heavens, and it seems like it worked because I got lucky. (Or maybe it's because of Page - we counted 11 (!) churches here, with about 7000 residents...) We arrived early at the meeting point and were driven/raced through the orange desert in an open jeep. That in itself was quite cool, but what awaited us took our breath away! The shapes and colors of these canyons are unlike anything else. We had an amazing Indian guide with long black flowing hair, who knew all the functions of our mobile phones by heart and took the most beautiful photos for us! At 9am, we didn't see the spectacular 'beams' (sun rays shining through the cracks of the canyon), but that didn't dampen our excitement. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.
The pictures speak for themselves. After that, we headed to the pool and spent the whole day chilling :-) Since Zoë's birthday was at 3pm Swiss time, she wished to have dinner at 'Big John's BBQ' - a place with live country music. So, off we went. Since I didn't have many opportunities to organize the perfect birthday for her here, I made use of everything I had. I approached the waitress and told her that Zoë is turning 16 today and asked if there was anything we could do. She replied: yes - we can do a lot, just watch ;-) With a sense of unease about what I just started and what awaited Zoë, I went back to the table. Shortly after, the bandleader asked if there was a Zoë in the audience who just turned 16 and if she could come up on stage. Zoë wanted to disappear into the ground and my death sentence was pronounced.... They handed her a rattle, the band started singing 'Happy birthday', and the whole place sang and cheered along :-) Then there was an additional song, and then she was released. In the end, it wasn't so bad after all. She got a warm brownie with vanilla ice cream on the house - and a beautiful day came to an end.....

Today we planned a short trip to the homeland of the Navajo Indians in particular to the Antelope Canyon. 3 days ago I read that one should book a visit beforehand as this beautiful Canyon tend to be sold out months in advance. Quickly I went onto the internet and indeed – sold out till end August, but on the 3rd August at 9am there were 9 places free! Yupee – how lucky are we?! I quickly booked our places and acknowledged that there was no refund – no matter what. Yesterday I overheard a conversation at the reception that the Antelope Canyon was closed due to the flashflood danger! That would have been such a shame! I send a quick prayer to the good lord and it appears that he had heard me (possibly also because we counted 11(!) churches here in Page where about 7000 habitants are living!) We arrived early at the meeting point, boarded the open Jeep and were rushed through the orange desert. That by itself we found already rather cool, but what expected us took our breath away! There is really nothing like this forms and colors of this Canyon. We had a really funky Indian guide with long, black, waving hair who knew all functions of our mobile phones and took the most incredible pictures for us. At 9am there weren’t the spectacular “beams”, but it did not reduce our awe. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. The pictures speak for themselves. Thereafter we returned to the hotel and chilled all day long at the pool. According to Swiss time Zoë had birthday as of 3pm – so she wished to go to “Big John’s BBQ” for dinner with live country music. And off we went. Since I don’t have that many opportunity to organize a perfect birthday party for Zoë here I grabbed the opportunity cropping up. I went to the waitress and told her that Zoë turned today 16 and if there is anything we can do about it. She answered: yea – you watch me! Unsure and a bit queasy what I had just kicked off I returned to the table. Shortly thereafter the bandleader asked if there was a Zoë who turned 16 in the audience and if she please could come on stage. That’s when Zoë wanted to disappear immediately and my death penalty was signed…. They gave her a rattle and the band and the audience started to sing happy birthday! After an additional song she then was released back. At the end it