Bryce Canyon National Park

The next day we head east on Hwy 14. We are off to Bryce Canyon National Park 79 miles away; a little further than Zion yesterday. We had a few light showers over night but the morning is sunny and gorgeous. At first!  As we approach Bryce Canyon the skies have definitely changed and look very threatening.

We stop at the Visitor Centre; a film 'Shadows of Time' plays every half hour. A ranger advises we drive the 37 mile round trip scenic road first -  it does look overcast -  and then time permitting (and depending on the weather), he suggests we hike down into the canyon.


The Rim Road Scenic Drive travels 18 miles one-way along the rim of the canyon. The idea is to take the drive to the end and then on the way back, pull into a number of overlooks and trailheads. We follow his advice.

I guess we are expecting a similar landscape to Zion National Park - we could not be more wrong.
Bryce Canyon is not a canyon but rather a collection of giant natural amphitheatres.
When you first see Bryce Canyon you can't believe such a spectacle of nature is possible! The canyon is full of pinky coloured pinnacles and points, steeples and spires and totem-pole shaped 'hoodoo' formations.


Hoodoo - a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion.
Hoodoo - to cast a spell.
Surrounded by unbelievable beauty that is southern Utah, hoodoos cast their spell. You can't get enough.

The highest point on the scenic drive and the southern end of the road is at Rainbow Point at 9115ft.  We have climbed 1200 ft since leaving the Visitors Centre. Outstanding and expansive views of the park and southern Utah.
It is said that on most days you can see 90 miles away to Arizona and on a clear day the view extends to New Mexico.

We then make our way back along the rim, stopping at every overlook along the way.

It is very cold - we have jackets thankfully. Some rain too!

But we get out at each stop to view the beautiful scenery.

Bryce is high in altitude reaching elevations averaging 6,000 - 8,000ft. The highlights are views of vast fields of spires of varying colours.
The Paiute Indians, once hunters here, described them as "red rocks standing like men in a bowl-shaped recess."

Natural Bridge.

I read somewhere that early settler and Mormon farmer Ebenezer Bryce, after whom the park is named, called it "a helluva place to lose a cow."!

The weather was clearing so we decided to hike down into the canyon.
It was an amazing experience. We hiked Navajo Loop a moderately strenuous hike that descends 520 ft through a slot canyon known as Wall Street.
Quite a climb both down and up!


 

Can you believe these photos?? And they don't really do justice to the outstanding, spectacular and unique scenery.

We are so fortunate to have visited Bryce Canyon National Park.