Today we're going to hit Bryce Canyon National Park, but first we need to get some business out of the way. Scott and I head to the laundry facility for 8am but discover they don’t open until 9am. For days we have tried to get laundry done and decide it best to do it while we are eating breakfast and packing up for the day. We return at 9 am and load 5 full washers. It feels good to finally get laundry started and it won’t make us that much later in leaving for the day.
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| Snow on Lava Flow at Navajo Lake |
It is about 80 miles from the campground to Bryce and the route takes us through the Dixie National Forest which is breathtaking. We make several stops along the way to take pictures, one looking over Zion NP. We stop at the Navajo Lake and are amazed at how green it is. Just beyond the lake we find a lava deposit covered with some snow. It is hard to believe we are still in southern Utah and seeing snow (esp on top of a lava bed)). We walk around the lava and pick up a sample or two (can’t resist getting a sample of lava). Scott later reads some of the lava beds are estimated to be only 2.000 years old. The drive though the forest is very hilly and curvy but we see campers everywhere and say thank goodness we do not have to tow the camper though here. [Later that night when looking at the map of our travels to AZ, we discover we will be traveling the same route to the Grand Canyon (its either that or 70 miles out of the way via Las Vegas).]
We pass the Duck Creek Pond which is beautiful and people are fishing along its banks. The Duck Creek Village is so beautiful and Scott and I talk about coming back to visit. It’s just a small area but it really made an impression on us (although we would still visit Estes Park, Co first). Just before Bryce Canyon is Red Canyon and we are in awe at its beauty. Just as the name implies, it is bright red in color and has many hoodoos and a river runs along the side of it.
We watch the temperature on the way through the National Forest and there is an 18 degree change in temperature from the campground through the forest (at higher elevations). When we get to Bryce it is a nice 77 degrees with a steady breeze. We have done our research and again feel that taking the free shuttle through the park is the best way to go. We eat a quick lunch and fill the backpacks with water and head off for Bryce.
We stop at the Visitor’s Center first and the girls get their passports stamped. Scott ends up buying Lexi another one since we’ve searched everywhere for hers. I get the break down on the park and what we must do from a kid barely old enough to have a job, much less as a park ranger. The shuttle takes us up to Bryce Point, the highest elevation in the park (8300 ft), Right off the parking lot, a lot of people have congregated to see a snake. I see just enough of it to know it is a snake and that’s enough for me.
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| Scott, Alexandria, Isabella, and Tami at Bryce Canyon |
As we walk to the point, I am struck by several emotions and find my eyes misting. What a glorious place and we are all able to experience it together. Immediately we find a few windows within the hoodoos and that part reminds me of Arches NP. The Hoodoos are rock pillars that are formed by water in the rocks freezing and expanding thereby cracking the rocks apart. We walk on the Upper Rim Trail to Inspiration Point, about 1.5 miles below us. Each turn shows a new view of the canyon and hoodoos. The trail is fairly easy and it’s cool (as hot desert days go) with a brisk wind blowing. As we walk, we can see back to where we have been and the people there are just dots.
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| Bryce Canyon from Sunset Point |
We catch the shuttle at Inspiration Point and take it Sunset Campground and get off and walk to Sunset Point. It is here that we see Thor’s Hammer (a very large pillar looking just like a hammer). Scott would love to hike into the canyon (but doesn’t get any takers as we all know if one goes into the canyon, one must hike back UP the canyon). It is nearing 6pm and we take the shuttle out to the truck and then drive back into the Visitor’s Center to shop. As we are leaving the park, the shuttle driver points out a mule deer sitting in the meadow and I spot several more deer which the kids say are 3 babies and Mom. We stop for dinner at Rusty’s Steak House in Cedar City before returning to the camper at 9:30pm. Another long day and there are 5 loads of laundry to fold before Scott and I can go to bed.
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