In June of 2006, I came across a photo contest for Zion National Park. The winner would receive an all exclusive 7 day trip to the park. I liked that! Zion is one of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring National Parks I have been to.
In February 2004, Ray and I relocated to North Carolina and we decided to make a vacation out of it. We took 2 weeks to get there, zigzagging across the U.S. We made a stop at Zion National Park. It was winter, cold, misty, snowy and gorgeous. I spent more time outside the car than inside – there were pictures to take! And I took many. I always seem to do that. So, when I ran across that photo contest for Zion National Park, I submitted this:
And I was the grand prize winner. They posted this shot on their brochures and their website, and everyone we met who were part of the granting of the prize knew all about that shot. It felt good.
So, in March 2007, Ray and I decided to fulfill that trip. Not only did we visit Zion, we also went to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Coral Sand Dune State Park in Utah and Bryce Canyon.
Bryce is another of my favorites. Just the sight is overwhelming. And when the sun goes down, it’s magical!
Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southwestern Utah, approximately 50 miles northeast of Zion. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon which, despite its name, is not actually a canyon but a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.
Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by wind, water and ice erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks.
The red, orange and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular vistas. Bryce is at a much higher elevation than nearby Zion National Park. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet.
We arrived pretty early, around 7:30 am. After spending a couple of hours at the rim, we found that you could hike through the bottom of the canyon. They say if you hike the entire canyon, it could take up to 6-7 hours. We had time to kill; we grabbed water, Gatorade and a couple of sandwiches so we headed down.
For me it was a slow process, not because it was steep, because I was in awe at the contrast of the orange hoodoos against the brilliant blue sky.
Just beautiful. Everywhere you looked. It was such a perfect day. The weather, at the top and part way down, was a comfortable 75 degrees. Once we reached the bottom of the canyon, you could feel the heat, closer to 80 – 85. That may not be considered ‘hot’ for my southern friends, but it’s a dry hot. And 85 can feel pretty miserable with no breeze, jeans and a backpack. But the beauty of it all took away the thought of how warm it was. We were surrounded in every direction by the canyon walls. They were very interesting to look at close up as well.
At the end of our jaunt through the canyon we came upon a fork in the trail, one left and one right. We chose right, the Fairyland Loop. After about a 5 minute walk we started to climb. It was pretty steep for a while too. But, the view was to die for!
Sixty-miles of trails fill the fourteen stepped amphitheaters of Bryce Canyon. Hiking in Bryce is like getting lost in an intricate maze of twisting wondrous shapes, which wind through the arid, haunting land like something from a fairytale. This labyrinth of stone pinnacles forces hikers to weave in and out of magnificent reddish rocks making their way to the depths of what is left of a sixty-million year old sea. Beautiful and deceptive, most of the hiking trails in Bryce Canyon have one thing in common; the trails begin by heading downhill, saving the uphill climb for the return. It took us about 3 hours to reach a resting point to have our lunch. We found a shady spot, sat and took in the view.
This was my view behind where we sat for lunch . . .
We started our hike after an hour’s rest. And kept walking until the end. Of course, with a few stops for photo ops . . .
We came upon several of these window-like formations in the hoodoos which were very interesting. Some were large, some very small, some you could walk through. Walking through one is these are like going from one world to another and the views you gain when walking through are just awesome! Even seeing these from a distance is like a glow coming from an open door.
It was about 4:00 when we started our hike out of the canyon. The glow of the red rock was pretty bright and every time I looked up, it seemed steeper. I don’t remember the switchbacks until I turned around and looked back at what I just hiked through.
We ran into a couple who were starting their hike around 4:30. They asked how long it took to get through the canyon. We told them it took us 7 hours. They had 2 kid with them. The wife wanted to turn around, the father -- he wanted to hike it. It would be dark in about 2 hours. Ray still wonders if they ever made it out of the canyon. I'm sure if anything happened to them, it may have been on the news.
We watched the sun set and then headed to Bryce Canyon Lodge for dinner. We ended up staying the night at the Lodge and headed back toward Zion early the next morning.
A wonderful trip to Bryce.
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