I spotted this guy somewhere between Paria and Bryce Canyon. He is really beautiful, don't you think?
This is our first indication of what we will be seeing in the Canyon.
There is a dusting of snow that I wish was a bit heavier - but at least there's snow!
We first discovered Bryce by accident on a family vacation years ago. You see, there was this friendly dispute between Granpa and I in Rocky Mountain National Park. Year after year Granpa would take us to Colorado and the Rockies. It became pretty obvious that drastic measures would be required to break out of those Rockies!
We tent camp. In the beginning it was a cost saving thing, but then it became MY preference! With all the camping gear and all of the family and the law requiring a seat belt for everyone, we had to take two vehicles. So, I told Granpa that I loved him to the moon and back, but I was gonna turn right out of the Park and head to parts unknown. If he wanted to, he could follow. If he didn't want to leave the Rockies, his truck was loaded with the camping gear and, well, I'd see him back in Texas.
Bless his pea-pickin' heart, he turned right.
Every vacation since then has been one of discovery -- and we've never been disappointed at the choices made that day!
Since then we have been back to Bryce a couple of times, but we've never been there in the wintertime when there was snow. Knowing the canyon, we think it will look like frosting on a tiered cake!
This just gets better and better - hoodoos, spires, windows, tunnels - all of which you can hike into, and it's a fascinating maze of slot-like canyons, views and vistas. I think it is incredible how the landscape can change so dramatically and so quickly!
There are tunnels through these red rocks that you must go through to even get to the entrance of Bryce. Once in the Park, the best way to view it is to put blinders on, drive all the way to the end of the Park road to Rainbow Point, and begin there to get out at all of the pull-outs and named turnouts on the way back. Rainbow Point is over 9,000 feet in elevation and today the window is howling.
It must be cold for Granpa to put his hood up. We lasted about two minutes up there in the frigid wind before high-tailing it back to the van. Every point we stopped at had that wind on this day!
The views were worth it though.
This is the overall view of Bryce. Off to the left is Zion National Park. We had to pass it to get here. Zion is all granite and smooth, shear walls into a fabulous, rock-solid box canyon. If you ever read Western novels or watch Western movies and wondered what a box canyon looks like, go to Zion.
These are "windows" in the rock. There are many more here to see.
The tunnels were man-made; this is just nature at its best.
It was a blindingly bright, sun-shiny day, but as I've already said, c-o-l-d!
These formations are called hoodoos.
If you have children this is truly a magical place.
And we have a family tradition of taking shadow pictures. I'm cold! Let's go the hotel!
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