THE Trip, Bryce Canyon National Park

CABS for Reflections From the Fence

A very brief, VERY BRIEF, over view of our stay at Bryce.

Hoodoo land, Bryce Canyon National Park. *

We sure have been having some experiences here in Bryce.  Day 1, after arrival, favorable weather reports, the next 3 days are looking a bit grim (as in white, ya, snow!).  So, we hurried over to the park, made a quick visit to the Visitor's Center and then drove the 18 miles out to Rainbow Point, where it was, mmmmm, W-I-N-D-Y and mmmm, coolish.  We had several layers of clothing, including winter coats, hats and gloves, and we needed them, and wore them!

By the way, Rainbow Point, is about 9,125 feet in elevation!  (This Wikipedia page says 9,105, our GPS said 9,125, and the park signage states it is 9,115 feet.)  Below, the first view from Rainbow Point.  Yes, that is snow in the foreground!

We stopped at every view point on the way back, until we reached the turn off for Inspiration Point, saving that portion of the park for another day, or two, or - - -

Our visit to Inspiration Point was cut short by SNOW.  It was fascinating to watch the squalls roll in, it took less than 3 minutes to totally wipe out the visibility.

The next day we visited Bryce Point, Sunset Point and Fairyland Point, and yep, we got snowed out again.

Bryce is a land of enchantment, no doubt about it.  I was a little surprised at how worn the hoodoos appeared to be.  I suppose I thought they would be more sharp and distinct, but, they are soft, almost like a pile of cottage cheese.  (Horrible description I know, having trouble getting words around this.  LOL)

We even tried a sunset, but, missed the actual sun set.  There was light in the canyon for quite some time after the sunset and the colors at Sunset Point were enhanced by the lower light.  It was cold, even with my gloves my fingers were aching and frozen after about 20 minutes.

Our first few days here were so cold and darkish that the Utah prairie dogs were not been seen above ground, they are smart enough to know when to stay home!  LOL  But, the sun will eventually come out and I get to visit with them and take a few quick photos.

I'll be bringing you LOTS of photos over the next few posts.  On my first pass/review of the first day's photos I found over 30 to be considered for sharing.  Me thinks I need a second pass to reduce that a bit!  LOL



* A detailed web page describing the geological back ground on hoodoos and Bryce Canyon is here.  In short the hoodoos are formed from rain and ice sculpting the spires of rusted limestone.  Neat eh??

According to this web page, "The Paiute called Bryce Canyon’s mysterious rock formations Anka-ku-was-a-wits—meaning “red painted faces”—and believed that the hoodoos were Evil Legend People turned to stone by the all-powerful Coyote spirit."
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