After a fairly late arrival at the hotel, and eyes bigger than stomach at the all you can eat buffet the night before, we had a late-ish start at 10am. The drive into Bryce from the hotel was only about 10 minutes, and it was overcast and cold when we got there. Cold enough for snow type cold.
You can't see anything of the canyon from the road, so our first view, at the suitably named Inspiration Point, was breathtaking. Maybe part of that was the cold, and the thin air from the 8100 foot altitude, but breathtaking none the less.
The other parks we have been to on this trip have all been stunning in their scale and grandeur. The massiveness and solidity of Yosemite. The alien-ness of Mono lake, the wide open barren-ness of Death Valley, the sheer straight up and down-ness of Zion. None of that prepared me for the delicate filigree and twiddlyness that is Bryce. It's a different sort of mind blowing! The spires of rock are sandstone, but with a limestone cap. The cap is harder and more weather resistant which stops the entire column wearing away. These spires are called hoodoos. There are also various 'windows' in the sandstone where it has worn through entirely.
As per our guide's recommendation, several of us walked down into the canyon from Sunrise point to experience it from within. Still very cold, the occasional light snow was picturesque and made it probably a fairly unusual way to experience Bryce. Various twists and winds took us down to Queen's Garden, named for the hoodoo shaped a bit like a statue of Queen Victoria, possibly riding a whale.
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| Queen Victoria on a whale? |
The route back up was shorter and sharper, but no less stunning. This canyon is called 'Wall Street', and I think you can see why!
At the top I sat and had a fairly brief lunch, sat in a bus stop for a bit of shelter from the rain (none of the picnic benches were under cover - I get the impression the usual weather there is a lot warmer and drier) and then headed round the canyon rim trail to Bryce point. It didn't take too long, but I got to see a number of different perspectives on the canyon, and had a lovely 5 minutes when the sun came out behind me creating a gorgeous rainbow down in the canyon beneath!
From Bryce Point I got the shuttle bus back to the hotel just as the rain got heavier and more persistent. A few minute's fiddling found how to turn the air con into a heater and soon everything was toasty warm. Dinner that night was a short drive and a very long wait away, but it was very tasty when we eventually got it. I had the appetizer 'Sampler' which was enormous, but very tasty!
Next morning was up early to get back to Bryce Point for sunrise over the canyon at 7:32am. Luckily the clouds had cleared overnight leaving it crystal clear, though bitterly cold, in the morning. Very worth it though, a lovely view and much jollity and laughter to ward off the cold with some of the other tourists there. Here is our tour's bevy of beauties having a laugh.
Stunning photos. Super blog. Love Dad
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