We only had 24 hours to spend in Arches National Park and I wanted to make the best of it. The first half of the day was spend exploring the…
After our lovely time in Great Basin National Park we drove across Utah towards Price Canyon Recreation Area, a BLM area with some nice bouldering and a quiet campground. But…
After our eventful day in Zion National Park we drove the short distance to Bryce Canyon National Park. Arriving after dark, we didn’t get to enjoy the scenery until the next morning. We got up early and were in the park just around sunrise, which we enjoyed from Sunset Point. Sunrise at Bryce is amazing, and I would recommend to any one who visits to get out of bed early to experience it.
Bryce Canyon (which isn’t a canyon, but there is no geologic name to describe exactly what it is), is an exposed feature of the red Utah landscape. It was once a sea floor and many processes combined to make the hoodoos what they are today. What’s left are spires and formations that look like they were taken straight out of a Dr Seuss book. Half of the fun of wandering among the hoodoos is to see figures and pictures in their shapes. In one day we saw kissing camels, the Swedish Chef, Queen Elizabeth, the Road Runner, and many others (I seemed to be seeing a lot of Muppets, but maybe that’s just me).
Our trip started with the long drive out to Zion National Park. We arrived on Saturday night, just in time for sunset. After sunset we checked into our hotel, the Pioneer Lodge in Springdale. This was my favorite hotel of our vacation. The decor was great and the beds were really comfy. I’m sure that during the regular season it is overpriced, but we got a good deal since this is supposed to be the off-season. We just lucked out with the record high summer-like temperatures.
Sunday morning we woke up early so that we could get in as much hiking as possible before the sun set. Our first stop was the Weeping Rock, a short little hike to a neat arch in the canyon walls. Here, water has seeped through the sandstone and collided with a shale layer. The water is forced out of the side of the rock here and drips down, forming a year round seep. After visiting the Weeping Rock we continued up and up the trail to the Hidden Canyon, a beautiful hanging canyon with dryfalls, steep walls, and arches.