Our National Park Adventures - Bryce Canyon National Park

A place where ancient songs whisper

      and strange hoodoo's cast spells~~~

 Hoodoo - a serious geological term meaning," we don't know what else to call them", and refers to bizarre shapes eroded from stone.

  The second stop on our tour of National Parks was Bryce Canyon.  Unlike any other place on this earth, this park is characterized by amazing topography and the awe impressing sights of those mystical hoodoos.

  Excerpts from my travel journal~ "I find myself looking out at this amazing canyon with lands the color of jumbled terra cotta pots.  Plateaus layered in creams, yellows, cinnamon, and maroon ~" 

"Threatening thunderstorms in the distance kept us from hiking today- so we drove the loop around the park stopping at all the observation points. The sky was beautiful and  magnified the gorgeous scenery- making for a perfect picture taking day! I think Bryce is one of those places where the sights are best seen as you look down into the valley - so we really were not disadvantaged by not hiking. ( after yesterday- my legs could use the rest!!)"

Our friend Bob is a geologist.  His amazing insight into the development of the canyons and formations was the perfect compliment to the amazing scenery that we were all a part of.  Traveling with Bob is like being on a National Geographic discovery adventure~~ 

Want to know how I got out here?  Very carefully - very slowly - (crawled on my hands and knees!)

An 18 mile scenic drive winds along the rim of Bryce Canyon. There are 13 amazing viewpoints in which to gaze at the giant bowl of hoodoos and view the canyon's most famous formations. Come along with us as we drive the "canyon loop"~~

My friend Jan is such a good sport.  I'm awarding her the "waits patiently while others hike" award!

From my journal~ "Most of the time, we can't see the ground beneath our feet.  But here - on this Colorado plateau - bare rock dominates. Most of the canyons out west were formed by the massive powers of the Colorado River - but here at Bryce - it was a consistent series of freeze/thaw cycles that formed these intricate shapes.  Millions of years ago - think about that - I can hardly imagine~~"

 With names like Sunrise, Sunset and Inspiration Point - it is easy to see why the viewpoints along the canyon capture the intriguing shapes in the best light of the day.

  

 From my journal, "our pictures can not begin to capture the magnitude of these views~~"

Bet you didn't know I liked to climb on stuff!!

This thunderstorm lingered the entire afternoon - always a threat in the distance.  You can see why we chose NOT to hike today! 

We spent the entire day driving the observation points.  Some of the viewpoints had the opportunity for short hikes - (1/2 mile or so).  The viewpoints we visited are:

1. Bryce Point
2. Paria View
3. Swamp Canyon
4. Fairview Point
5. Natural Bridge
6. Agua Canyon
7. Ponderosa Canyon
8. Black Birch Canyon
9. Rainbow Point
10. Yovimpa Point
11. Sunrise Point
12. Sunset Point
13. Inspiration Point

Total distance hiked today - 3 miles (kind of wimpy compared to yesterday!) 

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A few photos from our travels away from Bryce - heading to our next destination Capital Reef National Park~~

Well - if you are still hanging with me on this journey -  my next post will share photos from my favorite hike in the ENTIRE trip.  Our day spent in Capitol Reef National Park was unbelievable~~

A little update - after the photos of  Capitol Reef - I'll be sharing with you all a little fall give away.  (Your reward for suffering through all the National Park pictures!)
~~~

And - just in case you didn't know that all this "nesting" is  serious business here~~ yesterday I spent the entire afternoon doing the yarn photo shoot for the 2012 Harvest nest!!   You will be seeing those pictures next summer - just before the debut of the nest.  
~~
We are having a glorious fall here - I hope you are all enjoying the last hurrah of summer~~
xoxo,
Vicki