Travelogue

Bryce AmphitheaterEveryone should see Bryce Canyon in their lifetime. We were fortunate enough to have been here two times prior to this visit, but its magic never fades.

There are lots of beautiful places in the west, but there is something special about Bryce--something unique and somewhat unreal. It's a lot smaller and less intimidating than places like the Grand Canyon and much easier to explore.

Hiking down into the AmphitheaterYou can stand at the edge of the plateau rim and gaze down into the maze of hoodoos below or descend the trails from the rim and wander around among them.
It is majestic yet intimate.

Ironically, Bryce Canyon is not really a canyon at all, but rather a series of amphitheaters cut into the Pink Cliffs of the Paunsaugunt Plateau by millions of years of erosion from flowing streams.

It’s a geological fairyland, and the centerpiece of the park is the 6-mile square Bryce Amphitheater with its intricate maze of whimsically-shaped pinnacles of rock called hoodoos.

Queen Victoria on her throneThese rock spires (hoodoos) are the result of erosion in rock layers that vary in hardness. When water flowed through the cracks in these rocks, the softer rock wore away leaving behind the harder, erosion-resistant caps. The ongoing cycle of freezing and thawing continues to dissolve the softer rock, constantly changing the shape of the hoodoos. This continuous erosion is also causing the plateau cliffs to recede at the rate of about one foot every 60 years.

Along the Queen's Garden TrailAnd the best part is the hoodoos put on a show twice a day - at sunrise and sunset, changing colors from warm yellows and oranges to more dramatic pinks and reds. During the golden hour they appear translucent, seeming to light up from within.

That was why we were here.

Along the Queen's Garden TrailWhen we made the last minute decision to add Bryce to our itinerary, there was no lodging or camping available in the park, so we booked a room at the nearby Ruby’s Inn, just 3 miles from the park visitor center. Fortunately, it had a very liberal cancellation policy - up to 4:00 on the day of your arrival.

So, when we entered the park and realized that Sunset Campground was first-come-first-serve, we immediately drove there and claimed a site. Then we made a quick call to Ruby’s Inn to Cancel. So, instead of $200 for the night, we were paying $10 (Good old Senior Lifetime National Park Pass) for something we like so much better. Now we had easy access to the hoodoos both for sunset and sunrise.

Along the Queen's Garden TrailIt was already around 1:00 when we arrived in Bryce, so we decided to have lunch at the Bryce Canyon Lodge. I love the National Park lodges, and although this one was not as majestic as the Ahwahnee in Yosemite or Old Faithful in Yellowstone, it was still cozy and warm and its rustic design fit well with its surroundings.

After lunch we returned to the campground for a while to take a well-needed nap. We had already done two hikes this morning - Angel’s Palace in Kodachrome and the Pink Ledges in Red Canyon State Park - so we wanted to rest up for our late afternoon Sunset Point to Sunrise Point hike into the Bryce Amphitheater.

Along the Queen's Garden TrailAround 3:30 we drove over to the Sunset Point parking lot, and it was a total zoo. There were even parking attendants to control the situation. What a difference from the last couple of times we were here 20 years ago. We mentioned that to the parking attendant and he said that ever since Utah’s “The Mighty 5” ad about Utah’s awesome national parks, attendance has increased exponentially, almost to the point where they wanted to dial it back a bit.

Selfishly, I wanted these places to remain undiscovered. Unfortunately, with social media and people posting Instagram of Facebook photos of themselves in incredible scenery, there are no secrets anymore.

Along the Queen's Garden TrailMany people don’t even hike down into the canyon, but just stay up top and enjoy the amphitheater from one of the benches along the Rim Trail.

We, however, joined the stream hiking down the steep switchbacks of the Navajo Trail down through the narrow walls of the canyon into the amphitheater.

Unfortunately, the Wall Street side of the Navajo Loop trail was closed because of a rockfall. Too bad, because I remember it being a real highlight.

Sunrise hitting the tips of the hoodoosOnce we connected to the Queen’s Garden Trail, the crowds began to think out a bit. When we got to the garden, we paid homage to Queen Victoria, sitting high above us on her throne.

As we continued along the Queen’s Garden Trail, the light was starting to get better and better, transitioning from to more dramatic pinks and reds. They looked translucent, as if lit up from within.

Sunrise from Inspiration PointFrom there we followed the Queen’s Garden trail up to Sunrise Point. Since our car was parked at Sunset Point, we walked the half mile back along the Rim Trail to the car.

When looking back down at the Amphitheater from the top, I couldn’t help but think of Ebenezer Bryce, a Mormon pioneer who built a cabin here in the 1870s and grazed cattle and sheep in the canyon. After losing one too many of his cows in the labyrinth of rock formations, it is claimed that he said: “this is a hell of a place to lose a cow.” For that alone, he deserves having this incredible park named after him.

Sunrise from Inspiration PointBefore calling it a day, we decided to check out Inspiration Point. We could have just walked along the Rim Trail for 0.7 miles, but then we would miss sunset, so we drove instead.

We started first at Lower Inspiration Point, where there were less than a dozen people waiting for sunset. Already we liked it better than Sunrise and Sunset Points with its easy accessibility and therefore larger crowds.

Sunrise from Inspiration PointFrom there we hiked up to Upper Inspiration Point where there were even fewer people and better views. To one side was the veritable forest of hoodoos and on the other what looked like castle complexes.

This is definitely where we wanted to be for sunrise.

It was dark now and we really didn’t feel like cooking back at the campground, so we went back to the Bryce Canyon lodge and had a light dinner of quesadillas and wine.

Sunrise from Inspiration PointThen it was early to bed, so we could be very early to rise in order to get to Inspiration Point to watch the sunrise.

When we got there in the morning, we were the fourth car in a large parking lot. By the time we got our camera gear out, a dozen more cars had pulled in and more were coming.

We quickly hiked up to Upper Inspiration Point which we had scouted out last night, and found only 2 other people there. We knew more were coming, so Herb set his tripod up to claim his ground.

Sunrise from Inspiration PointTo the left of us was a forest of hundreds of hoodoos. To the right, you could really let your imagination run wild. There were fortresses and castles, complete with surrounding walls, towers and turrets, like the drip castles kids make on the beach.

Right on schedule, the sun rose and began lighting up the tips of the hoodoos.

As soon as the sun finished rising, most of the people left, but this was when it was just getting good. The morning golden hour only starts an hour after sunrise, when the deep reds and whites of the rock formations light up in pastel pinks, yellows and oranges, as if they were lit from the inside.

It was mesmerizing. And to think this goes on every morning.

This was the end of the trip for us, the last planned stop on our 11-day trip to Utah. I couldn’t have asked for a better ending.