Bryce Canyon National Park

I finally arrived at Bryce early afternoon on Sunday, August 28.  The temperature was between 72 and77 degrees on the north end of the Park.  As you climb during the 18 mile drive from the entrance of the Park on the north end at about 7700 feet elevation to the south end of the road at Rainbow Point in excess of 9100 feet elevation, you pull our your jacket.  The scenery is unique and striking,

"This must be the start of something new"... and new and different it truly is

This is only the introduction...the best is yet to come

The view to the northeast from Sunrise Point...

and looking more easterly from Sunrise Point,,,

This is the zoomed version of what is between the cliffs in the 2 previous pictures.!

Bryce Canyon Lodge.

I thought the red convertible added just the right touch.

Bryan, your brother-in-law is responsible for my seeking out and meeting Linda from Jonesborough, who is working in the gift shop at Bryce, as I am at Zion

Looking down into these spires reminded me of looking down on an ancient adobe city with spired rooftops.

This is Sunset Point.  Sunrise, Sunset, Inspiration, and Bryce points encircle Bryce Amphitheater, the biggest natural amphitheater in the park.

A view from a few feet down the path.

And a few feet on, we get a different perspecetive.

Until I figure out how to rotate, you'll have to turn your head sideways (or your computer).

There is a path down there; and people are walking the "Under-the-Rim trail", actually under the rim of the canyon on which I am standing.  This is Inspiration Point, I believe.

The high point just to the left of center is Bryce Point, which faces north.  As you can see, the sun was down, so I by-passed Bryce Point and headed on down the road.

From that to this!  This broad area on top of the plateau has been burned in the recent past.  It reminded me of the drive between Canyon and Norris in Yellowstone National Park, my 1st Park adventure.

                         As you can see, looking off to the West, the sun is riding lower in the sky.

Swamp Canyon...almost 8,000 feet elevation.

This area fronts on The Pink Cliffs.  Just look at that sky.

The pull-off is between the 2 areas that reminded me so much of Yellowstone...the burn you just saw and the broad tree'd area following.



This is about the same elevation as the area with which I am associating it in Yellowstone if I'm not mistaken.  tha could account in part for the similarities I see with ponderosa pine, spruce, and fir.

Amazing.

Fairview Point at  8800 ft. offers views of plateaus and mountains.

Natural Bridge wasn't formed by a stream like true natural bridges.  More accurately an arch, it was carved by rain and frost erosion acting from the top of the rock.

                                                         Off to one side of Natural Bridge

Even the clouds posed for Carol at Natural Bridge.

More clouds and blue sky

...and over the cliff behind me.

This is the view from Rainbow Point at the southern terminus of the 18 mile park road..

These mountains in the background possibly are the Navajo Mountains with the Kaibab Plateau at top right 90 miles away in Arizona (North Rim of the G.C. is in the Kaibab Plateau area).

Called The Poodle, this hoodoo northwest of Rainbow Point seems to pose for the camera. Reputed to be difficult to find, I'm proud of this photo.

With the sun going down and a 3 hour drive to get back to Zion Lodge, I beat a hasty retreat from Bryce.  The outside temperature was 54 degrees, and it was twilight.  Since there are virtually no guardrails on the Zion highway on the east side (you saw that road in the previous Blog), I elected to go back via Cedar City and a canyon between 10,000 ft. elevations, which I had never been in before, much less after dark.  I said many prayers along the way as signs for trucks showed  6% - 10% grades and 4 sets of taillights in front of me guided the way.  That was one time I was thankful that I was not the lead dog; and the scene may have changed around me; but the one in front of me remained those 4 sets of taillights!

 When I pulled into a parking place in front of the dorm, my headlights lit up these beautiful, night-blooming white, very poisonous flowers.

I slept like a baby.