Bryce Canyon Here We Come

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Our six nights in Kanab was definitely too short to see it all, but we will be back to the area again. Some places we have gone to over the past 11 months have been nice to do but don't need to see it again. Zion, on the other hand, is a place deserving a return visit or two. But we have reservations up in Bryce Canyon and are looking forward to exploring there as well. 

The drive shouldn't be too bad since it's only about 76 miles. As we start to pack up, there are a couple sprinkles coming down. This isn't something we are used to anymore. In the last 4 months in Arizona, we have only seen sprinkles a few times and the last real rain was way back in early December coming out of San Antonio. Today's drive would take us up over 9000 feet in elevation before coming back down just a bit into Bryce. Midway through the drive the rain hitting the windshield looked different. Yep, it had changed over to snow. We thought after leaving Rochester the snow would be a thing of the past. As we continued, the snow was sticking to the trees and grass but fortunately not the road. I won't say it was a fun drive, but I survived as did our vehicles albeit much dirtier now.

Just a Bit of Snow on Rig

We were staying at Ruby's Campground just outside the National Park entrance. It wasn't the cheapest place, but it was full hookup, 50 amp and reasonable wi-fi. For others coming this way, it is a very convenient place. The shuttle bus that runs through Bryce Canyon NP has a stop right at the campgrounds. In theory you could pull into your spot, walk to the bus stop, get your pass and have the shuttle take you to the major viewing destinations within the park. 

Our first three nights here were expected to be below freezing. Down to 21° that first night!  We just add some fresh water to our holding tank and only plug into electric. We have never invested in a heated fresh water hose and since our plans are to avoid this type of weather, there is no real reason to do so now. We are definitely out of the triple digit heat we were approaching in Arizona. With temperatures as cold as about 36° at night, we can typically use our heater system just using the electric elements (assuming we have 50 amp service). Colder than that, the diesel burner gets turned on. 

I was feeling a little under the weather on our drive up so I took it easy after we got settled in. I hoped to be better the next morning but that's not how it worked. The only real symptom was dizziness. Unlike Zion where the hikes start in the valley and head up, the hikes in Bryce start above the park and head down. We decided to see how much I could handle. We drove in and stopped at the visitor center, watched the movie and picked up maps. Then we headed to the bus stop and figured we could go to the various overlooks and at least get a lay of the land preview.

We got off at Bryce Point which is the southernmost stop of the shuttle. We walked out to the viewpoint and were completely amazed with the stunning beauty of this place.  As we wandered around, we ended up on the Rim Trail. It follows the rim of the canyon and just a mile and a half up along the trail brought us to Inspiration Point which is another shuttle stop. Even with my dizziness, I managed to not fall into the abyss. The views at Bryce are hard to describe - otherworldly, comes to mind. 

The View from Bryce Point

Light Snow Cover

Hoodoos Galore

Windows in Wall

Close Up of Window

We decided to skip Bryce the next day and head to Red Canyon which is maybe 12 miles away. A stop at the visitor center to ask about hiking and sights to see worked out well. The person we talked to also lives in an RV so she was able to also help with which route to take as we head to our next stop. We decided to take the Golden Wall Trail which starts just a bit west of the visitor center. The complete hike ended up being just under 6 miles with a total elevation gain of about 1400 feet. I had loaded the hiking map onto my handheld Garmin so we knew we were going.

Had to Drive Motorhome Thru This Going to Bryce

The trail is easy going at first but then starts to gain altitude. At the fork in the trail, we take the left onto Castle Bridge Trail. Either path works, but we were told the one path was more scenic. It was a good climb and since I was just starting to overcome my dizziness, I took it slow. Along this trail was our first of 3 geocache finds. While signing the log, I notice the last person to find it last August was somebody I know from the Rochester area! What a small world.

Views Along Red Canyon Hike

Incredible Balancing Rock

The landscape here was incredibly beautiful. At each turn, you were faced with great views. We hiked for about 4 miles before we even saw another person. These are the types of hikes we like. From one of the high points in the hike, we were presented with a trail that heads down a very steep section. Railroad ties were spiked into the side of the hill to help keep the trail in place. This was the only spot of the hike where my dizziness came into play. Being forced to look down to proceed made it challenging but taking it slow was all it took.

Challenging Steps

There is a spur trail that takes you up to a wonderful viewpoint. Some short sections of this trail are right along the peak with steep drop offs on both sides. What didn't help was the strong wind. Surprisingly, Chris was able to handle the heights as well. We ate a snack up top and then proceeded back to the main trail and continue our hike back to the parking lot for lunch. Included is our track from the Garmin imported into Google Earth to give perspective of the hike. This hike rates up near the top of all the ones we have done over the years. 

Trail Up to Viewpoint

Chris Manages the Trail

Our Red Canyon Hike

After finishing this hike, we should have just headed back and relax, but there was another geocache a bit up the Cassidy Trail just east of the visitor center. After finding the cache, we decided to continue up the trail to two other side trails taking us to a Ledge Point. It was a nice view, but there were clouds coming and it looked like we might get wet. The hike back down wasn't a lot of fun since we were both exhausted. At least now we were smart enough to head home.

View at Ledge Point

There are lots of other places to see in the general Bryce Canyon area. Before heading, out, we stop at the Mossy Cave trail along the northern end of Bryce Canyon. It was a nice short hike but very crowded and the cave and nearby waterfall was not all that special. To the east is Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Unlike most National Monuments we have visited so far, this one is huge - 1.9 million acres huge! Within the area are some state parks we wanted to visit. Our first stop is Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. We decided to get the Utah State Park annual pass. There are a fair number of the geotour geocaches located inside state parks plus having the pass will prompt us to check out others as we continue north. 

Mediocre Waterfall

Blooming Cactus

This park has a good sized lake and a small campground. There is really just one trail with an optional loop off the main trail. Less than two miles total, but there is a fair amount of elevation change to contend with. Initially we aren't seeing any petrified wood along the trail but after a certain point, it was everywhere. Any size from small to large. Some completely exposed while some large pieces were mostly buried only displaying a portion of the log. On some of the steeper sections, the larger petrified pieces actually are part of the steps along the trail.

Petrified Log Pieces

Large Petrified Pieces

Lake at State Park

Our next stop was to be Anasazi State Park Museum. It probably wouldn't have been on our list of things do but for two things. One of the geotour caches was located here, and the drive between Escalante and Boulder is absolutely amazing. We had several overlooks where is seems like the views go forever. The museum was okay but not our cup of tea.

View on Way to Boulder

Rugged View

Now we start to head back west with the intention of stopping at Kodachrome Basin State Park. Since we both worked at Eastman Kodak, we felt obligated to visit. When we had stopped at the National Monument visitor center in Cannonville early in the day, the ranger suggested we hold off on stopping at Kodachrome later in the day to take advantage of the better colors. So following her advice we pull into the park around 5 PM. Based on the ranger's recommendation, we head to Angel's Palace Trail. It was a nice hike but there was a rather large cloud that wasn't helping with photography. 

Kodachrome Basin State Park

View Along Angel's Palace Trail

Interesting Rock Tower

We decided to check out one more area before heading back to camp. Another Utah Geotour cache was back a mile and half dirt road and we thought we had enough daylight to get out there. We had the area to ourselves and found the cache easily. Just a bit further down the trail is Shakespeare Arch so we decided to make that our final destination of the day. 

Shakespeare Arch

Nice View at Sunset in Kodachrome Basin SP

Since I was now feeling 100%, we decided to try one of the "strenuous" hikes in Bryce Canyon. Rather than doing just one of the loops, we decided to take advantage of the park's shuttle system and do what's called the Bryce Amphitheater Traverse. We park across from the visitor's center and ride the shuttle to Bryce Point.  The first portion of the hike is down into the valley along the Peekaboo Loop Trail. There are lots of switchbacks as we head down but it is one of the widest trails we have ever seen so the drop offs don't seem as scary. 

Switchbacks Heading Down Trail

Jack and Chris Posing Under Arch

There are only a few people on this trail so it was a nice quiet start. After about a mile, the trail splits making up the loop. Either direction gets us to where we want, but taking a left is supposedly a better view even if it is about half a mile longer. There are some great views of all the hoodoos and it is a nice hike although there plenty of ups and downs along the way. Surprisingly there is even a restroom along the way. At the far end of the loop rather than heading back up the Peekaboo Loop Trail we follow the connector trail over to the bottom of the Navajo Loop Trail. 

Heading Down Into Hoodoos

Window Wall Along Peekaboo Trail

We rest on a bench here and watch streams of people heading this way and that way. So much for our lightly traveled trail. Most of the people have come down the Navajo Loop Trail from Sunset Point - the most popular trail in the park and it shows. We follow the signs and some of the crowd toward the Queen's Garden Trail.

More View Along Trail

Heading Back Up to Sunset Point

At one point we sit down along the trail and pull out our sandwiches. We had several people heading back up the trail and looked at our food longingly. I suspect we could have made some decent money selling our sandwiches even with a couple bites missing. Once we got to the top, we headed to the Bryce Lodge. Chris found a t-shirt she needed at the gift shop and then we hopped on the shuttle and headed back for the day.

Nice Looking Lodge

Our Bryce Amphitheater Traverse Hike Tracks