Got up and packed, then drove across the street for breakfast. We stopped at the visitor center and picked up our stamp and brochures. The best way to see bryce from the car is to drive all the way to the end of the road and work our way back. Almost all of the viewpoints are on the right as you drive back.
When we reached the end of the road we took a walk on the bristlecone loop. this was a short walk that winded its way through Douglas Fir and White pine trees. It was quite pleasant and there were very few people on the trail so we had a nice private walk.
After the walk we started back up the road. We stopped at each location and walked up the paths to the scenic overlooks. One of the overlooks had a rock formation that is supposed to look like a poodle. Can you make it out?
Hey Raga! Your going to love this park! Lots and lots to take pictures of.
At one of the stops, there was a raven that just didn’t seem to care that anyone was around. It would not move if you got close, so I snapped a picture.
And again, what trip is complete without our friendly squirrel?
The most interesting place was sunset point, we could watch the hikers and horse riders work their way down to the canyon bottom. Some day I will come back and try that out. Can you make out the horse train in the distance?
The visitor center has a model of the entire colorado plateau. We could see all of the canyons we visited and their relationship to each other. While in the visitor center, I overheard someone talking about the river trip they planned to take. It would start at lake powell and finish near the end of the colorado river. The trip was about 183 miles. That is something that I had wanted to do since the first time I went to the grand canyon. I will need to add that to my list of things to do. If anyone wants to do it with me, let me know 😉 It is a three day or longer journey.
This park was nothing like I imagined. I pictured Utah as pretty much desert with sagebrush wildlife, like what I grew up in. This park was nothing like it. We were at an altitude of 9100+ feet. The entire park is covered with White and Douglas Fir trees, as well as Ponderosa Pines. This reminds me of northern nevada. But then you reach the edge of the range and you are presented with some amazing views.
Nothing man made can equal what 200 million years plus of nature has done to the entire colorado plateau. If you had to choose only one of the places to come to in Utah, I would strongly suggest you come to Bryce Canyon.
After our long day in Bryce canyon, we drove to
Zion National Park. This drive was pretty much boring until we arrive into the park. The park had an incredible 1 mile long tunnel through the mountain. I think this is the longest tunnel I have driven through.
We headed down the hill. We stopped at the visitor center to get our stamp and park map. We obtained the bus schedule. To tour the canyon, you have to use the public transportation. It ran pretty much all the time and stopped at every area.
After the visitor center, we went into town. The hotel we wanted to stay at didn’t have any rooms, so we picked our second choice. This was the famous Bumbleberry Inn. The room was pretty reasonably priced. We unpacked and went to dinner. We had to try the pie at the famous Bumbleberry diner.
After dinner, we headed back to the hotel.