We spend two days at Bryce. The first day, we stayed on the top and drove the scenic drive, stopping at most of the observation points. This first one is Bryce Point.
Then we went to Inspiration Point.
Matthew was being a pill. Can you tell? I think Brian yelled at me for getting angry with Matthew's poor attitude here, so pretty much no one was happy. Good times on family vacations!
I can't remember these lookout points' names anymore, but they all had gorgeous sweeping views of Bryce Canyon and the surrounding area. This is why you write blog posts right after you get home.
The end of the road leads to Rainbow Point. You can see nearly all the levels of Bryce Canyon and all their glorious colors.
There's the moss. In the cave. :)
Then we went to Inspiration Point.
There were three levels of lookouts at Inspiration Point. Matthew was not excited about the hike up to the third, so only Elizabeth and I made it that far. It was a tough climb, and it's already pretty high elevation so it did take some effort.
I can't remember these lookout points' names anymore, but they all had gorgeous sweeping views of Bryce Canyon and the surrounding area. This is why you write blog posts right after you get home.
Okay, this next one is easy to remember. It's the Natural Bridge observation point.
The end of the road leads to Rainbow Point. You can see nearly all the levels of Bryce Canyon and all their glorious colors.
After a picnic lunch at Rainbow Point, we took a hike on the Bristlecone Loop Trail. It was only about a mile, but the altitude was hitting us hard so we were really out of breath. Though not higher than the treeline, the only trees that grow at that elevation are bristlecone pines.
On our way out of Bryce and back to Kodachrome, we stopped at the Mossy Cave trailhead. This is a nice, mostly easy hike that's about a mile long. It's nice that you can be below the hoodoos here and not have to do a major climb out. Spoiler alert: We did a major climb the next day. Keep reading.
There's the moss. In the cave. :)
The following day, we went back to Bryce early so we could get a parking spot at Sunset Point and start our hike before it got too warm. We wanted to do the Queens Garden down/Navajo Loop up hike which is billed as the "Best 3-Mile Hike in the World!" I gotta say. If it's not the best, it has to be pretty darn close.
Places like Bryce and Grand Canyon are tricky hiking spots because you do the easy part first and then have to do the hard part last. In other words, what goes down must come back up so you really have to make sure you're prepared physically but mostly mentally. Now, this hike is not ridiculously difficult and tons of families and senior citizens were doing it with us so no one was going to leave us for dead if we got in trouble and getting into trouble was never a real threat. It was fine, Mom. Totally fine!
Besides, every step of the way had unbelievably gorgeous scenery to distract us from our aching knees on the descent and our winded lungs as we ascended.
We walked from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point and began our trek down into the amphitheater. Fun fact: Bryce Canyon is not a true canyon. There is no river at the bottom that carved it millions of years ago. Instead, it's a bunch of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters on the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Over time, wind eroded the rocks into thousands (maybe millions?) of hoodoos, which are those weird rock formations that seem to grow out of the ground everywhere you look.
It was really steep. Poles helped.
Bryce is like no place else. You really do have to see it and experience it for yourself, and we highly recommend that you do. You'll be in awe, especially if you take the time to hike into the heart of the place instead of just hanging around at the lookouts.
At the bottom of the Queens Garden trail, you'll find yourself walking through a lush green forest surrounded by the orange glow of the rocks. It's magical.
But, reality sets in and you start climbing a trail almost as steep as the one going down. (Note: It's not recommended by the NPS to do this hike in reverse. Navajo Loop is challenging, but Queens Garden is even harder to go up. I'd just take their word. We did.)
We took more breaks going up than we did going down. :)
There was a giant cairn garden along the way! Matthew figured, "When in Rome...."
After that, we entered the famed Wall Street.
It's a series of switchbacks (I wonder how many?) from that lovely forest back to Sunset Point along the Navajo Loop. This is where you get to see how many people you're sharing this trail with.
You think you're there, but it just keeps on switching and going.
Once we returned to the top, we chilled for a moment because we were pretty tired and hot. Layers were shed! Then we just hung around at the top for a bit to take it all in one last time.
On our last visit to the Visitor Center, Brian saw a prong horn deer!
Next we headed to Red Canyon, a smaller version of Bryce just twenty minutes away. It was very peaceful, and a lot less crowded. Plus they have an awesome visitor center. We had some lunch and explored just a little bit. We were kind of exhausted in a good way. :)
We love Smoky.
Finally, we headed back to Kodachrome with another exciting day under our belts. Southern Utah is one of the prettiest places I've ever been. Someday we're going to make it to Zion, but there are so many other cool places around there, too. I'm already marking out places to hit on the map and can't wait to visit Utah again. Hopefully soon!
