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Thursday, May 6, 2021
BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Bryce Canyon is apparently a very misunderstood park. Yesterday, on two separate occasions, we received bum reports about the place. First, a man we bumped into on one of Zion’s scenic overlooks told us we could “really just skip it.” He’d found it much less impressive and more crowded than Zion. “you’re just at the top of the canyon, and you can look down and, like, yep- there it is.” On the strength of this poor review, we did a little looking to see if maybe we should skip it and gain back a little of the time we lost (happily!) in the Grand Canyon.
“Hoodoos!” the internet reported, when querried why we should visit Bryce Canyon. That’s all I needed to settle that question. (I love hoodoos.)
That evening at the hotel, the manager informed us it was “bigger and less interesting” than Zion, so at least we shouldn’t have to fight crowds. (This is straight-up wrong on both fronts.)
I don’t think I’ve seen a single photo that conveys how cool this place is. “Otherworldly” is an excellent adjective for it. So much about these rock formations seems improbable, and there are so many of them! Many look like human constructions at a quick glance. All together, the whole park might be a massive city constructed by giant a race of termites. (Not a sexy image? I think it’s a sexy image.)
Several trails were closed for repair or rerouting. As the pictures above show, this place changes fast. We picked a loop covering the Navajo and Queen’s Garden trails a popular loop that takes you to the bottom of the canyon through set of spooky rocks and back up to the rim through another. I spent the whole hike gawking at my surroundings, with a few breaks to people-watch the other hikers. The park was busy, yes, but after Zion, I’m not sure I’m prepared to ever call anyplace “crowded again.” Almost no one else, however, seemed impressed by their surroundings. Many hikers came in large groups, talking and laughing (good) and charging through the hikes just as fast as they could, which is simply not my style. I am a petter of rocks, smeller of wild flowers, admirer of vistas, and reader of interpretive signs. If accidentally get some exercise while I’m hiking, that’s entirely secondary to my efforts to soak it all in.
To each of course, their own.
Also, I was moving a lot slower today after our embattled 11 miles at Zion yesterday, so smelling the roses seemed extra important.
Hiking accomplished, we set out to hit up the scenic drive and some of the overlooks with intriguing names like “Fairyland” and “Piracy Point.” (There was not a single interpretive sign to explain Piracy Point, can you believe it?? The ranger I cornered later said it is geologic piracy, a gully pirating water away, or the water pirating sediments away – but I don’t believe any of it without a supporting diagram.)
We had a bit of a drive to reach this evening’s point of repose, so we didn’t for sunset. We’re going stay to have to come back to this corner of the world specifically to do some after-dark park-ing. I bet the stars here are magnificent.
Thither & Yon 