After we left Capitol Reef National Park we headed SW to Bryce Canyon National Park. We were fortunate to get a site close to the trails that lead into the canyon. Bryce Canyon was formed millions of years ago when the area was at the bottom of a vast inland sea and as the sea receded softer material was eroded, leaving these tall columns called hoodoos! Around the canyon rim you can look down on the hoodoos and you can also descend down into the bottom of the canyon and walk among hoodoos!
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| Looking down on some hoodoos! |
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| Walking among the hoodoos! |
The hoodoos are each different as they have been formed over the millennia by the forces of nature.
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| Looking down into Bryce Canyon from the rim |
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| Hoodoos and more hoodoos |
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| Road thru Red Rock State Park |
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| Hoodoos at Bryce Canyon |
We also visited some other impressive locations like the Red Rock State Park several miles from Bryce Canyon.
However, in due course all good things must come to an end. And, we were getting concerned about being far enough south before the weather really turned to winter! So we moved a little farther south to Zion Canyon Nationa Park. It had gone through a different formation process at a different time and at Zion you started at the bottom of the canyon and worked your way up instead of at the top and work your way down as we did a Bryce!
Also, to access Zion from the east as we did you drove through a long canyon descending as you went, including a tunnel. It was a magnifisent drive thru some beautiful canyon scenery.
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| An alcove in the canyon wall |
Interestingly, at Zion they had reduced traffic and its impact by using buses to transport visitors into Zion Canyon. The buses would pick you up at the visitor center or several other places, including in the nearby town and take you to any number of spots within the canyon. You did not have to fight traffic or parking problems in the canyon, just get off and on the bus where you wanted to go. BJ and I both agree it was a great plan, well executed!
There was a stream running down the canyon floor and it was stream that for several million years carved the canyon by eroding away the softer material and leaving the harder rock. You could see traces of the erosion throughout the canyon.
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| Looking toward the mouth of Zion Canyon |
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| The stream at the bottom of Zion Canyon |
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| The lodge at Zion NP |
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As the first snow of the season was forecast after we had been there for several days we decided to move on south to the north rim of the Grand Canyon, several hours south of us. We did not expect to miss the snow nor was the snow going to be very heavy, but we figured we has seen a good bit of Zion and if we were already at the Grand Canyon when the snow fell we would be in a better position to see the canyon once the snow fall was over.
So we moved on south and reached the north rim the day before the snow.
Always at home, no matter where we are!
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