We headed to Bryce Canyon National Park just about 90 miles and a little over 2 hours away from Zion. We had to get a permit to be able to drive the camper single file down the center of a narrow tunnel cut into a cliff face. The drive then took us along part of Hwy 12 which is designated a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road by the Federal Highway Administration. All-American Roads have one-of-a-kind features so exceptional that they qualify as a destination “unto themselves”. This makes Hwy 12 one of the most unique roads in America. It does have some gorgeous views of slickrock canyons, red rock cliffs, and other incredible rock formations along the way. It passes through Dixie Forest’s Red Canyon, another beautiful park.
We weren’t sure there would be a site for us in Bryce Canyon as we couldn’t make site reservations and the rest were first-come, first-served. We had a backup plan for one night at Ruby’s Inn and Campground just a few miles north of Bryce Canyon. We shouldn’t have worried as there were still plenty of spots for RVs in Sunset Campground. This campground is a little closer to the major attraction in Bryce, the hoodoos, and all the major hiking trails than the North Campground.
Hoodoos are odd-shaped rocks left standing by the forces of erosion, mostly freeze and thaw cycles. It does freeze at Bryce around 200 days of the year. The hoodoos are really a very unique formation made up of limestone. Some of the hoodoos are just white limestone, others have a high iron content that makes them reddish or orange, some have a combination. Once can even find purplish streaks caused by manganese.
In the afternoon we drove the first 9 miles of the Scenic Overlook road. We saw the famous pronghorns at the side of the road. They kind of look like antelope and their closest relatives are giraffe and okapis in Africa. They are remnants from the Ice Age when North America still had large predators. The pronghorn evolved to be able to run 60 mph to survive. Their numbers in the 1800s were estimated to be more than 40 million, possible more than the bison.
We stopped at the Agua Canyon, Natural Bridge, Farview Point, and Swamp Canyon overlooks. They all had amazing sights of hoodoos. We then headed to Inspiration Point. This was our first look at the Amphitheater which is the name of the huge expanse of hoodoos one sees in all the pictures of Bryce Canyon. It really does take your breath away to see so many other-wordly rock formations in one place. You wonder what made this certain area erode this way. Why here? Of course the brochures give you all the geological reasons why, but you still have a sense of wonder.
Back at the campsite we hung out and grilled hamburgers. Chipmunks and ground squirrels were everywhere. A man from a neighboring campsite came over to chat with William, asking about how the Toyota Tundra tows the camper. That discussion evolved into batteries and solar power, then somehow into Obama and politics and communism and socialism and…everything under the sun related to those ideas. It was funny listening in on two men who had such completely different outlooks on everything. William said we should have “rescued” him as the debate lasted for more than an hour. I thought of it as an opportunity for William to reeducate the man on some truly misguided “truths” he had and for William to put his conflict resolution degree into practice.
After a leisurely morning we hiked the 2.9 mile Queens/Navajo Combination Loop trail through the Amphitheater from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point. It seems there was a picture worthy view at every step.
The rest of the afternoon we just relaxed at the campground playing games and enjoying some downtime after our hectic schedule of the past few days. A thunderstorm rolled in and even brought a little rain.
The next morning we hiked 5.2 miles all around the hoodoos. We started from Bryce Point at 8300 feet in elevation and then continued around the Peekaboo Loop, 7430 feet at its lowest. This hike is classified as strenuous with multiple elevation changes and steep grades. Peekaboo is aptly named as it takes you past many hoodoos with holes, slits, windows, and arches. Of course, the scenery was once again fantastic. We finished after about 3.5 to 4 hours, got some ice cream and cold drinks at the Bryce general store. We saw a few more pronghorm and in the campground there were 2 big mule deer bucks with large antlers. During the afternoon we rested at the campsite.
Unfortunately, the sky was never clear enough during our 3 nights to see the stars. Bryce Canyon is known for some of the clearest air that makes for one of the best stargazing places in the US, second only to the Great Basin NP in Nevada. Supposedly you can actually see the Milky Way in its full, bright glory from horizon to horizon.
The Davids' Cross-Country Trip 