Bryce and Zion are about 2 hrs away from each other, but completely different as far as their looks. In Zion, we were in a canyon, looking up at the walls, in Bryce we are at the rim of the canyon looking down. The elevation here starts at 8000 ft and goes up from there. My body does not appreciate the thin air, and I am having a difficult time hiking. Its frustrating to be breathing heavy after walking a short distance, but there isn’t much I can do about it except “take it easy” according to the ranger.
Bryce is home to “Hoodoos” which are rock spires created by the erosion of stone by ice and rain. There are about 200 days a year that temperatures in Bryce reach below freezing, and then thaw. That constant freeze and thaw action creates the spires by eroding away the softer stone that lies beneath a harder surface stone. Bryce Canyon also isn’t a true canyon, as canyons are usually created by rivers cutting through stone. There is no river here, just the effects of ice and rain. The spires range in color from bright orange to white, and really make an incredible first impression.
Our first day here I needed to acclimate, so we took the shuttle bus to various stops and looked at the different formations down in the canyon. It reminds me of Silly Sand- a toy I had when I was young- you use a small squirt bottle of sand and water and create whatever you want from sand. These spires look like that, on a much larger scale.
Several of the spires have names, but you can imagine them to be whatever you want. I definitely saw ET as we hiked along. There are several that look so much like castles that its difficult to believe that they aren’t man made.
Tuesday night we attended a ranger talk about the night sky. After an hour talk he led us all outside where 6 telescopes were set up. One was aimed at the moon, and the others were aimed at Saturn. For the first time ever, I got to see Saturn, complete with rings and 6 moons! We also got to see M-15, which is a cluster of stars in a different galaxy. We could have stayed longer and seen other sights, but it was 11 pm and we were tired.
After lunch we checked out the local town and fueled the truck.
This morning we did a 5 mile hike into the canyon, and afterwards drove the 17 mile scenic drive. I had already gotten some pictures of prairie dogs and Pronghorn Antelope, and I wanted to see what else is out there.
Zion and Bryce are both small parks-and both are very organized. Zion has a propane powered shuttle that stops at about 9 stops, “up canyon” and “down canyon”. There are no cars allowed on the roads, which actually makes sense from an environmental standpoint. At Bryce, cars are allowed on the road, but in most cases its just easier to take the shuttle. After seeing both parks I would have to say that even though Bryce makes an incredible first impression, once you have seen Hoodoos, they all begin to look the same. I am glad we saw them, but I won’t hurry back anytime soon.
