Day Three ~ Bryce Canyon

Spring View on rd to Bryce, originally uploaded by ivoryblushroses.

On the third day of my trip, I drove north from Kanab through an area known as Long Valley. Like Kanab, it was beautifully green and spring was making her presence known. Seeing the lush green fields was a lift to my heart! The road is dotted with small towns with cute litte old houses, lovely gardens and flowering trees making it a delightful journey!


The road into Bryce Canyon first travels though an area known as Red Canyon. Here, the road winds between the red hoodoos. What fantastic formations some of them have!


The road passes through two tunnel arches carved through the red rocks of Red Canyon. Quite picturesque!


Still a bit tired and sore from hiking in Zion the day before, today I kept my explorations to primarily an auto tour, stopping at the various overlooks in the park. This view is near Sunrise Point. Like Zion, it's hard for photographs to convey the size and true perspective of these amazing landforms.


At Sunset point, you can look down on the trails winding their way amongst the formations. This trail is the Navaho Loop trail wending its way though an area known as Wall Street! Look closely and you can see people on the trail, which gives a bit of an idea of the scale of things!


From another view at Sunset Point you look out over the top of hundreds of hoodoos. What a fantastical landscape! The Paiutes believed that the hoodoos were people and creatures who had been turned to stone and that if you looked closely, you could still see the paint on their faces.


From Bryce Point, you can see the Grotto. To me it looks like a cut-away view of a great cathedral complete with worshipers inside.


Further along the plateau rim, other formation jut out. This one makes me think of a walled fortress with windows and decorative battlements.


One of the most spectacular formations in the park is this arch, known as Natural Bridge. It was fun to listen to people's response as they first saw it! Lots of oohs! and ahhs!

After spending the day enjoying the fantastical scenery of Bryce, I made my way back to Parry Lodge in Kanab. The grass had just been cut, filling the air with a delightful smell. Flagstaff has very little green grass and I hadn't smelled fresh cut grass in close to three years! The robins were singing and I spent a delightfully relaxing evening enjoying the spring air!