The Pizza Place Tropic

... too, don't worry dad, I set up your tent almost 90% problem-free! After a ranger talk at 5pm, we er, well it was sort of my fault - we were meant to get the last shuttle bus to Bryce Canyon Lodge which was going to have an astronomy talk there, but the woman driving the bus (who originally had LODGE written on its top) didn't tell us that the bus wasn't going to the lodge at ...

... water erosion. In this part of the basin, the erosion left craggy canyons and towering pillars of sandstone and other harder rocks called 'hoodoos.'

The views were gorgeous throughout the park. Deep canyons carved out by water predominated the landscape, all of it in bright pink, red, and orange hues. Intricate patterns were also created in mountainsides by weathering including arches (see pictures).

I loved the park, and it's unique ...

... the yellow Arrowleaf balsamroot are abundant; they look like yellow daisies. We spotted several mule deer and several times another animal we later learned was the pronghorn antelope, which has been reintroduced into the area. Each was feeding alone in grassy meadows. An unusual shrub called Manzanita was everywhere in the higher elevations. DAY 43, Thursday, May 28-Our second day in Bryce we arrived at the park by 9:00 a.m. prepared for the ...

... at 7777 feet altitude, or 2375 metres. That is higher than Mt Kosciuszko. The highest lookout is at over 9000 feet. There is still snow on the ground in places, enough for us to enjoy a snowball fight. Our first view of Bryce Canyon was from Rainbow Point, the last lookout at the end of the road. Wow! A valley of multicoloured hoodoos, or limestone rock formations. Some are in rows and look like little men in ...

... byway 12, één van de mooiste wegen in Amerika. Deze weg brengt ons langs Red Canyon (en die is inderdaad erg rood), door het Dixie National Forest en tot Bryce Canyon. Morgen gaan we wandelen in Bryce maar nu maken we al de scenic drive met de auto. (18 miles, 29 km) Tijdens het zomerseizoen rijdt er langs deze weg ook een shuttle maar die is sinds 15 oktober gestopt. We moeten dus een wandeling kiezen die begint en ...

... i crashed and was asleep within 10 minutes.  I woke up early the next morning, mainly because my driver was throwing stuff at me to wake me up...i sat up and looked around and realised we were back in California. We stopped for breakfast, by this point we only had a few of us on the bus as loads of people had got off in Vegas. I had a 'truckers muffin' for breakfast which i decided sounded dodgy, i ordered it with a striaght face, everyone laughed! WE drove through the ...

... internet,aria condizionata, bagno con doccia, insomma tutti i comfort possibili. Vista l'ora, sono le 18, poso la valigia, mi sistemo e via verso il Bryce canyon. Da Tropic è vicinissimo, tempo 15 min sono davanti al Ruby's inn. Vado a vedermi i negozietti davanti al Ruby's e anche il general store sempre del Ruby's dove mi compro qualche dolcetto per il pre-nanna. Stavo per farmi prendere dalla frenesia generale di comprare il classico cappello da cowboy...ma ...

... towns off the beaten track, looking at the scenery, and conversation between us was enough to entertain me for hours on end, and that made me smile. Some of the towns we drove through were amazingly small, and I noticed that I was making up scenarios for each little town and wondering what the townspeople must be like. We stopped at a very local burger joint and had some lunch (Chad of course got his corndog), and I eavesdropped on a few of the local men talking with pride ...

... good for the pores not good for the shoes. It didn't bother us much though because the scenery was amazing. As you can see from the pictures these National Parks are not letting us down. After washing off we hit the road once more. Off to ZION. This is one of Kara's Picks for the trip and she has let me know that it will not disappoint. Hope you all enjoy the pictures and some March Madness!!! Chris and Kara

... in the park was a short but spectacular hike called along a tall rock wall known as Park Avenue since the tall rocks resemble the skyscrapers in New York City. It's an easy hike down to the bottom of a large wash that ends at the foot of several awesome rock formations known as The Three Gossips, The Organ, and The Courthouse Towers. Early in the morning this hike is mainly in the shade which made it a bit cold but we were so excited to see blue sky and to be out of the car that we ...