Page and Bryce Canyon

  Page, Arizona, United States
Sunday, October 19, 2008

Since we made good progress with the journey towards Bryce last night, we didn't have far to drive this morning. Within an hour arrived at the visitor centre of Bryce Canyon National Park.

Bryce Canyon amphitheatre

Some silly shaped rocks

The hiking trail at Bryce

Lots of lovely pinnacles

Here again there were plenty of tourists, but since it was still relatively early there were not quite the droves that we were met with yesterday in Zion. We checked the message board for the latest updates on weather and conditions in the park and read the details of the different hiking possibilities. We chose the "most popular" trail, hoping that this wouldn't mean that we would be walking it in one long procession with thousands of other visitors. Even so, it was the best pick since it was listed as "the greatest 3-mile hike in the world". Sounds promising...


The trailhead was at Sunset point, a fantastic lookout over the wide expanse of the Bryce Canyon amphitheatre.

Mark out for a walk

Dramatic rock compositions and a dramatic sky

Spread out below us were rocky pinnacles in varying shades of cream, pink and terracotta. We could see glimpses of the path winding its way between them and it didn't look overcrowded. Since it was a loop-trail with half a mile of it stretching along the rim trail between this lookout and Sunrise point, we had to decide which way to approach it. We followed the advice given in the guidebook opted for the clockwise loop, first making our way to Sunset point where we could admire the amphitheatre from a slightly different angle. From there, the trail led down in a series of steep switchbacks, the views changing all the time as we descended into the forest of sandstone formations. This part of the hike is along what is known as the Queen's Garden trail, the name only explaining itself right at the end when we were deep in the valley.

Queen Victoria surveying her realm

A chipmonk playing in Queen Victoria's Garden

There, from between the pine trees we could look up to the top of one of the pinnacles where the pinky-rock formed an undeniable likeness to the outline of Queen Victoria. It wasn't just the Queen's Garden that we were wandering in, it was Queen Victoria's Garden! This British connection didn't seem to put the wildlife off, the American chipmunks happily scampered around chasing one another without a care in the world.


From the Queen's Garden we joined the Navajo loop trail for the second and more demanding half of our hike. We had to climb back out of the amphitheatre to the ridge several hundred feet above.

Wall Street slot canyon

Walking through Wall Street

And not just any old how, but on a path that led us through "Wall Street" - a crimson coloured "slot canyon" where the straight, high walls were just a few metres apart. Now we also understood why the clockwise loop is recommended: what a specatular way to end a hike. In between the canyon's walls there were a handfull of pine trees, two of which are thought to be 500 years old, whose tall, broad trunks stretch proudly upwards in parallel to the rockface. The trail does get nice and steep again, which is tough on the legs and lungs at this altitude, but the dramatic surroundings well and truly make up for the effort and the hike is far less demanding than the one we did at the Grand Canyon.

Laura at a Bryce lookout

Back on top, we enjoyed a picknick lunch in the sunshine with all of the delicious supplies that we had cleverly stocked our coolbox with.


From Bryce we drove south, back the way we had come this morning and then on east towards Page which we had selected as our destination for the night. Coming into Page, you cross another big dam, the Glen Canyon Dam, just 6 feet shorter than the Hoover Dam and equally important to water regulation and energy production in this region of the USA. Behind the dam is another lake (Lake Powell). This one is a pristine, bold blue today - a colour that is made even more powerful by the red rocks of the canyon walls that frame it. We inquired into the possibility of going on a cruise on the lake to admire some of the Canyon's features from the water, but this would be nearly 70 dollars per person and - perhaps because we are still traumatised because of the high cost of things in Vegas - we decided that was more than we were willing to fork out.

Lake Powell behind Glen Canyon Dam

Instead, we carried on into Page and found a room at the Days Inn, one fully equipped with fridge and microwave. Once we had put our washing on in the guest laundry we popped across the road to Wal-Mart to do some shopping so that we could enjoy a first (very successful) taste of American microwave meals back at our room. Neither of us quite dare to admit it, but the microwave meal does make rather a good - and INCREDIBLY cheap - alternative to eating out after so many days on the road.