An afternoon walk with the hoodoos

  Bryce Canyon, Utah, United States
Thursday, August 14, 2008

The next day we headed on to Bryce. The drive was only 120 miles, but went through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park. Deb started up driving and we climbed to the top of the plateau through forests of aspen and pine. This is the Dixie National Forest so there are large grassy meadows as well as the aspens. We have marked this as a place to come back to next fall on our foliage trip. The mountains and valleys should be glorious with the golden aspens. After we got to the summit, we switched and I began driving which turned out to be a good thing with Deb's acrophobia. The road went up and down, around switchbacks, and then ran down a narrow twisty road which ran along a mountain ridge for six miles with thousand foot drop offs to either side and 10% downhill grades. I'm always a little uncomfortable doing this kind of run and was glad when we finally got to the more level ground as we neared Bryce. We had never come into Bryce from the east. It is a beautiful road with the hoodoos on either side of the road as you climb up out of the canyon to the plateau above.
 
We pulled into the campground at Ruby's Inn just outside the gates of Bryce Canyon National Park. Ruby's Inn is an outgrowth of the stage and auto stop that Ruby set up when the government bought his land to complete the park. His original setup ran tours and provided supplies to the people who came up to see the canyon. When they bought his land, he relocated just outside the park gates and set up shop again. The complex now contains the RV campground, a hotel, restaurant, grocery store, and a gas station and repair facility. They do a bang up business and gouge on prices.
 
After we got encamped for the day, we parked the car as Sunset Point and then caught the shuttle bus to Bryce Point, the highest point in the park. We had made the hike along the rim trail when we were in Bryce in 2006 and knew that the views were spectacular.

Bryce Panorama 1

Again, the park was packed with flocks of Europeans, each flock with its own language. Surprisingly though, they seemed to only stay at the overlooks that had auto or shuttle bus access. Once we hit the trail and walked beyond the first bend and descent, we were alone with the beauty of the canyon.

Bryce PM 1

We walked in solitude only meeting an occasional hiker.

Bryce PM 4

As we neared Inspiration Point, we again began to encounter the hoards until we passed through and regained the trail leading to Sunset Point. However, the trail between Inspiration and Sunset Points is a popular walk since it is paved and fairly level. Still the views are wonderful and there were fewer people than at the overlooks.

Bryce PM 5

We finally reached Sunset Point about 4:30PM and drove back to camp for our afternoon cocktail and dinner.