Bryce Canyon National Park

We arrived at Bryce Canyon Pines RV Park on Saturday.  We took Highway 22 through a valley between the mountains making for a pleasant and pretty easy drive over to Bryce City.  We ate lunch and then decided to make the short 10 minute drive to the park.

We weren't quite prepared for the awe inspiring view of the canyon.  I can only compare it to when I saw Grand Canyon, it just takes your breath away for that split second when you first see it.  Again, pictures just can't show its total beauty, but I'll try. :)

We were only going to drive around a little, but we kept walking to the next view point.  This is even higher at Sunrise Point.

 We spent several hours at the park, then decided to call it a day and head home.  We decided the next day we were going to take the trail down to the bottom of the canyon, across, and up to the other side.  It would be a little less that 3 miles.

The skies were beautiful Sunday when we arrived at Sunset Point about 10:00 to start our hike downward.  As you descend into the canyon, you get a feeling of just how large the hoodoos (rock formations) are.  You can see people at the bottom center of the first picture and bottom left of the next to get the perspective.

We got to the bottom and couldn't get over how the hoodoos tower over you.  The trees were also gigantic, but they were dwarfed by the rocks.

We walked across the bottom even passing through some of the formations carved out for the path.

It took us about 2 1/2 hours to complete the trek through the canyon, but it was worth every climb and out of breath moment I had.  This hike is listed as one of the top 20 in National Geographic National Parks Hikes and it is definitely a hike we will not soon forget!

We went home to grab a quick lunch and then returned to the park to finish the driving tour to the tip.  There were many beautiful stops overlooking canyons and more formations.

 This is Fairyland Canyons and that is just what it reminds you of, either a giant fairyland or giant sandcastle formations.

 This is Natural Bridge.  It is actually an arch carved by wind and water and not a bridge that was carved by water alone.  It really doesn't matter, it's just gorgeous!

Since we had seen most of the canyon, on Monday we decided to take the Scenic Byway on Highway 12.  Our first stop was the short hike to the Mossy Cave and waterfalls.

We proceeded on Highway 12 through Escalante and then towards Boulder.  Before you get to Boulder, you come across or I should say through these giant red rock mountains.  This was another way we could have come from Torrey, but we were real glad we didn't when we saw the curvy roads and 14% grade signs.

We made it to Boulder, then turned around to see the magnificent scenery the other way.  Today, we are pretty much stuck inside with rain that is forecasted to last all day.  It does look like it will clear out before we leave tomorrow.  Next stop, Zion National Park.