Thursday, September 25, 2014

Bryce Canyon National Park

Wednesday, I went off to Bryce Canyon National Park. I took the shuttle on the round trip through the first 3 miles or so of the 18 mile length of the road through the park. The first stop was at Bryce Point.
Looking at the Hoodoos (those free-standing spires) and seeing how they start, continue and disappear was fascinating. Reading all the material about them, the geology and history was very informative. The three stages are shown above: 1. Grooves down the cliff face 2. Freestanding arches 3. Hoodoos.

This particular one was above a huge "amphitheater" of trails, trees, hoodoos and more. After riding the shuttle to Bryce Point, I came back in my car to "Inspiration Point." There were three levels to view the spot from, but I was only able to reach the first two. The third was up a relatively steep path (not real steep but at 8300 feet, more than I could do).
If I were young and a hiker (and more in shape!) I would be interesting in hiking these spots. At my age, I can barely breathe at this altitude.

On the way to and from Bryce Canyon, you drive through Dixie National Forest. One of the stops is at Red Canyon. The road goes through two "tunnels" that were dug through a couple of rocky places. They were both about 10 feet long. At the visitor center, there is a short hike to see the Hoodoos close up.
Also on the way back, the road goes up into the subalpine area with the aspens. I found this little dirt road on the way back and took a short drive before I turned around. The colors are glorious.
I was tired when I got home (76 miles each way of driving and all the walking around) so Thursday (today) is a rest day. Friday will also be a rest day, since Saturday I am leaving.

Today, I made shades out of cloth used to darken rooms to replace the plastic, broken up shades in the trailer. No more holes in the shades. Some of them were big enough to stick your head through and made me far more visible than I would really have wanted to be.

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