This park turned out to be one of our favorites yet. The scenery of all the hoodoos nestled in what the park calls its amphitheater was astonishing. Without comment we will show some of the beauty we captured during our visits:
As is always the case, the pictures do not do justice to seeing this beauty in person but, still a nice picture of part of the amphitheater.
We spent two days doing two different hikes. Day one was down into the amphitheater and back out again and day two was the 6 mile hike around the rim of the amphitheater.
This little rattler did not do a good job hiding under the log. At least none of the tourists we saw tried to take a selfie with it.
The hike back up out of the amphitheater was nicely switchbacked. Got to keep the grade to a maximum of 10% you know.
The sandstone in the area is very porous and lets water drain nicely but evidently it is solid enough to force these trees to spread their root tentacles far and wide in search of a drink.
There were two separate tunnels blown through the sandstone for us touristy types to have an easier hike. Very cool.
Had to take a picture of this contraption used for hauling “stuff” to the job sites throughout the canyon, We could use one of these back home for trail work on the Finger Lakes Trail.
As Bryce Canyon has the most dense population of hoodoos in the world we wondered why and how they formed. The thin layer of rock at the top of a plateau protects the softer dirt below from eroding away. This forms all the “fins” we see in the distance at the park. Then the freeze/thaw cycle due to the park being at over 8000 feet of elevation causes holes to form in the fins called “windows”. Then finally, as the windows expand over time it causes the caprock to collapse forming a hoodoo. The entire process occurs over millions of years so we do not figure on coming back in a year or two and finding brand new hoodoos.
The last time we saw these yellow signs warning of prairie dogs was in the Dakotas where their population is more than the human population.
Always nice to see our tax dollars (and our $80 yearly pass fee) being put to good use. The National Park system does a fabulous job keeping things up at the parks.
Has anyone heard of a “bindlestiff?” We recently finished reading a book on the dust bowl and heard this word used to describe a hobo usually hanging around railyards looking for a ride. They also must carry a stick with a sack full of belongings tied to it. Had to take the picture after having just added the word to our vocabulary.
We are used to cows back in the northeast being a bit more polite when trying to cross the road. These ladies were only a small part of the herd that kept us gawking for quite a while. Notice the “beware of cows in the road” sign in the background. Guess the cows did not realize they should have crossed after the sign.
Check out this cute little Christmas tree growing on the side of a hoodoo. Where nature decides to plant trees?
We are getting to the point in our travels that we can say whether or not we will likely be back to a certain area. We will be back to Bryce for sure.
Looks very big, not Grand per se but large.
What a beautiful view of the amphitheater! Were the acoustics similar to our typical amphitheaters?
Never seen a prairie dog, let alone a sign to watch for them. Quite different out west!