Bryce Canyon

Yovimpa Point, Bryce Canyon

We took picturesque Utah 12 to Bryce Canyon. The highway goes through Escalante Staircase National Monument. The highway climbs along a ridge and there are deep canyons on either side of your vehicle. The road continues to go up and down through various rock formations, simply spectacular. As we approached Bryce Canyon, we could see the bright red hoodoo formations in the distance before we entered the park. We arrived before noon and found a nice campsite in the park. In the afternoon, we took the scenic road. One goes to the end of the road and then returns stopping at each of the viewpoints. Close-up are the hoodoos of the Canyon and in the distance are the mountains of Escalante.

Along Queens Garden Trail

After our car tour, I decided to try the Queen’s Garden – Navaho Loop trail. The trail descends about 320 feet from the rim of the canyon, so soon the hoodoo formations are rising above you. The Queen’s garden is so named because one of those formations looks like a statue of Queen Victoria. The connecting path to the Navaho Trail is fairly flat in a pine forest. When you get to the Navaho trail, you can choose one of two directions to get back to the top. I chose the Wall Street route because last time we were here it was closed due to a recent rain storm. It was quickly evident why this would close, it is very steep with the walls of the canyon rising above you on both sides. Rain causes the trail to become a muddy stream carrying away what comes off the walls. After dinner we returned to Sunset Point to observe the sunset, but there wasn’t many clouds so it was disappointing. We then went to the ranger talk on the geology of the area. It was a good talk – we learned how the colors and composition of the rock tell you whether that was created in deep ocean, shallow shore, beach, river, or sand dunes. All produce different types of sandstone. 

Wall Street