Bryce, Utah - Bryce National Park/Sunset RV Campground 8/23 - 8/27 2020 Travel Tour

   From: casarollnotes.blogspot.com 
Tim and Linda Bunyan

Less than 100 miles north of Zion, we travel via Scenic Byway 12, to Bryce Canyon National Park, southern Utah.  Established in 1928, Bryce was preserved as one of the most stunning landscapes on Earth!

Land Area:  36,000 acres

Geological Province:  Colorado Plateau/ Last part of the Cretaceous Period (145-66 M years ago) and the first half of the Cenozoic era

 (66-0 M years ago).

Hoodoo-forming Strata:  Claron Formation/ The Pink Member of soft limestone.

Elevation:  7,600 to 9,100 feet

The Grand Entrance to Bryce National Park

Using the Senior Pass to the entrance to Sunset Campground of the National Park

 $15.00/night (Snr half price).  No electrical hookup, but at 8500' elevation, no need for air conditioning.  We stayed 3 full days so the water fillup was plenty for the period of time; 

dump station at the exit.

We are eager to hike these trails that are nicely laid out.  Bryce is equally impressive as Zion!  These are the Rock Stars of our National Parks. 

This is a hiking trail Warning sign......my Warning: bring bottled water; one bottle per hour in summer.

The canyon is really a collection of giant natural amphitheaters with the thickest walls in the Grand Staircase.  Sheer walls are formed nearly 1/2 mile tall in many places.  One particularly show-stopping option Tim and I choose is the mile-long route between Sunrise Point and Sunset Point, which is breathtaking in the morning hours when golden light catches the colorful formations in a truly indescribable way. 

Hoodoos, formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks.  The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000' to 9,000' in elevation.

Visible limestone in the Grand Staircase forms this circle of painted cliffs..

The resilient Limber Pine can be found surviving in this dramatic landscape.

We choose the Queens Garden Trail where one, with a good eye, can find the hoodoo Queen.

These knobby, colorful columns of red rock are just as weird as their name: hoodoos. Their height (up to 150 feet) and vivid colors of these formations are remarkable to behold demonstrate Bryce has the most hoodoos in the world.

The evidence of the winter river stream that washes through the limestone carving shapes for millions of years.....and the Paria River tributary to the mighty Colorado River!

An International Dark Sky Park.

The trail is definitely up and down these cliff walls which makes for an exciting and interesting hike.

This is Upper Loop Trail which ends with a dramatic view of "Wall Street" hoodoos!

The broad overlook at 8,300' of the beautiful Bryce Canyon National Park.  The Bryce Point overlook offers fantastic views of hoodoos and grottos. 

 The Rim trail begins here and continues to Fairyland.  

We see windswept, mind-boggling vistas standing here on the edge at Bryce Point.

In the distance, you can spot Kodachrome Basin.  It is about 30 miles and we are going there next!

This is a visually magical, spiritual place.

A Colorado River tributary, the Paria River erodes headward in between two plateaus adjacent to the park.

Farview Point.  To our delight (and amazement) we find a Food Truck serving: ice cream.....at the National Park!

Our National Government (of the people) offer excellent parks.  Cheers to the government......and the ice cream found here at Bryce National Park!

The name tends to be misleading, Natural Bridge is one of several natural arches in Bryce Canyon and creates a beautiful scene at this viewpoint.  

This arch, sculpted from some of the reddest rock of the Claron Formation (rich in iron oxide minerals), poses a stark contrast to the dark green of the Ponderosa forest that peeks through the arch from the canyon below where the Paria River runs through.

Vast cliffs and canyon.  Not a dull view in any direction!

The top at 9,115' elevation, Rainbow Point viewing room.

The view of the famous bristlecone forest here in Bryce National Park.  Bristlecone Pines are among the oldest living organisms on earth.  Bristlecones are only found in six states.  Utah included.  We hiked to the grove in Great Basin National Park in Nevada this past June.

The Lodge at Bryce Canyon is set around a landmark 1920 building.  This rustic property in Bryce Canyon National Park is adjacent to the Rim Trail and 75 miles from Zion National Park.

Inside the lobby, the chandelier made with a pine log retains the rustic feel of the great lodge.

This covid year made for a few visitors.  Oddly, the lodge restaurant was open for pizza takeout and the cabins were open for the vacancy.

Tim looking at the Horsepower of this electric bike parked in front of the Lodge at Bryce Canyon.

Tourists arrived by horseback circa 1918.

Departing Bryce Canyon National Park, our drive through Bryce Canyon City.  The town is formerly known as Ruby's Inn.  Reuben C. "Ruby" Syrett built a lodge and cabins at this location in 1916 when the promotion of Bryce Canyon for tourism was just beginning,

We are headed to Kodachrome Basin Utah State Park, a mere 30 miles.