10/5 - That Old Hoodoo (you do so well)

This was our full day at Bryce Canyon,which we had not seen the previous day (arriving late). While I was up by 7am, it proved somewhat difficult to rouse the rest of the family. However we were finally, up and about and on our way by 9:30am. It was quitea thing to sit outside our hotel room (right onthe highwaythrough the little townof Tropic) andenjoy the warm morning sunshine while gazing at the distant cliffs,and down the wide western main street of town.

For those not familiar with Bryce it is famous for erosion features known as hoodoos- tall columns of typically red sandstone. Likethe grand canyon theapproach the park from the top or rim of the canyon,gazing down and walking down into it. However it is far more human scale in size - walking to the bottom of the canyon is something that anyone with a modicum of fitness can achieve, and it is simply much smaller in all senses. However that reduction in size makes it easier (I believe) for people to appreciate Bryce (than the grand)- because the dimensions are more "human".

The drive to Bryce Canyon itself is quite breath-taking, even passing one of the better known park walks (though its outside the park), as well as passing some awesome cliffs and even driving through a couple of arches.

Based on some guidebookreading we chose to do theNavajo Loop, into the Queen's Garden walk. This was listed as a full day walk by the guidebook, but we finished bylunchtime. In part this wasprobably because one loopof the Navajo loop was closed due to a rock fall. As you get lower into the canyon pines begin to spring up and I really enjoyed the contrast of the green pines with the red sandy background. It was a pleasant olfactory experience also being spring. Once again I realised that the "spirit" that I like to take these walks with, is at odds with the rest of the family. That made for some tension.

For lunch we went to the park's lodge (being much smaller than the grand it has a single lodge - which is very stylish while still being traditional) -which I highly recommend. The food was top notch - delicious,fresh,innovative, and very reasonably priced. We tried to have dinner there that night, but even those with bookings were experiencing delays.

After lunch we took in some of the well known viewing sites (e.g., Inspiration Point...jokes about "parking" will go unsaid) before heading to the Mossy Cave walk. This is a family-friendly walk as it is short, is water based (a nice rapidly flowing stream and waterfall), and has some greatscenery. We spent a good chunk of the afternoon there that included disturbing a baby snake (unsure of the type - it slithered into the water and was swept away), having a water-fight, and climbing up a steep gravelly path to a high arch.

We ended up having dinner at a place called Ruby's which, as opposed to the Lodge, I recommend you steer well clear of (I was that $%^-off with their service and pricing). Perhaps it was this on top of other cumulative factors that made me on this day feel quite weary with the trip.

Driving back to our hotel we had 2 close encounters with deer; one rather dangerous as they were in the middle of a dark mountain road that we were descending with some rapidity.