These adventurous photographers spent our last day in the beautiful Bryce Canyon National Park soaking up every view we possibly could! We rose early for one last fiery sunrise, and we kept our boots on the trail as long as we could before taking the grueling trip back to Salt Lake (why, oh why didn’t any of us look at a map before we booked our flights??). We were loath to leave, but we could only shoot so many hoodoos… right?
After a morning being drawn in by the trails, we took things a bit easy, sampling this magnificent park from the road.. until our itchy feet lured us back out to the trails once more. In a place like this, we just couldn’t help ourselves!
We visited both Sunrise Point and Sunset Point in Bryce Canyon National Park, and we found they really aren’t very different. Spaced just a half mile apart, you can get the same views from both. However, Sunrise gives more of the valley floor and the northern distance, while Sunset focuses more on a little southern inlet.
After a spectacular morning being awed by Bryce, the trail called. And this wasn’t an “oh, we should check that one out later” or even a “that trail looks interesting; let’s pack up our camera gear and go for a hike!” Nope. This was a “ooh, I wonder what’s down that way… I must find out now; forget that I still have all of my camera equipment on me!”
Trails do that to some folks. Especially explorers like us. And especially in a place as beautiful as Bryce.
I am quickly finding that most of Bryce is a Weekly Wow. After all, how many places in the world have these unlikely geological features? The colors – the rich red of the rocks, the deep green of the trees, the vibrant blue of the morning sky – all accentuated by the pure white of the snow, are hypnotic. When we were there, we just stared at the valley; the scene never grew old.
Zion was wonderful. We got to see one of the oldest national parks in the country, we experienced some crazy hikes, and we snapped some cool photos. However, from the moment we came within half an hour of Bryce, we were blown away.
About two months later, and we’re finally to Part II of our little trip to Bryce and Zion National Parks. Much like Yosemite, we ventured out to these parks in late winter not only to avoid crowds but also in the hopes of finding snow. We were pretty disappointed in that endeavor with Zion, but Bryce was ready to deliver.
If Bryce Canyon is beautiful in the summertime, with its rust-red hoodoos and fiery vistas, snow only takes it up a notch by contrasting those rich colors with its pure white. Continue reading
Day 2 of our stay in Zion National Park was fairly low-key. After all, we were pretty beat after the crazy climb to the top of Angels Landing! We started the day with a cold wait for sunrise at the Canyon Overlook, and then we took a leisurely stroll to see the Zion’s Emerald Pools.
Spoiler alert: It was somewhat disappointing.
I’m somewhat beginning to adopt a habit of posting my “weekly wow”s every other week, so I suppose they’re more of a “biweekly wow.” I still have so much to share from this trip! I hope you’re enjoying the journey.
After our rainy bust at Zion’s Canyon Overlook the morning prior, we had to give it another chance. After all, the golden rays of dawn are supposed to be spectacular on this national park’s red rocks.
So I love surprises. But sometimes, that affinity comes at my own detriment. Because of this proclivity, I was hardly involved in the planning for our recent trip to Bryce and Zion, and I didn’t know anything about the Angels Landing hike.
I had no idea what I was about to experience.
We set out for a 5-mile hike. That’s fine. I can handle that, no problem. There would be some elevation gain. That’s fine, too; I’m used to such hikes from Colorado. There will be epic views. Awesome! Sign me up!
Somewhere in there, I either didn’t hear or forgot all mention of chains.
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