2012/06 Western USA trip - Bryce Canyon |
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Sunday June 10th
We were away early on a cool and sunny morning, heading back down to the 89 and then a short trip to the turn off for Bryce Canyon. The road took us through Red Canyon, which would be a lot more famous if it weren’t overshadowed by nearby Bryce. We drove straight through, expecting to take a better look on our way out.
Sandie and I had been to Bryce a couple of times in the last thirty years and I remembered Ruby’s Inn just outside the park but there are now miles of junky “attractions” cashing in on the park’s popularity. However, as we’d hoped, the campground had emptied out on a Sunday afternoon. We grabbed a good campsite and set out for the end of the canyon.
We drove out to the end of the road at Rainbow Point and worked our way back, walking some of the easy trails, those that stayed on the canyon rim. We found these Clarks nutcrackers on one of the trails; the parent was trying to wean the baby, who wasn’t cooperating, a very noisy exchange. As we came closer to the more popular overlooks we were jostling with the bus crowds again.
Some of the trees around us were pines, and I spotted these pine cones with green spikes. I think they are probably the cones of bristlecone pines, but it’s hard to be sure as most authorities rave about how old some of the trees are, like 4700 years, but don’t tell you where
the name came from. The flowers on the left are scarlet gilia.
Like Cedar Breaks, Bryce is a park where you look down at the sights, not Sandie’s favourite, as lots of sheer cliffs are involved. The colours at Bryce are mainly red and the columns and shapes and arches seem to go on forever. Like the original Mr. Bryce said “One helluva place to lose a cow.”
Bryce Canyon is one of those places where it doesn’t matter where you point your camera; you always have an interesting photo, but the 
pictures never seem to convey the feeling of being there. I’ve chosen a few here …………
We gave up at twilight and were looking for an easy meal. The Bryce Canyon Lodge was definitely out of our price range, while the Ruby’s
Inn Diner was cheap and unappealing. In the end, Ruby’s Inn Restaurant was just right and, just like Goldilocks, we were happy.