Bryce Canyon City, UT

THUR., OCT 13, 2022 thru MON., OCT 17, 2022

On Thursday we had another pretty drive. This time from Torrey, Utah to Ruby’s RV Park & Campground just outside Bryce Canyon NP. We passed rolling hills, few cars, few towns and scattered homes… some quite wealthy on the big ranches. We’re all very excited to visit Bryce tomorrow! We have a nice site at Ruby’s. Only bummer is the Hannafords are several rows away. We’ll get our steps in walking back and forth! We enjoyed a Happy Hour with C&J outside before it got too cool. 

It was 28 degrees at 7AM on Friday, Oct. 14th. Thankfully it warmed up to the 60s during the day. Elevation is 7,664 thus the reason for the cold temps. The pod visited Bryce Canyon NP today. Stunning. Brought tears to my eyes. We learned it’s actually not a canyon at all but an amphitheater. Basically a big hole in the ground with the world’s largest collection of hoodoos aka vertical columns. To visit the main part of the national park, the amphitheater, it’s necessary to use their shuttle bus. Because there’s limited parking, you take the free shuttle and hop on and off at various stops. It makes it easier because you don’t have to worry about parking… particularly parking a big dually truck. 

Oh my, the colors… the rock formations… breathtaking. We walked several miles on the rim trail and no two vistas were the same. Joe and I did a detour to Upper Inspiration Point to enjoy the views from that vantage point. Cheryl & Gary didn’t feel like doing the added uphill climb. I did have to rest once or twice on the way up! This was the busiest of the parks we’ve visited so far in Utah. A fair number of families. Shouldn’t kids be in school???? And lots of Europeans. One who asked me to “please” step out of his picture. But he didn’t really mean please. I could tell! 

A short video from one vantage point at Bryce. The scope of it all is just amazing…

On Saturday we visited Red Canyon which is known as a mini Bryce Canyon. We passed the entrance to Red Canyon on Scenic Byway 12 when we arrived to the area on Thursday and were towing our tiny homes. We had to pass under two Arches which were very picturesque. It freaked Cheryl out but she did fine! 

Red Canyon is part of the Dixie National Forest which is the second largest national forest in Utah and covers almost 2 million acres. Wow. We spoke with the ranger and put together a 2.5 mile hike, which we thought was going to be “easy” but it was ranked as “moderate.” We usually tend to avoid those! There was loose rock to slip and slide on, and there was the skinniest of paths to follow with sheer drops along one side. But we all survived intact, and we enjoyed beautiful views so it was worth it!

On Sunday, Oct. 16th, we visited Kodachrome Basin State Park named by a National Geographic Expedition in 1949 for its spectacular colors. There are 67 monolithic stone spires called “sand pipes” and “chimneys” that dot this area. These pipes are not known to exist anywhere else in the world, and as the name implies, they are made of sand but a hard-packed version of sand. Some of the roads inside the park were in rough shape. We did 2 hikes here. One to Sentinel Spire… until the trail got to squirrely. Joe was the bravest of the bunch and actually walked the sheer trail to what we think was the spire. The rest of said no thank you. The other trail called Angels Palace also got a little sketchy at the end with a narrow path and a drop-off on each side. We stopped before that. The pod wants to live to see another day! 

On the drive back home we stopped at Mossy Cave, part of Bryce, and hiked that. Gary sat that one out. One of the formations looked like a fairy tale cottage to Cheryl & I. The afternoon light was beautiful on the rock walls. By the end of the day my watch said the pod walked 4.25+ miles and the equivalent of 20+ flights of stairs. All in a day’s exploration!

A short video from one of the views from the Mossy Cave trail in Bryce. 

On Monday, Oct. 17th, the pod headed back into Bryce in the afternoon to explore the 18-mile scenic drive stopping at various view points and traveling almost 1,500 ft in elevation. A bit chilly! The highlights being Rainbow Point at the very end with expansive views, and we did a fun mile hike on Bristlecone Loop. Plus visiting Natural Bridge which was gorgeous. The other highlight at the end of our touring was stopping at Fairyland Point to see a much smaller/intimate amphitheater. Just beautiful. AND a herd of about 40 elk grazing in the woods on the side of the road. Beyond cool! A great way to end our visit at Bryce Canyon NP!