On The Road to Bryce Canyon National Park
/Who knew? Apparently many of you have experienced the beauty and magnificence of the rock formations at Bryce Canyon National Park! Your suggestions on social media prompted us to spend our last day of vacation exploring Bryce Canyon.
The adventure began on the drive to the park! We passed by mountainous canyons along SR 14 in Cedar City. We saw orange snow poles along the side of the road in the forest, to alert winter plow drivers where the road ends in several feet of snow. We passed by the Bristlecone Pine Trail, home to ancient trees that thrive in these high terrains. We were awestruck by Navajo Lake, which was formed by a prehistoric lava flow that dammed the east side of the valley! The Red Canyon, 14 miles outside of Bryce, just whet our appetite for what was to come.
We got our bearings at the Visitor’s Center and chose to drive the 18 mile trail to the southern end of the park. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see!
We continued down the trail, stopping to take pictures of the impressive structures, each one more breathtaking than the last.
At the end of the drive we hiked to the highest point at Bryce, and learned even more about this incredible park.
As we turned around to drive back, we made one last stop at the Bryce Amphitheater - the most visited section of the park, with good reason. Even with storm clouds moving in, the brilliance of the these structures simply take your breath away.
Not wanting this national park vacation to end, we sidetracked on the way back to the campsite at Kolab Canyon, back in Zion National Park - it was actually on the way, so not that much of a stretch!
The driving trail was short, but still breathtaking. We took a few (actually several) more pictures and made our way back to camp, the brilliant colors of the day still swirling in my head.