Part 12: Bryce Canyon, UT

20180515

The Trip

We spent the night at a conveniently located RV park in Escalante, UT in preparation for our trip into Bryce Canyon.  We struck out on two other campsites, so the RV park was a find.  It was new, nice and clean with big showers and plenty of hot water.  We had a quiet night and the following morning we headed toward Bryce Canyon.

The Photos

The photos below are what we saw.

Leaving Escalante we got a nice view of the surrounding cliffs.

Closer to Bryce the strata changed resulting in steep cliffs with "curtains".

Another change in the bedding produced layered hoodoos.

The eastern boundary of Bryce Canyon National Park has a phalanx of hoodoos standing guard over the road.

There was a line of vehicles waiting to get into the park.  Once we got past the toll booth, the road went up a ridge that gave us great views to the east.

The distant cliffs had large numbers of hoodoos and columns.

The lighter colored strata also produced hoodoos although not as intricate.

One of the viewpoints overlooked a natural bridge.

Most of the intricate hoodoos in Bryce lie along a sweeping set of cliffs perhaps 10 miles long.

In the distance we could see the 10,000 foot Aquarius Plateau.

The cliffs revealed white, yellow, red, pink and tan strata.

This section of cliffs had curtains and hoodoos.

This crow was working the crowd for treats.  I had nothing for him, but wish that I did.  The bird was reasonably tame or at least associated people with handouts.

This set of cliffs provided a eye-popping display of colors.

Hoodoos formed hundreds of feet below the crest of the cliff.

Each new viewpoint provided more grandeur.

Note the multiple fields of hoodoos on the far cliff.

Some of the structures were tall and narrow.

This hoodoo was particularly thin for tall structure.  Note the very thin hoodoos at the back right of the photo above.

There was another natural bridge eroded into the rock formation.

This dense gallery of hoodoos reminded me of Goblin Valley.

Weathering produced mile after mile of fantastical shapes.

This section had hoodoos eroded into fins in the cliff.

This hoodoo was much taller than its neighbors.



The tall mesa in the distance is home to a number of small lakes and many campgrounds.  We'll save this for a warm summer day in the future.



We exited Bryce Park and headed west through Red Canyon which, not surprisingly, had some nice hoodoos as well.

Bryce Canyon National Park is a one-of-a-kind natural wonder and is considered a part of the "big three" parks: Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyon.  Should your travels bring you to the area, it is a must see.

Tomorrow, we head to Zion National Park.  We have some concerns that due to the height of our rigs that we may not fit through the Zion Tunnels.  Should we be turned away, we will head for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as a fall-back before we have to be in Flagstaff for Overland Expo.

Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2018, all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.