Deborah and I have endless photos of pink rocks (and some other colors) and us standing at various overlooks. Please excuse us if we are enthused by rocks and the amazing views of Bryce Canyon National Park.
(Bryce Point, my hand is on the railing, and I notice my feet are apart to keep me balanced!).
Our day started early, just after six, and we reached the complimentary buffet breakfast in the restaurant. It was not quite the industrial version from IHG, but it was not much more. I was hoping for an omelet bar or excellent baked goods. Nope, but it still worked. Deborah did have to buy some yogurt as theirs was more like ice cream and loaded with sugar. We did refill our water bottles.
Bryce Canyon is about four miles away, and we soon, I wearing a sweater, coat, and hat, and Deborah also in layers, reached the entrance. The rangers were not there, so you drove through. We then tried the visitor center to learn if there was anything we should know. We met Ranger Ben, who gave us a map and pointed out that parking in the park becomes difficult around 10 in Sunset Point. He also validated that a geology talk would be given at Sunset Point at 11. I found some postcards and stamped our map with the park stamp. Someday, I will invest in a US National Park passport book. I have an Arches National Park stamp on a piece of paper.
We had planned to drive to the end of the park, but after discussing it, we used the park map we were given and instead stayed in the Bryce Amphitheater Area for the morning and start of the afternoon. We first stopped at Sunrise Point (it was well past sunrise when we got there) and were blown away by the Hoodoos and structure of Bryce Canyon. We walked and took pictures for about an hour just at this first one. We walked the easy cement trails and a few gravel paths (never walking off-trail — there are cliffs everywhere).
We walked back to the Hyandia and then to the General Store at the Sunrise area. There we purchased some sandwiches and drinks. We put this in the insulated bag Deborah got on our first day of traveling. This kept the food cool in the car while we walked and looked at even more pinkish rocks.
We headed to Sunset Point and circled the parking lot three times until someone pulled out and we got a spot. Just luck. We then walked along the cement paths and soon reached the overlook. We walk down part of the Queen’s Garden Trail. I found my balance issue only surfaces when standing on uneven surfaces with one foot higher than the other; I sway. Not a good thing, so I climbed back out of the trail, but we were still quite happy to walk some of it and see into the canyon.
(I found a rock to hold on to while I was on the path)
Next, we saw an overlook not far and started to walk to it. We found a sign that explained where we were between the two overlooks. Yes, we were walking back to the same place. We laughed and headed back. We found the benches where the talk was to be given, and to our surprise, it was the same ranger, Ben, we had met before.
Ranger Ben covered altitude sickness first and asked if everyone was OK. It is a serious risk here, he explained, and asked us all to be careful and aware, “We will get you oxygen if you need it.” Then Ben spotted some folks off-trail, heading toward a cliff, while trying to give his lecture. Ben stopped, ran, yelled, and whistled, and the folks got back on the trail. He said flatly, “We call that part of the cliff The Diving Board,” and then returned to his lecture. He reminded us multiple times to stay on-trail in the park as he told the park’s geological story.
Ben gave a very interesting history of the geology from the science he understood. He said there may be other beliefs, but as a ranger and someone interested in geology, he would stick to the scientific answers. He covered the age of the rocks and what we could see formed them, and later, when asked by Deborah, he covered what dinosaur fossil fragments they found here (reptiles, water-based creatures, featured in a recent movie, and others). Most of the rock we see, he explained, was not from that time period but after the extinction. He did say that if we looked far to a cliff across the park, the bands of gray-green were from the time of dinosaurs.
Ben did a marvelous job. We learned much. Next, we were hungry and showing signs of altitude sickness (8,400 feet), so we grabbed a picnic table and had lunch and water. Food and water helped, but we were both suddenly tired and decided to rest at the hotel (down to 7,670 feet). We arrived without issue, and soon I was sleeping, and Deborah was reading. We cleaned up and spent some time together.
We then returned to our original plan and drove to the end of the park. It seemed to take forever, and we were over 9,000 feet when we reached Rainbow Point. It was windy and cold, but the view was amazing. There was snow here and there, and it froze at night, according to Ranger Ben’s lecture. 
We then stopped a few times and found amazing vistas with Aqua Canyon being especially lovely. The Land Bridge was an amazing arc. And our last stop was Bryce Point with a walk out into the canyon, seemingly glued to a few stones (at least to me). The wind suddenly picked up, and I managed to save my hat by taking it off early when I heard it. I had to hold on to the railing, and I kept imagining falling off. But it was a wonderful view, mesmerizing.
Next, we headed to the Lodge. Utah’s National Park Lonely Planet Guide was excellent (Deborah found it the night before in the General Store at Ruby’s Inn), and it suggested the Lodge parking to see the Sunset and Sunrise points, but we covered them in the morning. Instead, we got a table by the window and had a lovely dinner and drinks in the park for way too much money (But Ruby’s and other places have been expensive), and at least we got to eat in one of the historic Great Parks Lodge.
After that, we went out to the rim again, only to discover it was between Sunset and Sunrise points. We did this spot in the morning. Laughing, we headed back to Ruby’s Inn. I gassed the car for a war-inflated price of $4.49 a gallon.
Today was a No Kings Protest across the USA. Our friends were out there trying to make things better. Thank you.
And that takes me to now. I am tired and trying to write. Thanks for reading!
Alohawild (Michael Wild's) Website 