Day 8: Friday, October 1, 2010
Back on the Road
So, Thursday was pretty much a wash. Crashed in the Days Inn from about noon until 9 Friday morning. I was feeling much better by the time bed time rolled around, and when I woke up, I felt much better, and ready to head down to Bryce Canyon. Winger was feeling better, but still not near where she wanted to be.
The most striking thing about waking up was that there were honest to goodness clouds in the sky!
We packed up and left Torrey around 9 and headed down Scenic Route 12 towards Bryce. Its not the most direct route, but it’s a can’t miss drive. The drive took us into the Dixie National Forest. The foliage was a lot different than we have in New England, not as many different colors, but it was still beautiful. Not to mention, there were open range cows EVERYWHERE. After passing through the forest, we found ourselves in the Grand Staircase Escalante. The change in landscape was pretty amazing, and we ended up driving on a narrow ridge with huge drop offs on each side. It honestly was hard to not stop every 5 minutes and take some photos. And there were plenty of pull offs to do that, but Bryce was calling.
We made it to Bryce around noon and found a campsite at Ruby’s RV and Campground just outside the park which would prove to be convenient.
After checking in at the visitor’s center and driving a bit, Winger determined that she wouldn’t be able to do too much walking around, as she was still wiped out from the sickness so after driving to a couple of overlooks accessible from the car (a theme we developed for a future Lazy Photography Travel Blog idea ;) ) I dropped her back off at the camp site, and returned to the park to do some hiking.
One thing to take into consideration with Bryce is the elevation. A lot of the parks are pretty high up but Bryce is mostly between 8-10,000 feet. I did a short hike into the Canyon called the Queens Garden Trail which was a total of 1.6 miles round trip. The trip in was all downhill which, of course ,meant the trip up was uphill. It was pretty impressive being amongst the hoodoos. I think that Bryce is my favorite, so far, of the parks, though its pretty small, and not that diverse. I met some cool people along the trail including a couple of dudes from Mass and Rhode Island. Took a break for some snacks (apple and cliff bar) and more water (I made sure to keep plenty hydrated after the previous issues) and hiked back up to the Sunrise point.
After grilling up some grilled cheese for dinner, we headed back into the park to check out Sunset point, but Sunrise point was where we watched the sun set.
Back at the camp site, you could feel the temperature dropping. I bundled up in a hooded sweatshirt and flannel pants and was pretty comfy…The goal for tomorrow was to wake up for sunrise at Sunset Point, pack up the tent and head down to Zion for our final stop….
Back on the Road
So, Thursday was pretty much a wash. Crashed in the Days Inn from about noon until 9 Friday morning. I was feeling much better by the time bed time rolled around, and when I woke up, I felt much better, and ready to head down to Bryce Canyon. Winger was feeling better, but still not near where she wanted to be.
The most striking thing about waking up was that there were honest to goodness clouds in the sky!
We packed up and left Torrey around 9 and headed down Scenic Route 12 towards Bryce. Its not the most direct route, but it’s a can’t miss drive. The drive took us into the Dixie National Forest. The foliage was a lot different than we have in New England, not as many different colors, but it was still beautiful. Not to mention, there were open range cows EVERYWHERE. After passing through the forest, we found ourselves in the Grand Staircase Escalante. The change in landscape was pretty amazing, and we ended up driving on a narrow ridge with huge drop offs on each side. It honestly was hard to not stop every 5 minutes and take some photos. And there were plenty of pull offs to do that, but Bryce was calling.
We made it to Bryce around noon and found a campsite at Ruby’s RV and Campground just outside the park which would prove to be convenient.
After checking in at the visitor’s center and driving a bit, Winger determined that she wouldn’t be able to do too much walking around, as she was still wiped out from the sickness so after driving to a couple of overlooks accessible from the car (a theme we developed for a future Lazy Photography Travel Blog idea ;) ) I dropped her back off at the camp site, and returned to the park to do some hiking.
One thing to take into consideration with Bryce is the elevation. A lot of the parks are pretty high up but Bryce is mostly between 8-10,000 feet. I did a short hike into the Canyon called the Queens Garden Trail which was a total of 1.6 miles round trip. The trip in was all downhill which, of course ,meant the trip up was uphill. It was pretty impressive being amongst the hoodoos. I think that Bryce is my favorite, so far, of the parks, though its pretty small, and not that diverse. I met some cool people along the trail including a couple of dudes from Mass and Rhode Island. Took a break for some snacks (apple and cliff bar) and more water (I made sure to keep plenty hydrated after the previous issues) and hiked back up to the Sunrise point.
After grilling up some grilled cheese for dinner, we headed back into the park to check out Sunset point, but Sunrise point was where we watched the sun set.
Back at the camp site, you could feel the temperature dropping. I bundled up in a hooded sweatshirt and flannel pants and was pretty comfy…The goal for tomorrow was to wake up for sunrise at Sunset Point, pack up the tent and head down to Zion for our final stop….
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