Bryce Canyon

I'm on holiday! I'm in Tulsa right now, at my brother-in-law's. Last weekend, Ankit and I went exploring Southern Utah. Our first stop was Bryce Canyon National Park. It was about a five hours drive from South Ogden, where we live. 

Bryce Canyon is open 24 hours a day, all year round. The shuttle service however ended on October 7. It is recommended to travel by shuttle here because it is very convenient and takes you to all the view points. The entrance fee is $25. We purchased the $80 annual pass to all national parks because we figured we'd be exploring a lot more. 

Here, you will find a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters. They say that this place has been eroded over the years, along with frost weathering and the rainfall's dissolving effects  shaping this colorful limestone rock. We saw many bizarre shapes, slot canyons, and other geological structures. These are called hoodoos.

Sunrise Point

Bryce Canyon became a national monument in 1923 and was designated a national park in 1928. It lies within the Colorado Plateau, along the southeastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. A central stream eroded over several years have shaped the Cenozoic-aged rocks of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. 

Sunset Point

We drove through many scenic drives and there are thirteen view points for sightseeing. 

Thor's Hammer

There are four very popular view points: Sunrise Point, Sunset Point, Inspiration Point and Bryce Point. The most famous of all views is Thor's Hammer. Thor's Hammer can be reached from Sunset Point. I had seen many pictures of Thor's Hammer before coming here and made it a point to find it while I was in Bryce Canyon. 

The picture on the left is a hoodoo shaped like Thor's Hammer. It is a five minute walk into the  Wall Street Trail. We, however, never actually ended up finding Wall Street Trail. We could see this hoodoo from the top but I wanted to do the trail and get a closer view. We decided to do the Navajo loop instead and found Thor's Hammer just as we were about to complete the loop. So, it worked out. It was a brilliant trail. It felt like another country. 

The Navajo Loop -- view from the top

The hike down from here was slightly tricky because of the loose rocks and sand, but coming back up was a struggle. We did the entire loop so it took us back up, crossing Thor's Hammer which is on the other side of this canyon. 

My poser hubbie

This is at the very bottom of the hike, surrounded by limestone, deep inside the canyon. We thought that the sunset point was the best of all the view points. There are many trails to do. If you have time and energy, you can start a trail at sunrise point and walk all the way to sunset point. Trail information can be found in the Bryce Canyon newsletter which is provided at the entrance. 

Inspiration Point

Bryce Canyon is beautiful. They say that the best time to see it is either during sunrise or sunset because the hoodoos turn into a gorgeous color of red and orange. The weather was just perfect. I'd say October is the best time to visit because it's not too hot and not too cold. It's better to hike in a cooler climate without completely exhausting yourself. Only remember to carry plenty of water with you and keep hydrated. This is the desert, after all :)

Happy Halloween!

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