June 7, 2004 - Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah--Day 3

Well, after goofing off yesterday and hardly taking any pictures and doing almost no hiking at all, we decided that today should be a big day, and we'd be able to finish up pretty much what we wanted to see of this area.  The alarm (shudder) was set for 5 AM, as watching the sunrise from Bryce Point was supposed to be spectacular.  After watching the sunrise, the plan was to come back home and have b'fast and then head to the canyon floor via Sunset Point, take the Navajo Loop part way, the Queens Garden part way, and end up at Sunrise Point some 3 miles and over 1000 feet of elevation change, up and down.  Should be a full day.

When it's 50 degrees and the wind is blowing, we add things like long pants and polar fleece to the wardrobe.  Some poor souls must have left their home behind them someplace, because they were out there shivering.

That lady in the blue cotton jacket was noticeably uncomfortable in the cool, windy air.  Her husband is the guy down there in the shorts and blue jacket.  The young couple had their baby all bundled up, but they were holding each other to get warm.  Maybe.  And it was sorta fun to watch the sunrise.  Couldn't help but remember sunrises in AZ, FL, and other places that were at least as spectacular, if not more so.

After a bit, we left.  Not disappointed that we'd hauled out of bed that early, but not particularly awed either.  But we had to do it.

On the way home, we dang near put the Jeep in the ditch getting a decent shot of this young lady Pronghorn Antelope.  Her boyfriend was a bit more shy, and stayed in the brush out of range.  And then a road we'd not been on to Paria View.  The Paria river is down there someplace.

The last of the sunrise shots, and after breakfast, it was into the canyon we go, starting at Sunset Point.

A quick look at where we're going, and a quick look back up to where we started from.

Barb gets the credit for most the pictures today.  I was carrying some extra water and she kindly offered to take the weight of the camera for me.  Yeah, right.  Like I believed her!  She's always telling me what to take pictures of anyway, so why not make it easier for both of us, and let her carry it today.

The long sleeves are an indication of the coolness of the trail at this point, and then looking down the switchbacks into "Wall Street".

Looking out, over, straight up and around us at the formations was a new experience.  They are immense from down here, and a bit more scary.  Remembering that this entire place is a work in progress, and that slides happen any time (mostly at night) keeps us aware of the sounds of trickling pebbles.

I'm helping that fir tree stand tall and it's letting me catch my wind.  And the Twin Bridges, or maybe it's the Two Bridges.  All kinds of signs warning us to stay off of them.  I was easily persuaded to obey the signs.

OK, it was Two Bridges after all.  This little sign tells us where we've come from, and where we're going.  And the terrain changes almost abruptly into almost a forest.

Some of these rocks give the impression they're going nowhere soon, and others look like they're waiting for us to simply step in the line of their sights!  And of course, even down here we have pretty flowers blooming.

Does it look like we're having fun?  It sure should!  And even though I'll avoid small spaces whenever possible (I hate elevators!), I never once was uncomfortable with any of these tight spaces.

Part of the trail was actually rather flat, regardless of what it may look like in the pictures.  About 50 or maybe even 75 feet of it might have been flat!

I wonder how many tunnels (including these little guys) there are in Utah.  Aren't some of those formations fun??

That "bend over" tunnel was also for sure a one-way tunnel.  Barb sent me up ahead so she could get a shot of how small it really was, but I had to wait for another hiker.  This little box canyon had some pretty brave trees in it too.

Looking back at yet another tunnel, sand dunes and odd shapes.

Some workers taking their morning coffee break (it was 10:00 AM in case you were wondering).  They appeared to be cleaning up some of the gravel that had fallen on the trail, and adding material to places where water had washed a ditch into the trail.  And then, the end in sight!

All these signs telling people to use their heads.  And Sunrise Point, our destination.

A farewell to the trail workers' equipment and this part of the park, and it's off to a canyon that is outside the entrance to the park though still a part of the park, based on the kind of sign and the work done on the observation platforms.

And now we feel pretty much like we've "done" Bryce Canyon National Park.  Would we ever come back?  You bet we would.  It will certainly have changed, and even if it hadn't, we would have. Tomorrow we'll catch up on homework, Barb messing with our files and budget stuff, and I'll be hammering the keyboard and playing with pictures.  And, of course, we'll go dump, refill the water tank, roll up the ground mat, secure the awnings, wash the windshield, check air pressure in both the Road Abode and the Jeep, repair that dang door that's stuck, adjust the break-away switch in the Jeep, and whatever else happens to come to mind.  Wednesday it's off to another park.  The Canyonland National Park area.  Well, Capitol Reef National Park, actually, then to Canyonlands.  A bunch of parks there, national and state.  Be interesting to see if my Golden Age Passport will be honored at the state parks.  Probably not.