Monday, May 4, 2015

More Exploring in Bryce Canyon National Park

 

After the snow event on Saturday, April 25, it got pretty cold. We had low temps in the mid 20’s. This is the coldest we can remember camping without electricity. We have propane heat, but it was still a bit cold for us.

On Sunday, I took a drive to refill a propane tank and check out another campground just outside the park. The snow on the rock cliffs provided a different view.

Snowey Rocks Bryce

The Kings Creek Campground is very nice, but the water was not turned on yet. They do have ORV trails that lead right out of the campground and it is only 7 miles down a dirt road. The road is in excellent shape and the lake is really pretty. This is only 10 miles from the entrance of Bryce.

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On the drive out, I got a shot of these local residents. There are significant numbers of Pronghorns in this area.

Anteplope Bryce

On Monday, April 27, we decided to do the full driving tour of Bryce. This is what most tourists do in this park. the drive to the southern end of the park is a 17 mile drive that brings you to 9000 feet in elevation. The snow, once again added something to the view. It was a bit cold, but a nice day otherwise.

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We just stopped at all of the viewpoints and spent time checking out each of the formations. We notice how many other people are in a hurry and stop and take a picture and leave. We tend to linger and take a bunch of pictures.

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Kim likes to read every word on the signs. We learn a lot from them. We both like to look at the formations from just about every angle available.

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As we dropped down the canyon, there was less snow and we returned to the views we had seen from down in the canyon on our hike.

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I think the best viewpoint is Bryce Point. I could stand there all day taking pictures and just marveling at the formations. You can see the wall of windows in this shot.

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We then went out the park entrance and went to two other places that you access from outside the park. One is Fairyland Point.

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Then we went to Mossy Cave. The cave was not very impressive, but the waterfall was pretty cool.

Waterfall and Hoodoos Bryce

Well that about does it for Bryce Canyon. That is 4 of the Big 5 complete and only Zion left to fully explore. To say that the Utah National Parks have exceeded expectations would be an understatement. This has been an amazing journey. To see each in a day is like going to Washington D.C. and saying you have seen America. We consider ourselves so lucky to be able to have the time to fully explore while we are still young enough to do the more strenuous activities. We have just been blown away.

I love this last shot of Kim. She loves to take it all in. I don’t know what she is thinking, but I am sure it has something to do with thanking God for these incredible gifts.

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Have a great day and take a minute to appreciate your surroundings. On to Zion, and a little walk up a creek.

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