Bryce National Park

After an in-depth look at distances and driving times, we decided it would be almost impossible to do both Bryce and Zion in the same day, so we extended our stay in St George by an extra day. We also decided that since Bryce was further away it would be best to go there first. That way we could do Zion on Wednesday and (hopefully) have time in the afternoon to get the wash done.
So, after a good breakfast we took off to Bryce. We decided to take the guided bus tour, rather than just use the park shuttles, so I called and made a reservation for the 3 1/2 hour tour that left at 1:30. It was a nice drive up there with some interesting views and not too bad driving.

Sorry for the poor color on this picture, but I took it from inside the car.
We went through a couple of tunnels after we turned off the main road.

After we got on the bus, we learned that today we could see at least 120 miles! The first stop was at the far south end of the park, and the elevation was over 9100 ft. Let me tell you, the air is rare at almost 2 miles high.

I found this fellow taking movies with his iPad.

The topography was caused by both wind and water erosion. The main rocks are red because of the iron oxide in the water as the sediments were being laid down. This is mostly sandstone held together with dissolved limestone sediments.

The Indians said that all their ancestors had gone into the canyon and had been turned into rocks. They called the statuesque rocks “Hoodoos”

Some say this one looks like Mayan Warrior.

This is an arch, not a bridge. Natural bridges are caused by the erosion of water. Arches are caused by the erosion of wind.

On the way home we still saw lots of formations that deserved to be photographed.

I’ve realized that my allergy to the tall pines in East Texas is readily transferable to the Ponderosa Pines in Utah. I’ve been fighting sneezing and coughing. I’ve identified the Ponderosas as the culprits because I could see their pollen stalks.
Tomorrow is Zion.

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