Bryce Canyon

Our fifteenth National Parks trip began the same as our first. A flight to Las Vegas from Atlanta. This time we were without the matching outfits. 

At eight I couldn't gamble or go near the slot machines that litter Las Vegas. At 23 I thought about it, but when you fly in at 9:30 Pacific Time it isn't worth it. We had to wake up early the next morning to get the van from Hertz, so no gambling or playing of the slots occurred while in Vegas.

Once we had the rental van, a 12 passenger with copious room in the back, we set off to Bryce. Kate and I had seats to ourselves as Alyssa and Aaron would not join us for another week. 

There was no question as to where we would stop for lunch: In and Out. A staple in the West and a delicacy to be enjoyed as much as possible.

We arrived in the city of Panguitch, which we still don't know how to properly pronounce, mid-afternoon. We settled into our motel, then made way to Bryce.

We started our hike on the Navajo trail the same time a large tour bus did. It was full of people who did not speak English, took lots of selfies, and were not wearing hiking clothes. It felt more like we were in a different country than in a US National Park. 

We made our way from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point going through the canyon. It starts steep, downhill switchbacks and a great view of Thor's Hammer.

Thor's Hammer

Thankfully, we didn't have to climb back up these switchbacks. It was fun to trek down and watch everyone else make their way down.

One of our favorite things to do when hiking is find the smallest strip of land to venture on and climb on rocks. Kate and I both went on the narrow strip at the beginning of the hike. She was smart and wore tennis shoes. I wore Chacos.

Double bridge is accurately named. One of the hardest things about taking pictures during this busy season in the Parks is the other visitors. I constantly waited for people to move out of the way or had to position the camera to capture a people-free photo.

We met lots of chipmunks who are not camera shy. Word to the wise: don't feed the animals! It cripples them and they become fat and crazy.

A third of the way through the hike we had to make a decision: go back up to Sunset point or continue through Queen's Garden to Sunrise Point. We didn't know exactly how long the trail was or when we would finish and we wanted to get to the Lodge by 5:30ish for dinner. Ultimately, we decided to keep going. Gone were the visitors from the tour bus and we had the trail mostly to ourselves. It was beautiful and the sky was readying for rain.

The sky grew to this dark blue and it was beautiful. We tried to beat the rain back, but we were hit with a short shower as we rounded the steep, laborious trek to Sunrise Point.

We loved these little doorway arches in the rock.

Bryce is famous for its Hoodoo's. The tall, spire-like structures that can rise up to 150 feet. Thor's Hammer, the first picture, is one of the more famous hoodoos.

Our crew for the first half of the trip on our first full day. Pictured left to right: Carrie, Kate, Randy, Kathryn, Beth, and Stephen. We have been traveling with the Williams (Beth and Stephen) since our first National Park trip to Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon.

Mom and Stephen are our trip planners. We have never used a travel agency, but have read books, blogs, and advice from Trip Advisor in order to best plan our trips. Through the years, I have learned a thing or two about travel and trip planning from them.

See that sky? That is the view that met us as we rose to the top of the canyon. 

This photo was actually taken before we began the hike. You can see the hoodoos and the various shade of orange that color Bryce Canyon.

This is why you should wear tennis shoes or hiking boots. My feet were covered in sand and plenty of rocks worked their way under the soles of my feet. My Chacos were cleaned in the shower that night.

We took a similar photo 15 years ago and we could have sworn that it was at Bryce. When we looked back at the photo, we realized it was from the Grand Canyon. Oh well...we attempted to recreate the picture. 

One of my favorite photos from the trip was taken as we walked to the Lodge for dinner. Kate and I had just sat at the base of the tree to recreate our cute pic. The roots of the tree were enormous and the background was too beautiful. 

It was my first day shooting and I felt a lot of pressure from myself for the pictures to be incredible, plus I was the only one with a non-iPhone camera taking pictures for the entirety of the trip. I would not consider myself a photographer in the sense that I take amazing pictures, because I rarely take decent ones. I'm a photographer because I have a camera, which I am still learning to use.

I felt as if the other photos I'd taken that day weren't going to turn out as well. I had grabbed the wrong lens and left the other in the van. This one shot made me forget about all the others. It was perfect and beautifully captured Bryce. I can never fully represent what is in front of the camera. The natural beauty and awe that we see with our eyes is difficult to capture in the mirrors and light of a camera. Throughout this trip I tried and there are a few photos I am particularly proud of, this being the first.

Switching gears, we ate dinner at the Bryce Lodge. When we visited 15 years ago, we stayed at the Lodge and ate dinner there. Kate was three and only remembers a few things about our first trip, but one of her memories includes a chipmunk joining us for dinner in the Bryce Lodge. It scampered in through an open window, which allows much needed air circulation, and ran around on the floor of the dining room.The three year-old was not a fan. She was terrified and cried.

I am happy to say, she had a much better experience this go-around. No chipmunks entered the dining area, we enjoyed a delicious dinner and dessert of chocolate brownie with ice cream and cheesecake. Yum!

My dinner of salmon, rice pilaf, and assorted veggies from the Bryce Lodge.

We only had one day at Bryce, but it was fun and exhausting. The next day we would drive through Grand Staircase-Escalante on Scenic Byway 12 to get to Torrey.