The Minigans are Adventuring Again - Day 8

Woke up this morning ready and rarin' for another day of adventuring!

Breakfast was quick and easy and then we hit the road.  Today was Bryce Canyon Day!

The ride was a little over an hour, so not bad at all. The scenery was amazing.  Wide open spaces, mountains, long sweeping roads.  It felt like we had been placed in a magazine ad for Utah.  As I would ooohh and ahhh over some bit of scenery, Jim continued to tell me it would just get better.  He was right.

Entering the park, we had to stop and do the obligatory photo with the National Park sign.  Always a must.  There was an older couple there getting ready to take their photo also.  The woman was already standing by the sign and the man was setting up his tripod and getting the camera positioned. A line had formed but they were so darn cute, no one cared.  Finally, the woman yelled over to him, "Pa, you are never going to make it over here in 8 seconds anyway!). "Pa" continued getting the shot ready, pushed the shutter and quickly walked over to his wife.  I think everyone was counting as he went over to her!  He made it in plenty of time and everyone laughed when the photo snapped.  It was really a cute way to start our journey into the park.

The first stop once we entered the park was the Visitor's Center.  VERY crowded.  But they had maps that would help us decide our path.  Jim had been to Bryce before so he easily chose our route through the park and the trails.  The journey begins......

The day was long and exhausting but also amazing and exhilarating!  Some of the highlights were:

- Hiking down from Bryce Point.  And I do mean DOWN!  Under the Rim trail zig zagged down the side of the mountain.  The trail was probably 8 ft wide and steep the entire way.  A couple other facts about this hike.  We started at an elevation of about 8500 ft.  So the air was thinner.  Also, guess who is afraid of heights...... ME.  But I am determined and Jim is willing to be patient with me.

The way down was both frightening and spectacular.  At one point I was so tense, my legs were shaking.  I had to stop a couple times to just breath a little and relax.  I stayed as close to the wall of the mountain as possible and only moved closer to the edge of the trail if someone was coming up the trail.  Jim's goal was to hike down to the hoodoos so we kept going.  We finally made it!  And, we turned a corner and saw a spectacular arch in the rocks that was a window into the next valley.

It was truly picture perfect.  The trail continued on but after taking a bunch of photos, we decided to climb back up.  We knew the further we went down, the higher we would have to climb up.  Up we go!

I am not quite as nervous on the way up.  Probably because I have no energy to be nervous.  It is such a steep climb and I have to stop frequently to catch my breath.  Jim made sure I drank water also.  The hike up took at least three times the amount of time it took to hike down.

BUT I DID IT!  I was quite proud of myself for this accomplishment and even though I was exhausted, I had done something I wouldn't have thought possible a few months ago.  Yippee!

We continued making our way through the canyon and stopping along the way to take photos from vantage points throughout the park.  Nearing the few miles of the road there was a sign that said the road was closed ahead due to fire.  It never closed.  We kept going.  We reached the end of the road at the vantage point from there was breathtaking.  The smoke from the fire could also be seen!  In talking with one of the Rangers we found out today was the first day the road had been open.  They had it closed to prepare the area just in case the fire did come toward the park road and park structures.  The smoke was hypnotizing.  We watched it for quite a while......  Waiting to see if we would see it pop up over the hill.  It didn't, but the smoke was very telling of where the fire was and when it got to an area that had added fuel (dead trees, etc).

After hiking around some more and exploring more of the park, we needed dinner. Dinner at the Bryce Lodge seemed appropriate.  Our meals were quite good and it was a great ending to the Bryce experience.

My experience in Bryce could be summarized as ........  Well, I honestly can't put into words how special my day was.  The gifts of nature that we are given should be appreciated and protected.  The photos we took do not show the true beauty and grandeur of this area.