Bryce Canyon National Park

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour if we will only tune in.

There are just some places you have to see and especially if you’re kind of close.  Now I had been to Bryce many years ago.  Terry had not.  We had to go.  It wasn’t a short drive but we still were determined we had to do it.  We did.

You could compare Bryce to Grand Canyon but only becuase you are looking down into the canyon.  However, at Grand Canyon you see canyons.  I think Bryce is much more spectacular.  The vastness of the canyons and the colors are beautiful.   I think pictures just speak for themselves … the good ones and even the bad ones.

Our road trip started fairly early.  For the round trip drive to Bryce we had about 250 miles to go.  We decided to make a loop instead of going and returning on the same route.  The first leg of the trip started with us heading due north on highway I-15.  We climbed and climbed. Then, we went down and down.  Then, we climbed again.  None of the climbs were big but with all the mountains in Utah the only way to get on the other side was to either go through them or over them.  Obviously, without a tunnel we weren’t going through them. 

We stopped at a rest area off of I-15.  We had never seen a fenced pet run at a rest stop.   This was amazing.  It was huge, no other dogs were around and Duchess loved it.   Good job, Utah!

We knew Highway 14 crossing over at Cedar City was closed.  That route climbs to about 10,000 feet but  was closed due to snow.  Thus, we continued on to Highway 20.  We figured it was probably a better route anyway and I’m sure it was.  It was a short 20 miles crossing over to highway 89.  In that 20 miles we saw plenty of snow on the side of the road, icy spots and lots more up and downs including some good 8% grades.  Elevation on this climb took us to about 8100 feet.  We were glad to get on the other side!!

Highway 89 was also a very good road.  We saw several State Troopers with vehicles stopped on the side of the road and lots of varying speed limit signs that waivered between 65 to 55 to 45 to 35 and then back to 65.  We didn’t know if all the varying speeds were a way to catch tourists or what the deal was but we didn’t want to take a chance.

Highway 12 took us through Red Canyon on our way to Bryce.  There isn’t much to say in words so I’m just going to post a few photos of this very scenic area.

Once through Red Canyon it was just a short distance on to Bryce Canyon National Park.  The entrance fee is $25.00 per private vehicle unless you have an American the Beautiful Pass … then, it’s FREE!  Free is always good.  Free is actually best.

Our first stop after the Visitor’s Center was Sunrise Point.

Next we were on to Sunset Point.

 

Next it was Inspiration Point.

Finally we stopped at Bryce Point at an elevation of 8300’ for a panorama view and what a view it was.  To make the view easy, even a platform had been built so spectators got the best view of all – the full panorama.

We left Bryce and drove back through Red Canyon.

On our return trip we headed south on Hwy 89 until we came to Hwy 9 which was the route through Zion National Park.  This was the east entrance and as you drove through you dropped from the upper part of the park down to the lower canyon.  We had just driven this route at Zion a few days before (remember the flat tire?) but it was just as beautiful going through it again as it was then.  Besides this was the shortest way to get back to the motorhome.

The winds were expected to blow Sunday over much of Utah and the Southwest and we certainly noticed them as we arrived back at the motorhome.  The forecast was for windy conditions with winds blowing at 30 mph.  We’ve been told by several that the little town of Hurricane was named that for a reason.  Other than today we really haven’t noticed the winds so much and we’ve been hanging around for almost a couple weeks.  Perhaps, it’s been because we’ve been in other very windy locations this winter season.  Or, maybe we’ve just been lucky.  We love this area.  I think of all the places we’ve recently visited we like this best … it just needs a Winco, an ocean and the rest of our family to make it perfect.

This is one of those times I’m really thankful digital cameras replaced film cameras.  I took a lot of pictures.  It would have cost me a bundle to have had all of the film developed. The hard part was choosing which ones to put on the blog.  I knew posting over 100 would be just a few too many!! 

‘Tis life on the road.