Bryce Canyon, Day 2

Tuesday was another great day at Bryce and the surrounding area.  I got up early to take pictures of the sunrise, then we all had another breakfast in the lodge restaurant.  We went for a little drive, stopping to see some of the scenic viewpoints along the rim road, then back to the hotel to pack up.  We went to the Visitors' Center on our way out and Cat, Eliza, and Luke got their Junior Ranger badges.  Then a short hike to Mossy Cave, biking in Red Canyon, a fun lunch stop in Panguitch, and home by bedtime.

For a split second, I felt like the sun was shining only on me.

Breakfast Buffet for the win

Finishing up Junior Ranger booklets on the way to the viewpoints

Rainbow Point

Rainbow Point

Yovimpa Point

Natural Bridge

Natural Bridge

We heard that this was the time of year the Utah Prairie Dogs started coming out
from their hibernation and it was so fun to see several in this designated prairie dog field!

Junior Rangers!

Hike to Mossy Cave

Mossy Cave

(seemed more like icy cave when we were there)

Pretty little waterfall along the hike.  Fun trivia about the water here from the NPS website:
From 1890-1892 Mormon pioneers labored with picks and shovels to carve an irrigation
ditch from the East Fork of the Sevier River, through the Paunsaugunt Plateau, into this canyon.
Every year since its completion in 1892 (except during the drought of 2002), this canal known as
the Tropic Ditch has supplied the communities of Tropic and Cannonville with irrigation water.

We had fun trying out some mountain biking - and nobody got hurt!

Then we biked along this paved path and just enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Our yummy lunch at the Cowboy Smokehouse Cafe in Panguitch
took a while to arrive, so a few of us went exploring and found...

a great little thrift store with lots of fun treasures!

(Yes, that's a trash bag of treasures from the thrift store.)

This was a great little trip.  We got outdoors but enjoyed the comforts of hot water and real beds; we had some sunshine and some chilly wind; we appreciated the natural beauty of the area in a few different ways; and we just had fun together.  I definitely want to go back, maybe staying in one of the lodge cabins next time.

When I planned this trip, I figured two days would be plenty of time in Bryce but there were several hikes we didn't do (partly because bringing the bikes was a last-minute decision after a friend recommended Red Canyon, and we would have hiked if we weren't biking Monday and Tuesday).

Next time: Fairyland Loop or Fairyland Point, Queen's Garden, Rim Trail, Hat Shop, more dark sky stargazing, Willis Creek Slot Canyon at Kodachrome Basin State Park, and all the fun stuff at Escalante.

Bryce Canyon, Day 1

We made a quick trip to Bryce Canyon over Spring Break, driving down after the Sunday afternoon session of General Conference (eating sandwiches in the car for dinner) and spending two nights at the Bryce Canyon Lodge.  We started Monday off with breakfast at the lodge restaurant, then did some hiking.  After lunch from the general store, we went on a 2-hour horse/mule trail ride from the rim into the canyon and back up again.  We went on a little bike ride in the park, took a few pictures, then had dinner in town.  Finally, we spent some time trying to get dark sky star pictures before bed.

Note: I took approximately one bajillion pictures.  I limited each post to no more than 30.  But it might still feel like overload, so, sorry about that.

We were in the Lodge's Sunset Point building - great rooms and very convenient.

We learned a new game similar to Indiana Jones
but with a bear, a hunter, and a woman.

Ready for our hike.

These views!!

Two Bridges

Thor's Hammer

Trail Ride!  Lots of pictures coming your way!

Going down into the canyon was a bit scary because the mules and horses
liked to walk right on the edge of the trail.

Our guide made us feel much better, though.

He said, "Just do what the horses do.  Close your eyes and hope for the best."

The scenery was incredible.

There were lots of trees like this in this part of the canyon,
which had been struck by lightning.  Apparently the geological
makeup of the area attracts lightning.

Inspiration Point

After much trial and error, Cat got this picture on her phone.
Do you see the shooting star in the top left corner?

Luke at General Conference

Ben brought Luke to General Conference for the first time!  They encountered a problem when they realized their tickets were for a different session from the one we thought but decided to go anyway and hope for the best. They were passed around from one host to another until someone in security let them in.  I was so glad they made it!  As always, Luke enjoyed dressing up.  Unfortunately, I didn't write down his reactions right after Conference, but when I talked to him about it for this post he said he liked "the singing and the talks."

I had to stay for rehearsal after the session finished, so we didn't try to meet up, but we took pictures of each other from our spots.  See if you can find everyone.