Bryce Canyon National Park

I’ve been excited to see Bryce Canyon ever since the first time I saw a photo of the park. It is a fairly small park and the majority of people never make it down the canyon rim and into the heart of the canyon. The park was first discovered by white men in the 1870’s by J.W Powell but in 1875 Ebenezer Bryce moved to the Paria Valley to establish a Mormon community. He has been quoted as saying the canyon in his backyard was “a hell of a place to loose a cow.”

Bryce Canyon Scenery

Since the weather was heating back up, we started out early on the Peek-A-Boo hike. This six mile hike led us down the canyon and wound around the spires before climbing back up. There was almost 1,800 feet of elevation change but we were up for it. It was a beautiful day and the sun was dancing on the spires creating all sorts of color combinations. We encountered a group of horse riders and only a few other people. This is one of the best trails we have been on in awhile. Before we climbed back to the canyon rim we went to check out a rock slide that closed a portion of the Navajo Trail, one of the most popular trails in the park. This portion of the trail wound through a very narrow section of the spires. One of the spires collapsed last May and left boulders the size of cars covering the trail. The Park Service has yet to decide what it is going to do with the trail so for now it remains closed.

jody in Arch

jody in a Narrow Canyon

Rock Slide on Navajo Trail

Peek-A-Boo Trail from Above

Once again we found an incredible free camp spot just outside the park boundaries on the Dixie National Forest. This forest is so neat. It consists of high mountain ridges with a mixture of ponderosa pine and juniper/pinon pine forests. It was so neat to be in the heat of the desert and then jump up into the cooler relief of this Dixie.