We started today at IHOP - take my word for it, stay away from the stuffed french toast - OMG! Cream filled (as in Bavarian Cream Donut) and drenched in strawberries and strawberry syrup, topped off with whipped cream.....oh man, just give me enough so I can make my hips and buttocks even as I can imagine that that is where this stuff will head!
Bryce Canyon was our destination today and not having been here before, but having combed several books on the place, we were ready to be awed by nature......and we were not disappointed. You enter by traveling through aptly named Red Canyon - where you drive through not one but two arched tunnels. Great photo ops fer sure!
Ever heard the song "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perry? There is a line in there "who do you think you are, running 'round leaving scars, collecting your jar of hearts"....well, Bryce Canyon has a geological phenomenon called "hoodoos". This song played through my head as we drove through the park today. I think the hoodoos captured my heart!
Hoodoos are actually piles of sandstone that have been whipped and eroded by wind, rain and other elements and all throughout the many canyons you can see hoodoos in various shapes and sizes. After contributing to the well-being of the local economy and getting stamps for our passports, we stopped and looked at Agua Canyon, Black Birch Canyon, Bryce Point, Farway View, Rainbow Point and Sheep Canyon. All of the vistas are breath-taking....but Rainbow Point was the highest elevation we reached (9115 feet) and it was by far the coldest, most snowless blizzard we have ever experienced! It was a good thing that there were rails to keep things from going into the canyon as that wind could have blown even large objects into the canyon - whew! It was cold! Temperature in the car said about 36 but I wish we had had a wind meter as I would have bet that the wind would have exceeded 40 mph!
We encountered a few feathered friends at the various points we stopped - a raven (who had extremely acute hearing that liked pre-chewed beef jerky), a Steller's jay that looked at us and basically posed for a photo op, and a small chickadee that was so excited to see the camera that he could not stay on the log on which he was landing!
After taking in all of the sights in the southern area of the national park, we decided to head north to see if we could hike the Mossy Cave trail and find the waterfall. You know those great intentions that oft go astray - well that is an apt description of this afternoon. We headed to Mossy Cave but we never found it. Either the federal budget cuts forced the removal of the sign, or some animal removed it because we never saw it. We knew that we had passed all chances of seeing that cave when we saw the signs for entering "Great Staircase - Escalante National Monument". We continued on to this area that does in fact look like staircases from heaven to valleys below. Many different shades of orange, red, brown, green provide a kaleidoscope for your eyes! We made our way through the Dixie National Forest (settlers of the area thought that the climate reminded them of their native "Dixie" so they called this by that name.)
Picture this - a two lane road about 30 feet wide, with sheer cliffs on either side that drop about 5000 feet down. Can you say that you would be driving the speed limit? Luckily the speed limit was 25 mph....and I can imagine that it took some pretty disastrous events for them to post that speed limit. While we traveled through the national forest and monument, we encountered some interesting wildlife - wild turkeys and a herd of about 50 elk. The elk were foraging in a valley about 30 feet below the right side of the roadway - they were all female and we could not see any males. Since we were in high elevation, there was still plenty of snow so the finding of food for wildlife is difficult. The elk did not seem to bothered by our watching them so we took a few photos and then moved on to more narrow roads with sheer cliff sides.
Chuck and I have always taken the road less traveled, and Highway 12, the Scenic Drive in Southern Utah, is definitely the road less traveled. We encountered less than 25 cars on the entire route....too bad all those folks who were not on this road missed this natural beauty. After reaching the end of Highway 12 on Torrey, we enjoyed dinner at Sandstone Restaurant and Conference Center then headed west on Highway 24 to Richfield, UT where we will spend the night. The hotel we are staying in has an indoor pool so Rachel and Chuck can swim, Ryan and I will wash clothes and I can keep all of our friends and family jealous that we are frolicking without them......but any of you can do this same trip - I will even let you borrow my books. You are on your own for gas money and your passport for the National Parks!
Click here for photos from the day - prepare to be awed!
We're pretty open for tomorrow, and our only concrete plans are to spend the night back in Salt Lake City so that we can catch our flight on Monday afternoon. Who knows what kind of adventures we will find.....we'll fill you in later!
The Frolicking Featherstons
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