Bryce Canyon: No Cell Service, but enough Hoodoos to make up for it

This AM, we boarded the Zion Shuttle for a Ranger Tour led by Becca, a recent Michigan State University Graduate.  This was our 4th trip into the canyon.

Ranger Becca

The Great White Throne and Angel's Landing

After the tour, we drove out of the park on the Mt. Carmel Hwy which has jaw dropping views at every switchbacked turn. I couldn’t imagine anything more scenic than the canyon tours.  Zion is definitely heaven on earth. We continued on Route 9 to scenic Hwy 89 through the Dixie National Forest which was another pleasant shocker. (And we got two more cancellation  stamps for the NPS Passport book.) The rocks were bright orange, or more of a yam color, and there were a few tunnels to squeeze through. 

Red Canyon - Dixie National Forest

Onward to Bryce Canyon on Hwy 12. We checked in at the visitors center, where I got another cancellation stamp for the passport book, and then we had lunch at the lodge.

Everything today progressed perfectly until the “sweet potato fries” incident.  Our awesome waitress, Vickie, practically had a meltdown when she realized that she brought me “standard” french fries, rather than the sweet potato variety that she highly recommended in the first place. My response was that the fries were not important as I was having lunch at one of the most beautiful places on the planet.  I was actually concerned for her well-being as there were so many cliffs within jumping distance of the lodge.  We rated her as “outstanding” in every area on the customer survey and left her a big tip. I am confident she’ll recover from this experience within a few weeks… just in time for the summer rush.

On to the viewpoints.  Paul came up with a brilliant idea of making a beeline to the end of the park road and then working our way back to the lodge area. This turned out to be an AWESOME idea and I would recommend this to anyone visiting the park. The farthest viewpoint was stunning, and as we made our way closer to the park entrance the views kept getting even more spectacular. At Inspiration Point, I practically had tears in my eyes looking over the sheer drop off and seeing thousands of Hoodoos, which are rock spires reaching to the heavens. All the Backpacker Magazine cover photos, and calendars you may have seen of Bryce do NOT do this place justice. It is the most amazing place and the whole spectacle literally wraps right around you when standing on one of the viewpoints. The Hoodoos look small because there are billions of them, but they are actually enormous and look like they are glowing.  There are no words to describe this.

The Noble Raven

We decided to stay at the cabins within the park.  They were built in the 1920s of logs and native stone and are a five minute walk to the rim of the canyon.

As the sun was setting and snow was lightly falling, I walked the Rim Trail to see the amazing views. The L.L.Bean Two-Way radios came in really handy here.

Bryce Canyon is one of the most beautiful places on Earth and everyone should see it in their lifetime. I highly recommend visiting during the off-season, and a stay in the cabins is worth every penny.

There is a wealth of park knowledge in The Hoodoo, last summer’s planner, hiking and shuttle guide.

and here at the official Bryce Canyon National Park website.

Tomorrow begins with a sunrise hike along the Queen’s Garden Trail. Click here for first-hand account of this spectacular American treasure.