Monday, April 28, 2014, Peek-a-boo Trail With Kate, Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

After studying the maps and quizzing several of the Rangers, we (Joani, Kate and I) had a plan to explore the bottom of Bryce Canyon National Park, UT. Of course, we were only going to see a small part of it, but it was going to be a challenge just the same. The plan started at Sunset Point and headed down the Navajo trail (1.3 miles).

It was very steep and included a lot of switchbacks. I was very happy our plan climbed back up a different way.

Bryce takes on quite a different look from below.

We headed up the Wall Street trail from below. The trail was closed at the top due to some unsafe conditions. Eventually, every trail through every canyon will meet the same fate. It will just happen on a geologic time scale. Obviously, the Douglas Fir below has been growing in close quarters for quite some time.

This was as far as we could go on the Wall Street trail (1 mile), so we headed back to the Peek-a-boo trail.

I would have been more worried about Kate posing near the rock below if she had told me she could feel it vibrating. Maybe I should have felt it myself.

The Peek-a-boo trail (5.5 miles) was very challenging, but we had all day.

A few times the Peek-a-boo trail passed through a fin. Each time it did the window concentrated the wind until it felt like it was blowing at 100 mph and it never stopped!

We stepped aside several times to let the horses pass. We also had to step aside to avoid the steaming piles the horses left behind.

The wind was so strong in this tunnel, we could hardly stay on our feet.

The Queen's Garden trail (1.8 miles) is a short spur trail. Can you spot Queen Victoria? We never would have without the placard telling us where she was (upper right corner).

The climb back up to Sunrise Point was daunting but worth the effort.

We were told by a Ranger that Sunrise Point and Sunset Point were named arbitrarily and are not the best place to see Bryce at sunrise or sunset. Bryce Point is better for sunrise and Inspiration Point or Paria View are better for sunset (1 ½ hours before sunset for the best lighting).

Thursday, April 24, 2014, Zion National Park With Kate in Springdale, UT

Kate had seen our pictures and researched Zion National Park in Springdale, UT, so she was anxious to see it for herself. It is only about 90 miles from Bryce and we headed out early to maximize our time in Zion getting there around 10:00 am. It seemed like there was a reason to stop around every corner and over every hill. The striking geology did not fail to amaze!

Below you can see, like mother, like daughter. They both like to get "up close and personal" with their landscapes sometimes. You can see there certainly was a lot of color in the different layers.

After the tunnel and at the bottom of the switchbacks, we got out of the car to check out the 80-year-old bridge again. I believe there was even less water in the stream than the last time we were here, but this time there was a crescent moon rising over the mountain that was in the perfect position for a shot by the river's edge.

Of course, we had to stop by the turn into the Scenic Canyon Drive for the standard photos of the Watchman. Note that our friend, Eeyore, got along pretty well with Kate's friend, Pingu. 

The park trams were standing room only, but that was OK since we got off at nearly every stop. At the Weeping Rock stop, we did a little warm-up hike on the short, but very steep trail to see the rock that weeps and the hanging gardens above them. 

After a lot of discussion, everyone agreed on taking the East Rim Trail at least as far as the slot canyon. I forgot just how challenging the trail was - it was very steep for the first mile, before finally leveling out a bit in the canyon. We found every excuse, I mean opportunity, to stop and enjoy the local flora and fauna and geology along the trail. The breaks could almost be considered mandatory since I don't think we had it in us to have climbed the trail any faster.

The slot canyon (maybe named Echo Canyon?) had much less water than before, but it still was a beautiful subject for many photos. I was trying out a new polarizing filter which had the effect of making the sky a deeper blue and just generally saturating colors overall. It is especially noticeable when there are fluffy clouds in the sky.

Heading back down, Kate and Joani were surprised by a young mule deer behind them that wanted to use our trail. It was just as surprised that we were using its trail. Fortunately, it scampered right by us without incident. We watched it continue down the mountain taking several short cuts which allowed him to cover in minutes what would take us another half hour to hike.

He managed to surprise a few other hikers along the way as he continued his downward jaunt.

On the canyon floor, the "cotton" from the Cottonwood trees was blowing in the air looking a little like snow.

Back at the tram stop, we were happy to be able to sit for a while, but it did not take long to stiffen up. We did take the tram all the way to the Temple of Sinawava, but the hiking was extremely limited for the rest of the day. I talked to the woman next to me on the tram who said she was in Anchorage, AK, only the day before. She had taken the red-eye back to Denver the night before and flown to St. George earlier that morning. Now that's some traveling! Lucky for me it was only an hour and a half drive back to the coach where I could have a few Advil and about 10 hours of sleep to recuperate.