It was another extremely cold morning but determined to see more of Bryce Canyon National Park in Bryce, UT, we (Joani, Kate and I) headed out early, starting at Inspiration Point. What you cannot see in the pictures is the 40 mph wind that must be giving us a wind chill well below 30 degrees. Even with the wind, the view was so incredible we took pictures until we could no longer feel our hands.
At 11:30 we headed back to Sunset Point for a Ranger talk on the geology of the park. I felt like we heard more about dinosaurs than geology - that was clearly where our Ranger's passions lie. All of Utah's geology is connected with the different layers exposed in different areas. Joani talked to the Ranger afterward and asked him for a recommendation for further reading. She bought Geology Unfolded, An Illustrated Guide to the Geology of Utah's National Parks in the Park Gift Shop. It was very informative and included several other parks we have yet to visit.
He's showing us a Velociraptor claw
Later we joined another Ranger for a walk along the rim trail. The very Irish Sean did a great job telling us about the National Park Service and its mission. Some NPS parks are dedicated to the preservation of unique geology while others preserve unique animal or plant life. He actually had us sniffing lots of different plants. We found out that the Douglas Fir has a very sweet scent deep in the furrows of its bark. He was very entertaining and clearly loved his job (he had been with the NPS for more than 29 years.) Later, we found him in several YouTube videos doing similar talks about parks where he previously served.
Enough fun and learning for one day. Even though it was early, it was time to head back to the coach and crank up the furnace in preparation for another cold night.
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