June 5th, 2023
While we were in the Zion area we drove over to Bryce Canyon National Park.
Bryce is known for having the largest number of hoodoos in the world. What’s a hoodoo? It is the incredible spire like formation that is left after some incredible changes over history. Plate tectonic changes lifted the limestone, dolostone, mudstone, siltstone and sandstone found in the area to a perfect place for weather and erosion to do their thing.
Ice formed between the cracks in the rock forcing some of them to break off forming the walls and windows you see in the park. Eventually these are worn further into individual hoodoos. The most dramatic ones have a harder rock on top of a softer one so you see the knobs and juts that looks like they are barely balancing and ready to topple over any moment.
We used our Guide Along app again on this trip. I call the narrator “Grandpa Walton” because his voice reminds me of the hometown stories from that show. Grandpa told us to drive to the end of the canyon drive and stop at the pullouts and overlooks on the way back as most of them would then be on the right side of the truck.
We started with a short hike that Tim actually enjoyed. It hit nearly 9000 feet at one point, so even though it was short, it was tough on the lungs!
We stopped at every viewpoint and pull-out and the views were incredible! There are hikes throughout the park. You could spend weeks here and not be bored.
At the end of our drive through Bryce we came to the Fairyland loop trail that my friend Michelle told me about. We met Michelle and her husband at Distant Drums RV Resort. The full trail is over eight miles and we were at the end of our day, so I just left Reba with Tim at the overlook and hiked about 45 minutes until the clouds and lightening rolled in. I was determined to get near at least ONE hoodoo and I did! 🙂
If you find yourself within a few hours’ drive of Bryce Canyon please don’t miss it. And if you have the time, give yourself a full day to explore the Fairyland loop trail. I’ll be back to do it one day! (If you want to go with me, let me know!)