Bryce Canyon National Park

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First thing after breakfast was our hike on Navajo Loop Trail at sunset Point. The trail is 1.3 miles round trip down a very steep canyon trail into a canyon that gets narrower the further down you go. We had to bend down though a “window” in the rock about half way down. When we got to the bottom the canyon was about 2 feet wide, but hundreds of feet high. Dave did the entire loop trail. I turned back at mid-point to take some great shots of the canyon.

We then drove the 15 or so miles to the end of the park at Rainbow Point. As we passed a meadow, I saw a coyote very close to the road. I was within 100 feet of it and got out to take a fantastic photo of him. My camera malfunctioned and wouldn’t focus in - all I could shoot was a blur - Grrrr - I hate when that happens. Dave said he was the sleekest, shiniest coyote he ever saw. The ones at home look scrawny and half starved with mangy fur. This guy was handsome.

We stopped at all the scenic overlooks, but the WOW point was when we got to Natural Bridge. You can’t see it until you get to fence and look down - and then there it was just pooping out at you. On the way out we spotted some wild turkeys. We also saw a deer today and a mule deer in the woods. We stopped at Ruby’s Inn for lunch, got a cup of coffee to go and some ice for the cooler and were heading to our next destination - Capitol Reef National Park just after noon.

We drove scenic Route 12 for over a hundred miles. We saw glimpses into the Grand Staircase Escalante area which was outstanding. We drove along a knife’s edge with shear drops on both sides of the road. We reached a point where we were at 9600 feet elevation and there was trees and green all around us. We drove through beautiful aspen strands and there were free-roaming cattle everywhere - even on the highway.

At home there is usually very little vegetation above 4000 feet. This is considered “above tree line”. Here, because they do not have the severe storms, it is not unusual to see thick green above 12,000 feet.

We arrived at Capitol Reef, mid-afternoon and got a campsite in Fuita Campground. These parks are on $10 a night. We like that fee. We went to the visitor’s center and got our maps and information on the park and watched the orientation film.

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Photos

Steep Navajo Trail
This is the trail we will take tomorrow to the narrow canyon below.

Natural Bridge - Bryce
Actually it's an arch