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Published: November 1st 2012
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Day three dawned early and fresh with the temperature around 0 degrees and we had breakfast at the very nice Best Western Hotel in Bryce Canyon City. It was a typical western style hotel with wooden beams, stuffed animal heads and home-cooked food. The staff were friendly and the rooms were large and comfortable.
We set off for Bryce Canyon National Park not really sure what to expect having had a brilliant experience in Zion yesterday. On the drive to the canyon we saw some deer and a couple of birds, which is pretty much the extent of the wildlife experiences we have had so far. The desert is devoid of life. We arrived at the Canyon and walked to the rim only to be met with an absolutely breath-taking scene of columns sandstone as far as the eye could see. The students (and staff) were blown away by the beauty of the area and the features (see the photos) that are unparalelled anywhere in the UK. We ran out of superlatives to describe the place and I will let the students tell all you parents in more detail than I can give here.
Bryce Canyon is at over
8000ft elevation and the air way thin and we could feel it pulling at our lungs. We descended down 600 ft into Canyon in less than a mile and the views were spectacular! The rock formations and photo opportunities were amazing. The climb back up the 600ft was hard in the thin air but we all managed it and loved it. All the students were prud of their achievement. We did a lot of walking today and not so much yesterday, so everyone had excess energy. The exercise had such remarkable remedial value!
We went from Bryce to Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell on the Colorado River. It was a long coach journey that took us through the wild west, through places and towns when lots of western films have been filmed. It is called 'The Mini Hollywood' because of this. We stopped for lunch in a small Utah town and drove along long straight road that are so typical of the west of the USA. The scale of the country is still overwhelming and incredible, with views over the desert stretching further than the width of the UK!
We listened to an interesting and informative talk
at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitor Centre and the ins and outs of the Dam building and energy generation were relayed by a native American employee. The dam was massive and the resulting Lake Powell is one of the biggest man made lakes in the world. We also had a wander across the metal bridge across the canyon which sits 710ft above the river below. It gave us a great view of the dam and I think she said it was the highest bridge of it's kind in the world.
Our last destination of the day was the world-famous horseshoe bend on the Colorado River. We went to edge of the gorge to look down to the most amazing example of a meander I have ever seen! The other staff and I panicked the whole time as the students were close to the edge too! Not too close though! They were told to sit down to take in the amazing view! It could have been dangerous, but all students were fantastic and understood the potential danger and followed every instruction perfectly. They are a pleasure to have on the trip.
We drove through a large Native Indian reservation
on the way to out hotel, stopping at McDonalds for dinner. While in McDonald's there were lots of Native American children in halloween constumes which was lovely to see.
We arrived at our hotel in Mexican Hat late this evening and students were straight to their rooms to chill out and relax after a fairly heavy day of walking. We all feel 'done like kippers' tonight, so I will say goodnight and we'll see you tomorrow. Grand Canyon tomorrow - I am so excited I think I am going to struggle to sleep. Goodnight!!
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Jo
non-member comment
Wow, you guys are having an amazing time, can't wait to hear all about it when you get back.