Advertisement
Published: June 23rd 2010
Edit Blog Post
Balanced Rocks
These rocks are in the Red Rock Park by Bryce Canyon. April 23—continued. The east part of Zion is not large and it has few areas to park and explore, so one more or less just drives through it. (The shuttle does not come to this side of the park.) I exited the park in about an hour and headed north for Bryce Canyon National Park, which is about an hour away from Zion. The road climbs in altitude as it goes to Bryce. By the time I got to the park area, there were snow flurries. I found an RV park right outside Bryce and registered for a spot before going on into the park itself.
Bryce is totally different from Zion. Its main feature are the thousands of hoodoos. A hoodoo is a rounded, cylinder shaped rock formation, almost like columns of rock. Sometimes they looked like they are pasted onto cliff faces, other times they stand alone. The name hoodoo came from the Indians, but since it is so close to the word voodoo, people often think the two words are related. The Indians do revere the hoodoos as sacred and spiritual areas.
The full drive in Bryce is 28 miles round trip. I could have stopped
halfway up and seen most of what I wanted to see. I persevered, however, and drove clear to the top, altitude over 9,000 feet. The clouds and snow were moving in when I got up there. One lady was walking back from the viewing area and I asked her, “Can you see anything?” She answered yes, but then said “You get snow blasted.” I didn't really understand what she meant until I got up to the fenced area overlooking the view. The wind was so strong I had to hang onto a tree to stay upright and the sleet and snow felt like sand blowing into my face. I think that is the coldest I have been in all my travels. I got the pictures though!!!! I must admit my RV was nice and warm when I got back to it.
I'm glad that I was at Bryce while the snow was still on the hoodoos. In many places the scene looked as if everything had been sprinkled with powdered sugar. The white on the red rocks added to the beauty for me.
The RV park that I stayed in this night was near a state park
Canyon within a Canyon
A slot canyon in Bryce. which you actually have to drive through in order to get to Bryce. It had many interesting red rock formations, too, but not on the scale of Bryce Canyon.
April 24-- Driving again, I continued on highway 89, going north to Salina. Some of this area is Butch Cassidy's country. His boyhood home is the small town of Circleville, UT. I also passed Big Rock Candy Mountain. I have heard that name somewhere before, but can't remember if it was an old song or what. Anyway among all the red and brown rocks, here are two hills that are almost bright yellow! I had already driven past the largest one wondering about it, then went around the curve to see the sign. Has anyone else reading this heard of Big Rock Candy Mountain. If so, let me know where you heard about it.
After Salina, I got onto I-70, then headed east toward Colorado. Of all the interstate highways that I have driven, I-70 is the best for sightseeing. I call it the gorge-ous highway, because so much of it actually goes through gorges and canyons. Of course it is difficult to get pictures while one is pedaling
Natural Arch in Bryce
This is the only arch in Bryce Canyon that one can see from the viewing areas. Arches NP has all the rest!!! along at 60-70 miles an hour!
At one rest stop there was still another canyon with rocks so gray they were almost white. The road-side sign said this area was called the “big swell”. The stop was on a high mesa and looking west, I could see the rise in the land right up to snow covered mountains. The view included the various lines and changing colors that geologists contribute to the eons and eras of erosion and changes in the compression of the earth. It was interesting to see. I will attach a photo, but it really doesn't do the area justice.
Also as I drove along, I saw what I though was low clouds on the horizon. I discovered they were not clouds, but some of the snow covered mountains of Colorado!
Just before Grand Junction, the road picked up my old friend, the Colorado River again. This brought more gorges and fascinating rock formations. That river is sure one busy one, carving all these canyons and gorges! At one point I stopped to photograph one mountain that was so rippled it looked like a Ruffles potato chip!
Since I had consulted several
Rainbow Point
You can see the amount of snow at the highest point in Bryce. of my books about where to spend the night, I settled on Rifle Falls State Park. It is about 20 miles off the interstate, but it was worth the drive. I think this park is one of the hidden treasures of Colorado. I will write more about it in the next chapter. It's been a long day and Cali wants my attention.
Cali—I sure do! I'm bored again. When we move around, Mommy won't let me go outside and all I can do is sleep while we are going! Now she has fixed the cabinet door in the bathroom, so I can't get in there. I liked it in there. It's dark and quiet. Note: that is also where the RV heating ducts are!
I let her know I was bored, too. I shredded the toilet paper and the paper towels!!! I don't understand why I can't go outside. I've never seen one of those coyote things through the window and I always come back when I go out. I've only stayed out all night a couple of times!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.257s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 8; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0972s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Kathy
non-member comment
April Travels
Martha, I love the pictures and your description of your travels! Makes me want to go but also makes me feel like I've been there. Thanks for your awesome posts!