Day 7 (Friday, June 22nd). On Thursday we drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce Canyon was na
med after the Mormon Pioneer Ebenezer Bryce and was designated a national park in 1924. Bryce Canyon transcends 2000 feet in elevation but can readily be experienced from the top of the canyon. In fact that is where you enter Bryce--from the top of the canyon. Bryce is famous for its' horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The erosional forces of frost-wedging and rainwater have shaped the colorful limestone rock into a maze of bizarre s
hapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and most famously the spires called "hoodoos." On Thursday, in the late afternoon, we simply walked along the rim itself. From the canyon rim are continuous views of the hoodoo amphitheaters (see pictures). We determined to take an early morning trail-ride the next day to take us down into the canyon, to experience the canyon from the bottom-up.
med after the Mormon Pioneer Ebenezer Bryce and was designated a national park in 1924. Bryce Canyon transcends 2000 feet in elevation but can readily be experienced from the top of the canyon. In fact that is where you enter Bryce--from the top of the canyon. Bryce is famous for its' horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved from the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The erosional forces of frost-wedging and rainwater have shaped the colorful limestone rock into a maze of bizarre s
hapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and most famously the spires called "hoodoos." On Thursday, in the late afternoon, we simply walked along the rim itself. From the canyon rim are continuous views of the hoodoo amphitheaters (see pictures). We determined to take an early morning trail-ride the next day to take us down into the canyon, to experience the canyon from the bottom-up.We left Bryce and made our way to the Grand Staircase Inn, our lodging for the night, we made a quick sidetrip to nearby Kodachrome Basin State Park. The park was named by a National Geographic expedition 
in 1948 who were experimenting with the then relatively new brand of Kodak film. Kodachrome Basin State Park is a small, attractive park surrounded by colorful cliffs. It boasts the world's only collection of "sand pipes," some 67 in all. Sand pipes (a.k.a. "chimney rocks") are oddly shaped rock pillars that rise up to 170 feet above the ground. The sand pipes are thought to be solidified sediment that filled ancient springs or geysers and have been left standing after the softer surrounding sandstone rock weathered away. We were there only a few minutes but I did take one of my favorite pictures there (see picture at left). The sandpipe in this picture is the tubular, whitish rock formation on the left-hand side of the picture (click on picture to enlarge).
On Friday, we started our early morning two hour trail-ride into Bryce Canyon. We scheduled with Canyon Trail Rides, the only outfit that leads tours of Bryce Canyon proper. The kids and I got mules, (Judy on Bluejay, I got Goose, and Elroy rode Fester); Jane was given Anaconda, a nice-looking horse, to ride. In the past, I have never liked any trail-ride we have ever taken and I was silently dispirited about spending money of this activity, but the trail-ride was awesome.
in 1948 who were experimenting with the then relatively new brand of Kodak film. Kodachrome Basin State Park is a small, attractive park surrounded by colorful cliffs. It boasts the world's only collection of "sand pipes," some 67 in all. Sand pipes (a.k.a. "chimney rocks") are oddly shaped rock pillars that rise up to 170 feet above the ground. The sand pipes are thought to be solidified sediment that filled ancient springs or geysers and have been left standing after the softer surrounding sandstone rock weathered away. We were there only a few minutes but I did take one of my favorite pictures there (see picture at left). The sandpipe in this picture is the tubular, whitish rock formation on the left-hand side of the picture (click on picture to enlarge).On Friday, we started our early morning two hour trail-ride into Bryce Canyon. We scheduled with Canyon Trail Rides, the only outfit that leads tours of Bryce Canyon proper. The kids and I got mules, (Judy on Bluejay, I got Goose, and Elroy rode Fester); Jane was given Anaconda, a nice-looking horse, to ride. In the past, I have never liked any trail-ride we have ever taken and I was silently dispirited about spending money of this activity, but the trail-ride was awesome.
The cowboys got us our mounts and we hit the trail fast and the scenery was incredible. We entered a horse trail that started at the top of the canyon with wonderful vistas of the hoodoos (see picture at left) and descended down to the bottom of canyon. All the while the cowboy guide pointing out various rock formations and cracking bad cowboy jokes. I was most glad during the ascent as the mules were doing all the work to get us back to the canyon rim and we could just sit-back and enjoy the scenery (see picture below as we we climbing back-up the
canyon). The cowboy jokes as I remember them were: when pointing out rock formations towering directly overhead, we were told to look out for poison rock.......one drop will kill you! Another time we stopped along the trail and the cowboy informed us that this was the most dangerous portion of the trail and to be very cautious. He then told us the danger was due to a huge boulder to our right that was only held back from crushing us by the little stick propped up under the rock. You'll have to click on the picture below and look for the puny stick the cowboy was referring to. Of course these jokes were greeting with a spattering of guffaws---but our cowboy guide was okay.
After the trail-ride and a quick lunch, I tried to hike down into the canyon on my own. It was now about 2-3 pm. Although it was pleasant on the canyon rim (with a nice breeze blowing), with every step down into the canyon I took the air in the canyon got hotter and the sun more intense---this was the only time during the whole trip when it was really uncomfortable (due to the heat not the elevation) and as I turned around to head back up to the rim was even more thankful we had taken the trail-ride earlier in the day. Afterward, we went back to the hotel to rest up.
Toward evening we decided to hike the Mossy Cave Trail. We intended just to spend a half hour or so exploring, but this area of Bryce was so interesting, peaceful and oddly attractive that we spent a couple hours. Even though the trail is called Mossy Cave and indeed has a mossy cave at the end, its' more engaging feature is a fast-moving stream with a small but dramatic waterfall (see picture at bottom of post). The stream is not natural; in the 1800's pioneers dug an irrigation ditch through
this area from the East Fork of the Sevier River. This provided the nearby communities of Tropic and Cannonville with much needed water but it changed the geology of the canyon by washing away the hoodoos. However, the result was a nice wide path alongside a stream of oddly crystal clear water. An easy hike along the path provided magnificent vie
ws of hoodoo's high up on the canyon walls (see pictures). We went back to the hotel satisfied with the whole day, the trail-ride and the hike on the Mossy Cave Trail. Tomorrow would be another long day driving. We had on schedule to head down the Arizona to spend the next two nights Flagstaff, AZ.
this area from the East Fork of the Sevier River. This provided the nearby communities of Tropic and Cannonville with much needed water but it changed the geology of the canyon by washing away the hoodoos. However, the result was a nice wide path alongside a stream of oddly crystal clear water. An easy hike along the path provided magnificent vie
ws of hoodoo's high up on the canyon walls (see pictures). We went back to the hotel satisfied with the whole day, the trail-ride and the hike on the Mossy Cave Trail. Tomorrow would be another long day driving. We had on schedule to head down the Arizona to spend the next two nights Flagstaff, AZ.
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