Bryce Canyon NP

January 15, 2024

From the North Rim of the Grand Canyon we went to Bryce Canyon NP in UT. What words can one use to adequately describe what one sees when peering over the edge and viewing the amphitheaters below that create Bryce Canyon? Magical? A fairyland? A sea of frosted tiered cakes? Or maybe an elaborately decorated wedding cake? The word pale in comparison to the reality of nature itself.

These rock formations are actually called hoodoos. The indigenous of the area, the Paiutes, have a legend about the hoodoos. The story tells of “a time before they arrived, when a group called Legend People lived there. There were many of them; birds, animals, lizards, etc, but they looked like people. These legend people were bad, exactly what they did is unknown, maybe they fought or maybe some of them stole or perhaps something else, but they were bad. As a result, Coyote turned them into stone. You can see them now, some standing in rows, some sitting and some holding onto others. You can see their faces with paint on them, just as they were before they were turned into stone.” Anka-ku-was-a-wits, means red painted faces and may be the origin of the name hoodoo. Like all structures in a canyon, (or in this case an amphitheater) with some rock layers being harder and some softer, these unique structures: spires, windows, castles and walls are formed by wind, water and snow.

As stunning as it was viewing these rock formations from above, it was even more spectacular to hike in amongst them. We hiked several trails down in the hoodoos and managed a couple of bike rides as well.

One day we scooted over to Kodachrome State Park and managed a few short hikes there as well. As you can imagine from its name, the colors and formations were very impressive there as well. It was pretty hot (and sunny, of course. I mean, we were in the desert in the summer.) and with much of the base stone being very light colored, I found that even though I was wearing sunglasses and a hat, after a few hours I was having trouble with my vision, most likely due to the glare, so the hikes were definitely on the shorter side. Who would have guessed that the sun could be unrelenting in the desert during the summer? 🙄🤣

On to pics …

Peering over the edge into the amphitheater makes your jaw drop. It's one of those cases where the more you look, the more you see.

At first, all you can take in is the whole picture. The expanse and number of hoodoos. (The highest concentration in the world, by the way.)

Then you start to focus and begin to notice the differences in colors.

And then you focus even more closely on the details of the various hoodoos. At first they all look the same … oh, but they're not.

The colors, banding and shapes define these differences.

A big window in the foreground wall

What a curious top to this wall. It's so flat.

spire

Another window

Wall of windows

Peeking over the rim, across the amphitheater to the mountains beyond.

Kodachrome State Park

Back in Bryce

Many of the hoodoos do resemble statues of people.

Hiking in the hoodoos

Sometimes while hiking in amongst the hoodoos, your imagination gets the better of you and you start to see things … like heart shaped windows against blue skies.

Queen Victoria

I'm not sure what this is, a chicken, Snoopy standing????

And, of course, some are just plain gravity defying

A natural bridge

And a tunnel through a wall (that's Martin checking out where the trail goes on the other side.)

I was perfectly fine hiking all over down in the amphitheater, even though that meant several ascents up over walls during the hike …but, oy vey…coming up the side of the amphitheater wall which was sooooooo steep. Much Huffing … and Puffing … Again … 🙄

Of course, the switchbacks help but as you can see, the side of the amphitheater really is pretty darn steep.

Thor’s Hammer - a well known landmark.

Rabbitbush in foreground, juniper in background

Fauna

As we were hiking along the rim, this turkey vulture was just over the rim, down into the amphitheater. Apparently he was resting on that rock for a bit, (drying his wings?)

You know, they look quite regal soaring in the sky and perform an important job in the ecosystem, but close up ... Boy, these guys are pretty darn ugly.

From one extreme to the other …now just look at this little guy isn't he just the cutest little thing you've ever seen? (And, yes, the stripes on the face make it a chipmunk.)