We are on our way today to Bryce Canyon in Utah. Overnight, we have charged all our toys as well as ourselves and are ready for another day. We aren’t on the road very long before we encounter the rock formations that are a prelude to Bryce itself.
As we enter Utah, we have another time change. We have all lost track of how many times we have changed time zones, and all our devices don’t automatically change, so we never know who really has the right time. Usually time is irrelevant, so we ignore the changes.
By the time we reach Bryce Canyon, it is lunch time, and we decide to eat in the Lodge at the park. Bryce Canyon is viewed following an 18 mile road through the park. All the lookout points are on the left side, so it is suggested that you go to the end, turn around and start back with all the lookout points now on your right side. There are a total of 14 points to see the canyon and we didn’t miss a one. The canyons or amphitheaters are filled with walls, fins, spires, columns and hoodoos—all from the sandstone formed by wind, water, snow and ice. Early Scottish Mormon pioneer, Ebenezer Bryce was reputed to have said, “ It is a helluva a place to lose a cow!”
The wind was fierce at times as we climbed to 9,115 feet elevation, and the temperatures dropped to as low as 53 degrees. Lydia remarked that “ this was a two-jacket park”, and we all agreed. Happy to use all those jackets we have moved around in the back of the car dozens of times.
As we left the park, we were stopped dead in out tracks as a prong horn antelope jogged across the road in front of us. He left behind an entire herd that stayed sheltered in the forest to our right. Other than a hawk in a tree, these were pretty much all the wildlife we saw in the park.
We left the park and headed toward Tropic, UT, where we stayed in a duplex cabin. We didn’t have too many choices for dinner, but were pleased with a small restaurant serving very good meals. As we retired to our cabin, the wind picked up and was blowing with terrible force, maybe as much as 50-60 miles an hour. We weren’t aware of any severe weather warnings, nevertheless, it was rather disconcerting. We had rain overnight and woke up to scattered showers.
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