Bryce Canyon Trip

Randy and I went to Bryce Canyon May 10th and came home on May 13th. We figured a mid-week trip and the 2nd week of May to boot, would mean fewer people at the canyon.

We finished packing up the car Tuesday morning and hit the road about 7:30am. We took Route 87 north up to Lake Mary Rd to Flagstaff. From there, we took Rt 89 past Page AZ and on toward Kanab. However, once in Utah, we stopped at a ranger station for a rest break and to pick up a free map of Utah. We had a nice chat with the Ranger and just before we left, he asked what we were driving. When we answered with a 4 wheel drive Jeep, he suggested we take a dirt road north, cutting many miles off of our drive and enabling us to see some of the southern part of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. We said, heck yeah, we can do that.

We continued up Rt 89 for a few more miles and took the road the ranger suggested. As promised, it was dirt, and was called Cottonwood Rd as it goes thru Cottonwood Canyon. The begining of the road had warnings about needing a high clearance vehicle and not to use the road if it's been raining. It had been dry all day tho the sky was clouding up with the threat of rain. (20% chance was the forcast, but in my experience, 20% almost always means it will actually rain.)

It was a great ride. The road went pretty much north, following the Veria River. The canyon is home to a lot of cows and we had to keep a careful eye out when coming around a corner as there were cows and their calves usually standing in the middle of the road.

The scenery was great and an excellent prelude for the rest of our trip. We had to stop to take pictures several times. At the northern end of the road, there were trailheads for hiking. We got off the dirt road just about the time the rain started sprinkling down. The road goes almost directly to Cannonville UT, where our KOA campground was located. We didn't have any trouble at all finding it.

So, we signed in and hurried to the campsite. We quickly unloaded just what we needed to; tent, tools, etc., and set the tent up as fast as we could. It was lightly raining by now and of course, the tent and tarp under pad was damp but we got it all set up and managed to get the air mattresses blown up without getting them too wet.

At that point, it was raining. This KOA has a Kitchen Pavilion with stove top and running water, what a luxury. However, rather than trying to cook dinner there, we just went to dinner in the nearby town of Tropic. We had a nice meal and went back to the tent. We hooked up a light (the KOA has electric available at most sites) and read while the rain pattered on the tent.

Of course it rained on and off all night, the last rain happening about 5:30am. So
when we got up about 6am, everything was wet but the sky was clearing and we were anticipating a nice day for going to Bryce Canyon. So, we had a quick, cold cereal and banana breakfast, did up the few breakfast dishes (the kitchen pavilion has a dishwashing spot too!) and hit the road for Bryce about 7:30am.

On the way to Bryce (about 13 miles or so from the KOA) we saw a pull off for a short hike 1/3 mile or so, to a Mossy Cave and waterfall. It turns out that the Paria River, running thru the Bryce Valley, didn't run all year. The Mormon settlers in the valley at Tropic and Cannonville, found it difficult to ranch without a steady supply of water. So, in 1889, they decided to dig a canal and bring water to the valley from the east fork of the Sevier River. It took 2 years but the clever fellows dug out the Tropic Ditch, using existing water courses where available. The water still flows year round and leads to the Paria River watercourse thru the Bryce Valley.

Anyway, the early morning sun was hitting the hoodoos of this little canyon making a marvelous picture. We climbed up the trail along the ditch and took a look at the little man made water fall. Then hiked to the little mossy cave as well. By the time we got back to the car, the clouds were rolling in. Now it was still cold, about 45 - 50 degrees or so. We were dressed in pants, t-shirts and sweatshirts, I had on my fleece jacket.

We headed on to Bryce Canyon, going thru the new town of Bryce Canyon City. A tourist city only, it caters to visitors to the canyon. It has hotels, a couple of places to eat, gas stations, horse rides, a daily rodeo, ATV rides, etc.. Anyway, we got to the park gate and picked up our phamplet, which had maps of the canyon, suggested hikes, and other information. It said it is best to go to the southern end of the canyon then, stop at the viewpoints on the way back. Good advice, so we drove the 18 miles to the end, Rainbow Point.

Once there, it started snowing. Rainbow Point is the highest point in the canyon at
9115 feet. There was still snow on the ground from the winter and now it was overcast, foggy and snowing! There were quite a few people at this point and we all enjoyed the view, at least what we could see of it. At one end of the viewing area, someone with a sense of humor made 2 tiny snowmen.

We went back to the car, and went to the next viewpoint, Black Birch Canyon. Again, very limited viewing, and we were getting cold. The next point and the 4th one were the same. It's still snowing, we're not dressed for winter weather and we really can't see much. However, what we can see is pretty dramatic and with a covering of snow, pretty photogenic. We decided to pack it in and do something else.

We went back to the campsite and put away some things we had left out and packed ourselves a lunch. At 11am, we left the campground and headed east on Rt 12. Utah's Rt 12 is a national scenic byway and several people had told us that we should drive it. So, we started east and I want to say, it is one of the most beautiful drives we have ever taken. It goes thru the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and we had to stop every few miles to take pictures.

In the town of Escalante, we stopped at the Ranger office and Visitor Center and got some advice about heading to the town of Boulder to see the indian ruins. That we did. Along the way, we had to keep stopping to take pictures because it was just one fantastic view after another. A little way before Boulder, we stopped at a viewpoint looking out from the top of the mesa into the valley where Boulder sits. The signage mentioned the road we were about to drive on. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, it's called the Million Dollar road. It's winding, steep and goes across a hogback, a bit of land that's only just a little wider than the road. A little scary but perfectly safe.

Once in Boulder, we found the Anasazi State Park, right in town! It cost $5 each to get in so we did. There is a small museum, describing the ancient people of the area and how they lived. Then outside, there is a reconstruction of an adobe house and then the actual excavated prehistoric village. We spent about an hour there, looking at the village and the museum. After that, we headed back to the camp ground.

Fortunately, it had stopped raining by the time we got back to the campground but it was windy. I took advantage of the shower facilities and back at the tent, tried to read. However, the wind just kept blowing more and more hard. Finally, I took the laptop and got in the car to get out of the wind. I used the campground WIFI signal to make a brief facebook post. At that point the wind was blowing so hard that the side of the tent facing the wind was being pushed right in. I was hoping that with sunset the wind would die down. Fortunately it did so I managed to cook supper, get the dishes done and we could sit and enjoy our little campfire.

We didn't stay out there too late, we had gotten up early and it was cold out. So, once the fire died to a few coals, we went to bed. The next morning (Thursday) it was about 32 or 33 degrees. We knew that because there was a light frost on everything. However, it was clear so we decided to try the canyon again. What a difference a day makes. Again, we started at the southern end of the park and the views were fantastic. We could see forever! Every viewpoint was extraordinary.

Finally, we got to Sunrise Point and parked the car. We had brought along the cooler so we could make lunch (sandwiches). Once that was done, we broke out our hiking poles and headed for what the park brochure called the World's Best 3 mile
hike. This is the Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop trail. It started on the rim, drops down into the canyon bottom then climbs back out on the Navajo loop trail via a slot canyon called Wall Street.

The trail goes down into the canyon past hundreds of hoodoos. It's nice to get up closer to them by hiking into the canyon. Once down at the bottom, the trail runs thru a ponderosa pine wood and then connects to the Navajo loop trail. Once we got the the Wall Street trail, we were into the slot canyon. Due to the rain the day before, the trail was all wet, sticky, slippery clay. It's also steep, zigzagging back and forth across the canyon. Finally, we emerged at Sunset Point. From there we took the Rim Trail (paved and handicapped accessible) along the rim edge back to Sunrise Point. I think it is one of the greatest 3 mile hikes!

By now, it was 3:30pm and we decided to call it a day, but not before we hit the gift shops. I found a t-shirt for me and one for Betty and a coffee mug and souvenier spoon to boot. Then we headed back to the campsite. After a shower and a bit of reading, I got supper cooked and cleaned up. We had a final campfire before hitting the sleeping bags about 9pm.

Up early the next day, we packed up the car and headed west on Rt 12 and had breakfast at the hotel restaurant in Bryce Canyon City. Finally on our way, this part of Rt 12 is also beautiful. In Red Canyon, we had to stop and set up a picture of me driving the car thru an archway cut thru the rock for the road. There were lots of lovely little towns along the way to Rt 89. Good thing I hadn't visited Utah before AZ, we might have moved there!

We took Rt 89 south thru Kanab and at Fredonia, took Rt89A east. Lovely views of the Vermillion Cliffs. About noon, we stopped in Gap, a little north of Flagstaff. Randy parked under the only tree around and we made sandwiches. We went into the little trading post there, looked around and bought some snacks. Then headed on home.

Randy took over 500 pictures and it took him 2 days to go thru them all. He didn't keep all of them of course, he got rid of the bad ones and the duplicates. If you're planning a trip, consider Bryce Canyon. You won't be disappointed.