southwest road trip - day 8 - bryce canyon

Our second day in Bryce dawned bright and sunny. We decided to do a couple of shorter hikes to the most popular formations and view points in the park. We started at Sunrise Point where we had a great view down into an area known as Bryce Amphitheatre.

We started with a 1 mile hike down into the canyon on the Queens Garden Trail.

The trail took us close to some interesting hoodoos...

... and through small tunnels in the narrow sandstone fins...

... into the area known as the Queens Garden.

As the sign explains, many of the formations in the park have been named for their perceived resemblance to people or objects.

It took us a while but eventually we "found" the hoodoo named after Queen Victoria. (Didn't think to look UP to find her sitting on top of a rock spire.) So there she sits on her high throne looking down on a "garden" of smaller hoodoos.

We then joined the 2 mile Navajo Loop Trail which took down us down into the canyon floor and along a dry stream bed, before climbing back towards the canyon rim.

The ascent took us into a narrow slot canyon where we were startled to come across these towering Douglas Fir trees, believed to be about 450 years old.

We took a short rest at the base of the trees...

... before continuing the 500ft climb up through the narrow slot canyon known as "Wall Street".

Looking back down into Wall Street from higher up the trail you can see how hikers are dwarfed by the height of canyon walls. (You may need to click on the pic to enlarge it to make the hikers out!)

After our hike we headed to Rainbow Point at the far southern end of the park where we stopped for a picnic lunch and to take in the view back along the canyon rim. Rainbow Point is the highest point in the park at 9,115ft (2778m)

We then took the 18 mile scenic drive back through the park, stopping at many viewpoints on the way. Here at Ponderosa Point Mark made friends with large black raven.

At Natural Bridge viewpoint a large natural arch provides a glimpse through to a thick forest of Ponderosa Pine in the valley below.

southwest road trip - day 7 - bryce canyon - fairyland loop

From the Grand Canyon we headed back into southern Utah to Bryce Canyon National Park, famous for its unusual rock spires called hoodoos. Located on the edge of a high plateau between 8,000 and 9,000ft, the canyon has been shaped not by flowing water but by mechanical and chemical weathering. For 200 days a year the temperature goes above and below freezing every day. During the day, melt water seeps into fractures in the rock only to freeze at night, expanding and cracking the rock. Over time this "frost-wedging" shatters and pries rock apart. In addition, rain water, which is naturally acidic, slowly dissolves the limestone, rounding off edges and washing away debris.

Unfortunately, the wet weather seemed to have followed us but we didn't want to just view the canyon from the car, so we donned some wet weather gear and braving the sticky red mud set out for a 3 mile (4.8km) hike to a formation called Tower Bridge.

On the way we passed through a gap in a long, white rock fin called the China Wall.

After descending nearly 1,000ft from the canyon rim we came to a small stream and the well-named Tower Bridge which, sitting some 50ft upslope of the stream, didn't exactly span the water, but did resemble its namesake.

From Tower Bridge we could have returned to the canyon rim, but a small sign indicating "Fairyland Point 4 miles via Fairyland Loop Trail" tempted us to push on, despite the continuing drizzle. The trees didn't offer us much shelter, but the scenery was enticing. Here Boat Mesa towers above the hoodoos (and us).

The rocks and soil in the canyon are primarily siltstone and limestone that apparently turns into a sticky mess when wet. Our shoes kept gathering red mud that clung so well it felt like walking with weights on our feet!

Mark admires the rows and rows of hoodoos. Hoodoos are spires of rock that have alternating hard and soft layers that weather unevenly giving them a totem-pole or stone statue-like appearance. The term hoodoo comes from African-American folk-magic meaning "to cast a spell" or "one who performs magic". A fitting name for the fantastic shapes in Bryce Canyon.

This one caught our eye. Could that be a hoodoo cat sitting atop the rock?

As the day wore on the weather began to improve and patches of blue appeared in the sky.

As we climbed higher up the trail we began to get glimpses out of the canyon to the valley beyond. (If you click on this pic to enlarge it you'll see people on the trail that will give you some perspective of the size of the hoodoo formations).

The green vegetation made an interesting contrast to the oranges, pinks and whites of the rock formations. We noticed a couple of large caves hiding between these hoodoos. (Click on the pic and the caves will be easier to see).

Eventually the canyon rim was again in sight. The climb back up to the canyon rim sure was a lot harder than the climb down! (Especially after hiking for 5.5 miles)

When we got to Fairyland Point we admired the view and then checked the map. It was another 2.7 miles along the Rim Trail back to our car at Sunrise Point!

Fortunately the rim trail was just gently undulating, and there were interesting view spots along the way.

We even found a convenient log to take a short rest on and admire the view. We'd certainly earned the pizza we had that night for dinner!

southwest road trip - day 6 - grand canyon

On our way from Lake Powell to our next destination (Bryce Canyon) we made a fleeting visit to The Grand Canyon (north rim). The north rim offers quite a different experience to the more-often-visited south rim. It sits atop the Kaibab Plateau about 1,000ft higher than the south rim, resulting in cooler temperatures, higher rainfall and a lush forest environment, very different to the desert-like landscape on the south rim. Unfortunately, the weather was wet the day we arrived, so our first view point, near the Grand Canyon Lodge was shrouded with low cloud and no canyon in sight!

In the hope of catching a few glimpses of the canyon we decided to hike out to Bright Angel Point about 3/4 mile (1.2km) from the lodge. The Grand Canyon is 275 miles long and is essentially made up of a series of canyons and river tributaries of the Colorado River. During our walk the sun did come out and we were able to see across Roaring Springs Canyon (above), although the view of the main canyon was still shrouded in cloud.

On the advice of a local ranger, we then took the winding scenic drive to Point Imperial at the north eastern end of the park. Point Imperial, the highest point on the North Rim at 8,803 feet (2683m), overlooks the Painted Desert and the eastern end of Grand Canyon.

Here, between the drifting cloud banks we were able to see the impressive size and colors of the canyon.

If you look closely you can see the moisture drops clinging to the fresh spring growth on the pine trees that lined the trail to Point Imperial.

Our next stop was Walhalla Overlook. At this point it started to rain again and was quite cold. As you can see from our expressions we were wondering if we weren't a little mad for wanting to see the views this badly!

A closer look at the canyon from Walhalla Overlook. Because of the height of the canyon and its steep walls, there are few places where you can actually see the Colorado River from the canyon rim. This is one of those few places. A bend of the Colorado River (and even some white water rapids) can be seen in the middle of this picture. (The river in the foreground is just a tributary).

The view looking east from Walhalla Point. From here it is about 8 miles (as the crow flies) across the canyon to the south rim. It is 215 miles by road!

Our next stop was Angels Window Overlook at Cape Royal. As you can see, the clouds were closing in again, but it was neat to see the sun lighting up the south rim. In the center right of the picture a ledge of rock juts out from the main ridgeline and forms a natural bridge. The hole is known as "Angels Window". It is so hard to get a sense of the size of the canyon in a photo, but if you click on the picture to enlarge it, you might just be able to make out that there are people standing out on this ledge.

Our final stop was at Cape Royal. This shot was taken from the ledge over Angels Window. I like the mood in this picture as the overhanging clouds make dark silhouettes of the trees while the sun still shines on the other side of the canyon. Soon after this pic it started to rain very hard and we had to run the 1/2 mile back down the trail to the cars. As we got into our cars it started to hail! Although we didn't get to see the canyon in all its glory, it was a very interesting visit.

southwest road trip - day 5 - lake powell

The American Southwest is famous for its spectacular desert scenery - not a place one expects to find a 250 square mile (660km2) lake, so we rented a 19ft speedboat for a day to check it out. Lake Powell was formed to provide water storage and power generation by the (controversial) construction of the Glen Canyon Dam across the Colorado River in 1963. It took 18 years from the completion of the dam for it to fill.

There are 5 marinas on Lake Powell, we headed to Wahweap Marina, just across the border from Page, Arizona to pick up our rental. There were literally hundreds of powerboats and houseboats at this marina. It's obviously a very popular recreation spot. After a few minutes of instuction on the operation of our boat we were on our way...

...zipping across the lake with the wind in our hair and marvelling at the red, brown and cream rock rising out of the water.

After about 1/2 hour of motoring we pulled into a sandy beach to check it out. The area is mostly Navajo Sandstone that is slowly eroding forming interesting canyons and red sand beaches. The water (including a lot of spring snow melt from the Utah and Colorado high country) was too cold for swimming, but it was fun to explore the shore. Pinnacle Rock makes an impressive backdrop in this shot.

Back in the boat, we headed into Labyrinth Canyon, a twisting narrow waterway formed by the filling of Labyrinth Creek canyon when the dam was built. The water was fairly smooth and glassy here in the shelter of the canyon walls.

After an hour or so exploring Labyrinth Canyon we headed back out into the lake with a pitstop at one of the many "floating rest rooms" they have provided on the lake. There's even a windsock atop the pontoon so you can guage your approach direction! This one was called Dominguez Butte Rest Room - named for the large rock outcrop behind it, but we couldn't resist the obvious joke about naming a restroom after someones butt!

After our reststop, we headed further up the lake into the broader Face Canyon (don't know where it got its name), looking for a sheltered spot to stop for lunch. We stopped in a small bay opposite a towering rock ridge that we decided to call "the great wall of china". It ran as far as we could see in either direction. If you look closely you'll see a houseboat on the right-hand side of this pic, which will give you some idea of the height of the ridge.

After lunch we decided to explore further up Face Canyon to see how far we could get. As the canyon got narrower Mike kept a lookout for shallow spots or submerged rocks.

In some places the canyon walls seemed to close in so much that we thought we would have to turn around, but as this picture shows, looks can be deceiving - we actually fit through this opening, see the wake from our boat in the water? We all felt it was rather like being on a ride at a theme park, never knowing what was around the corner!

Sometimes we'd come across a boat going the other way and we'd say "if they're coming from that direction there must be more to explore".

Eventually it was time to turn around and head back into the open waters of the lake to explore some more and enjoy the fun of having a speed boat. We spent quite a bit of time crossing the wide expanse of Padre Bay (named after the missionary leaders of a Spanish expedition that crossed the Colorado River here in 1776).

Despite having a speedboat, we only made it 23 miles down the 140 mile length of Lake Powell - there were so many offshoot canyons and bays to explore. The contrast of the bare rock, sand and sparse vegetation with the abundance of water was quite striking, and everywhere you looked there were huge cliffs, mesas and buttes (like this one called Gunsight Butte) towering over the lake. What a great day!