What a day………and what an impossible task I’ve set myself.  Today I hiked 3 miles on a loop trail down into Bryce Canyon and back up.  Took Many, Many pictures on the way, of course.  Now………how do I choose which of several 100 shots to put on this page ??  I rode the shuttle bus into the canyon and got off at Sunrise Viewpoint.  Walk to the overlook and it about takes your breath away.  If you haven’t seen Bryce Canyon pictures before, you may not believe it.  The colors are insane.  This shot shows the beginning of the trail down the descent for the Navajo Loop/Queens Garden trails, a combined 3 mile loop down into the canyon and back up and out the other side…………

You go Waaaay down and thru the big slot canyon just right of center here……………..

I wasn’t fooling about waaaaay down……………..

There were hordes of people……….mostly German tourists, but a few others in the mix, too.  For some reason I really enjoy slot canyons.  Neat……………

Everyone got along fine and there were lots of smiles back and forth and expressions of awe.  This big Ponderosa Pine had somehow gotten a roothold down here and was the object of a lot of admiration……….and many photographs.  The reflected colors are great……………..

Back into the light of day at the bottom, you’re immediately hit with the new perspective……………..

 

 

To me, this looked like E.T. (does anyone remember him ??) looking down at us………………

I’m skipping a lot here because there just isn’t space.  Starting up out of the canyon it just kept getting better………………

Much higher now, we’re getting into an area where you can see between the “fins” of rock.  The white formations have an almost translucent quality to them, as tho’ they’re mad of white glass.  How many superlatives can I use ??  It’s a wonderful hike………………

 

Like a fairyland…………

 

How’s that for a nutshell tour of Bryce Canyon ??  It’d be real easy to use 100 or more pictures.  Coming west from Bryce, I’d been told to watch for Red Rock Canyon and it was great, too, including the 3 tunnels.  From there I went south and then across the mountains to Cedar City, UT over a 9700 foot pass that was a tremendous ride its’ ownself.  Just not enuf space, but could put in a lot of pics just from that’n, too.  What a day.  Tomorrow will be driving all day across Nevada and to Lassen Volcanic Park in north central California.  This is Tuesday………..should be in Lassen on Thursday.                          Lar.

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Larry Bourne
Santa Fe, NM
www.gogittum.com
www.gogittum.com/blog

Posted: July 28th, 2009 under 09 Vacation, 09-6-30 Bryce Canyon.
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