Thursday May 25, 2023
Bryce Canyon is known for the hoodoos and has several trails that provide a way to hike down and get a closer look at these odd yet memorizing rock structures. We were able to do this hike and experience the Hoodoos to the fullest extent.
After packing the car once again, we were off to our next adventure location Bryce Canyon National Park. Since our morning was a later start followed by a two and half hour drive, the four of us decided it would be best to eat lunch before heading into the park where we would do a three mile hike.
Bryce Canyon offers a shuttle bus service that makes loop through the park, stopping at multiple trail heads and look outs. Once our car was parked for the day at the visitor center Anna, my mom and I had shopped, we boarded the bus and were en route to Bryce Point, the first viewpoint. After walking a short distance, you could see a three-sixty panoramic view of the hoodoos laying within the walls of the tall red and orange colored canyon.
Then, it was time for our rather challenging hike down into hoodoos that was three miles in total length. The hike started off as steady decline and was all down hill for about one mile. The trail following the hike in was fairly level with frequent curves and drop offs. Anna and I enjoyed hiking through the small doorways in the walls of rock as we made our way through the hoodoos. After hiking another 1.2 miles we began the dreaded and somewhat challenging ascend out of the bottom of Bryce Canyon National Park. The hike to the top was a long steep hill which led into multiple switch backs eventually leading into the final stretch, two more long hills to that lead to the endpoint.
The four of us decided that we had seen and experienced the best of what Bryce Canyon had to offer hiking wise. So, my Dad decided to take a quick stop at the Bryce Canyon Lodge. The Lodge had several different historical artifacts and photos on display which made a nice exhibit.
Following the Lodge, Anna decided to purchase a sweatshirt from the park store to remember our hike and visit at Bryce Canyon National Park.
We all agreed that Bryce Canyon was the most interesting and different looking national park that we had visited on our 2023 Robertsons go West trip.
The final activity of the day was a dinner at a place called Canyon Lodge. The food was mediocre but, still filled us up as we got ready to drive to Cane Beds, Arizona where we would stay in a tiny home for the next three nights.
Thursday was a fun day despite the challenging end to our hike. Bryce Canyon is definitely a different looking type of National Park. The variation between each and every park is what makes trips like these so interesting and enjoyable. I cannot wait to explore the other parks!
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