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In case you missed them:
Day One and Two: The drive down, and a foggy adventure through the park.
Day 3: Back to the park!
Day 3 was checkout day. We woke up fairly early and packed everything up so we could check out of the hotel. They had forecasted terrible weather today, but luckily they were way off. Yes, there was snow on the ground, but the weather was just about perfect! So we decided to head back into the park.
Unfortunately because of the snow the main park road was closed 4 miles in which meant we couldn’t see most of the view points, but luckily the 4 best view points were still open. Hooray!
Snowy trees and beautiful skies!
Back to Sunrise Point. No deer today but it is a winter wonderland.
This is the view I was hoping to see! I am so glad we came back in today. So stunning!
The red hoodoos certainly standout against the white snow.
Panoramic.
Cool old gas station. I wonder when was the last time it was operational.
And this would be Sunset Point. I think I like Sunset better than Sunrise.
And down here you can see Thors Hammer.
A little closer.
Another angle.
Thors Hammer actually looks better from this angle.
Snow covered hoodoos.
Wall Street.
I got one of the trees in it. They seem much, much bigger from below.
Next stop is Bryce Point. This particular feature is called The Grottos. It is actually a lot cooler than I remember.
Do you see why this is my favorite point yet?
Some more snowy hoodoos.
Bryce point has this cool little pine filled valley in the middle.
Panoramic of the view from Bryce Point.
The Grottos look cool from this angle.
A very nice couple asked us to take their picture and I obliged. We started walking away when I went hey wait, can you return the favor? I’m, glad I did. Otherwise we would have ended up with the same thing that happened last year, just single shots of us here.
Closer to the parking lot there is a small alcove that offers this view. If the point out is too much for you, at least you get this view. But, seriously, go to the point. There is a small section that is not fenced, but you’ll be fine. I am terrified of heights and I did fine in the fog, and I did fine on a snowy path.
And this is Inspiration Point.
A mess of hoodoos.
I like this point as well. I think the ranger was correct in saying the 4 best points were still open today.
Someone made a itty bitty little snowman.
Reds whites and greens.
The trail above is closed, probably because it’s snowy and there isn’t a fence on the canyon side. Looks like a few people at least chose to ignore that.
Snowy trees.
Well that was all we could do in the park today as the rest is closed. I am glad that we made the other points yesterday, even though the weather wasn’t great.
Bryce Canyon is awesome, and you can spend a half day just doing all of the various viewpoints. However, to fully experience it I recommend planning some time to hike down into it. Be advised, all trails (other than Mossy Cave) start at the top and go down in before coming back up. So know what you are getting yourself into. Know it will be tougher on the way out. Also, as much as I loved the new experience of doing it in the wintertime, for your first visit I recommend spring, early summer. It is pretty hot, but you are really going to get to experience this special park. I might go back and post some of my old pictures from the last time we were here.
Well we had our fun and saw everything we could see. We checked out the Visitors Center, and the souvenir shops in town. I got a couple cool little things that I am pleased with. Now was the time to start heading home.
Not far down the road is Red Canyon. It’s fairly pretty, and has some trails but I don’t know too much about them.
The man blasted tunnels. Landis found a sign that he says mentioned they were originally just going to demolish the outcroppings, but eventually decided to blast some tunnels through.
Interesting formation.
The second tunnel.
Cool formations.
Neat little window.
Some tall hoodoos. These last few images were taken from the parking lot of the Visitor Center, which unfortunately does not open until May.
The next view point. There are a couple of trails here, the was one called the Hoodoo Trail that sounded interesting but we did not do it today.
Well I lied I walked a little ways up it.
Some fun hoodoos.
Across the way.
This one looks like a couple lions.
More hoodoos.
There is another trail that goes up towards that but we didn’t do it. Now that I am home I wish I had researched the area the Arch Trail sound awesome.
And the beginning (or end as you are leaving Bryce) of Red Canyon.
Red Canyon is pretty cool. There are actually quite a few nifty sounding little trails and as far as I can tell is free to visit. Definitely going to plan some more time here next time we pass through.
Time to head on back.
I think I saw a pair of eagles in this tree. (DBP Album).
Roxy just having a fun time.
One of the mountains we have to get over. (DBP Album).
The front end of Mount Nebo (The tallest in the Wasatch Range). The back end of it is actually a pretty scenic drive and a nice little day trip. Also, oddly enough, there is a little area that is often referred to as the miniature Bryce Canyon called Devil’s Kitchen. (DBP Album).
My new game to keep me entertained on the long drive was to see how far back I could recognize and name peaks. Here is Timpanogos. The 2nd tallest. (DBP Album).
Well that was a short lived game. The weather got too bad to really see anything.
Mount Olympus obscured by rain and clouds. (DBP Album).
Before long we made it home, the weather was much better on the way home than on the way in so we made much better time.
Even with the weather which made driving a little rough, and hiking and site seeing a little cold, it was a wonderful late winter vacation. I did eventually get the view of the hoodoos in Bryce Canyon covered in snow. I got see see a neat ice cave, explored Red Canyon a little more and most importantly, get away from it all and relax. If you have never been to Bryce, I say go see this amazing display of nature. Also, it is about 1-2 hours from Zion so you can hit them both with one trip.
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