Nebraska/Utah Trip 2016 - Day 20

We slept in today then decided to take a short hike on the Mossy Cave Trail, a .8 mile out-and-back hike with a 200 ft elevation gain.  The trail is inside the park boundaries but outside the park entrance area.  It is right off of State Route 12, designated an  "American Scenic Route" through Utah.  The stream running through the canyon carries water from the East Fork of the Sevier River to the Mormon settlers in the small town of Tropic.  A canal was completed in 1892, connecting the Sevier River to the Paria River, which brought much needed water to the semi-arid Bryce Valley adjacent to what is now Bryce Canyon National Park.  The canal follows natural water courses and has flowed more-or-less continuously year-round ever since. 

The trail continues uphill along the stream then branches off to a small waterfall in one direction and a mossy cave on the side of the hill in the other.  It was a a very pretty short walk and despite the slightly warmer temperatures today, we enjoyed it and didn't have any problems.

After the walk, we drove another mile or so into the town of Tropic, so named by the early homesteaders because it was usually warmer than the surrounding area. The town is small and appears to support some agricultural and ranching activities.  There are also a few of the roadside amenities you might expect to find along a fairly well-traveled road.

After that, we returned to Bryce Canyon City, the commercial area just prior to the park entrance.  The area is apparently all owned by one family and just about everything is named after the nickname of the founder of the original Bryce Canyon Inn in 1906, "Ruby" Styert.  Everything in the "town" is named Ruby's this-or-that (e.g. Ruby's Campground, Ruby's Best Western Inn, Ruby's Auto repair, etc.)  We ate lunch at Ruby's restaurant and afterwards toured the extensive attached gift shop.  The area, just outside the park entrance, is geared to the tourist trade and offers a lot of of activities visitors may want to do..

We then went back to an overlook in the park we missed yesterday, Fairyland Point.  It is easy to miss because it is outside the park entrance and the sign pointing to the overlook is only visible as you leave the park.  The overlook was equally as impressive as the ones we visited yesterday.  Very few people were there, apparently as it is outside the park entrance - a hidden gem.

We also went back to the nearby Sunset Point overlook, hoping to catch a picture of people returning along a trail on horseback.  I took the picture yesterday but inadvertently deleted it. Alas, there were no horses to take pictures of today, but I did get a picture of hikers on a high ridge trail in the canyon.  On the way back to the RV park we picked up a few groceries at a nearby grocery/convenience store.  After a late lunch, we had dinner in the RV and went to bed early.

We are heading NW to Ely, Nevada tomorrow as we continue our journey hone.

Day 20 Pictures

Nebraska/Utah Trip 2016 - Day 19

We toured Bryce Canyon National Park Today, starting off at the Visitors Center where we watched a 15 minute orientation video and toured the exhibits.  Then, after a short visit to the gift shop we began our driving tour.

The park is basically long and narrow with a series of "amphitheaters" or canyons on the east side of the park.  There are numerous overlooks along the 18 mile drive from one end of the park to the other where you can stop and enjoy the views and take pictures.  There also numerous trails where you can hike down into and around the canyons, and in some cases take guided tours on mules or on horseback.

The spectacular rock formations in the canyons are called "hoodoos", crimson-colored spire-shaped rock formations. These tall sandstone columns were formed by erosion and geological lifting over millions of years. Here is the link to more information about the hoodoos and the geology of the park:

Bryce Canyon National Park Geology

The elevation of the park varies mostly between 8,000-9,000 ft and the rock formations are mixed with an alpine forest setting of pine, birch fir and spruce trees along with mixed underbrush vegetation.

The park is very popular with tourists and a shuttle bus service is provided to encourage visitors to use it to reduce traffic congestion.  There are also two campgrounds, a general store and a hotel lodge and restaurant in the park.  As in Arches National Park, there were also a lot of tour buses and visitors from other countries.

We drove to the end of the park, stopped at all the overlooks on the way back and had lunch at the hotel lodge restaurant.  The weather was perfect again, sunny and temperatures in the low 80s' although it did seem hotter by the end of the day.  It was another great national park visit that we thoroughly enjoyed.

The National Antique Motorcycle Association was holding a national ride through three national parks in Utah and they happened to pass through Bryce Canyon today.  There were lots of old guys (and gals) on old motorcycles lovingly restored.  One couple I talked to was riding a 1942 Harley Davidson restored to its WW II colors.

The park is also hosting the "16th Annual Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival" from June 1-4. The festival includes daytime and evening programs as well as stargazing after dark at a viewing station within the park.  Shuttles are provided to the site to view the evening sky through telescopes set-up by astronomers attending the festival.  We went to the site and made our way in the dark (no white lights were allowed) along the line of over a dozen telescopes set-up by the amateur astronomers, viewing everything from planets and stars to galaxies.  It was really impressive to see how many stars are out there when you look at the sky on a clear night at 8,000 ft with no other lights visible.

We decided to not go to Zion tomorrow.  It is a long drive from here (83 miles) so we will save a visit there for our next trip to the area.  The plan for tomorrow is to see a little more of the park and relax a bit before leaving on Sunday.

Day 19 Pictures