Bryce Canyon May 28th 2010

I want to add an editorial comment here. Why is it that so many of the National Parks in the Southwest are named after a white settler and almost none after the tribes who populated the area for hundreds of years before Columbus ever left Spain for the New World? Seems a bit unfair don’t you think?

Each of the National Parks we visit on this trip is different. Bryce is the most compact and the canyon rim is at the highest elevation, reaching over 9,000 feet at its pinnacle. The pictures attached speak to the beauty of the place. Bryce is very unique for its “hoodoos”, sandstone structures aligned in rows that look like the famous Chinese Terracotta Soldiers.

Bryce is small enough that one can experience its beauty within a few hours. The hike from the rim to the floor of the canyon drops steeply but if you are in reasonable shape you can do a good round trip up and back within three hours or so. And because of the elevation, Bryce is the coolest of the parks. In fact the day before we arrived the temps were as low as the twenties and it snowed!

No trip to Bryce would be complete without a stop at Ruby’s . Ruby’s is just outside the entrance to the park and has lodgings from tents up to reasonably fancy hotel rooms. The place has been open for more than 70 years. The restaurant is fun, decorated with all sorts of memorabilia from times gone by and the food is pretty good, especially the pie with ice cream.