We slept in a bit today, then caught the shuttle into Bryce Canyon National Park…
Bryce Canyon National Park is an national park located in southwestern Utah. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which despite its name, is not a canyon, but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by frost weathering and stream erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks. The red, orange, and white colors of the rocks provide spectacular views for park visitors. The rim at Bryce varies from 8,000 to 9,000 feet.
The Bryce Canyon area was settled by Mormon pioneers in the 1850s and was named after Ebenezer Bryce, who homesteaded in the area in 1874. The area around Bryce Canyon was originally designated as a national monument by President Warren G. Harding in 1923 and was redesignated as a national park by Congress in 1928. The park covers 35,835 acres…
We took the shuttle around the main amphitheater to Bryce Point, elev. 8,300′. We walked the Rim Trail, overlooking the amphitheater. Along the way we passed Inspiration Point, Sunset Point, and Sunrise Point, elev. 8,000′. Along the way were several ups and downs, so we had our fair share of elevation change.
Needless to say, the views were spectacular. All along the way we saw, well, rocks…
We found a spot to rest from time to time…
And, in the event we need a picture of me for my funeral, we have this…
We kept walking and saw amazing things…
See the hands…
See the cathedral with flying buttresses…
This was the viewpoint at Bryce Point, where we started…
Single photos don’t do it justice, so I was forced to use the panorama mode…
This is where the path is on the ridge, with the amphitheater on one side and forest on the other…
We arrived at the end of today’s trail…
We found our way to the Lodge – typical National Park Lodge, only smaller.
The Bryce Canyon Lodge was built by the Utah Parks Company, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad, as part of the railroad’s project to develop tourist traffic to Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon by providing noteworthy destination hotels at each park. The Union Pacific was following in the footsteps of other railroads’ efforts to promote the western parks of the United States and Canada. Architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood was in charge of the design work for the Union Pacific hotels. Construction at the Bryce Lodge started in 1924 and was completed in the early summer of 1925. The guest wings were added in 1926 and the auditorium in 1927. Tourists were brought by train to Cedar City, Utah, where they were taken by custom 11 passenger bus-limousines to the various national park lodges.
We had a nice lunch to refresh ourselves after the ordeal of our “hike”…
After lunch we peaked around the lodge to see what we could see…
We returned to the RV Park, via the shuttle, and rested up for our evening out.
Tonight we go to Ebeneezers Cowboy Barn and Grill, for dinner and a show. This has been a tradition of the Southwest Caravan for many years. Remember that Ebeneezer Bryce settled this land, so the name is an homage to him… It is a very large dining room (approximately 300-400 people), not exactly a barn, but certainly as ugly as one…
Even though it is less than a mile from the RV park, everyone has to drive their truck… Because, Utah…
We waited outside until they opened the doors…
We did get a table up front. I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, or not…
We shared the table with three other Airstream couples…
The food was quite good for a mass buffet, and the “band” (three guitar players/singers) was very talented. They made the show seem very casual and improvised and addressed directly to us, the audience. However, I would hazard a guess that if we returned tomorrow night we would see the EXACT same casual and improvised show…
We returned to The Villa and turned in…
And an enjoyable time was had by all…
Adventures in the Villa 