Bryce Canyon was our first stop and actually it has been my favorite so far. We started with the Mossy Cave hike. In addition to the cave we saw a man-made river and waterfall in the desert at the base of some beautiful hoodoos. (Yes, Mormon settlers dug out a seven mile path to get the water here) We took the kids' river shoes and they were able to hike up the river in the river and that was a big hit. We also hiked to the top of the waterfall for some beautiful views!
The best views of the hoodoos were later in the day as we drove the scenic route and checked out various view points.
Sister was also really happy to see a couple deer later in the day that she could record in her Junior Ranger book. Of course they added a new badge to their collections!
Next....
Zion was crowded! It is a canyon and the roads were built in the 20s - so it was not designed with the "masses" in mind. The entrance from the east was over taxed. We inched forward for a half hour to the entrance station and then drove in bumper to bumper traffic through the park and back out the South entrance due to lack of parking.
To deal with the masses they have instituted a shuttle system. It is a good idea, but there is no where to park, hence the reason we entered and then had to exit the park without stopping. You have to go to the town of Springdale and they charge you $20/day. That really pissed us off - this is the first National Park where we had to pay a city to park our car in order to access our public lands. So that sucked.
On the flip side it is gorgeous and even from the car windows you can take some great shots.
After we resolved the parking issue and ate our picnic in the pay parking lot because we did not anticipate such a long ride without being able to stop our "hangryness" was somewhat subdued and we set off to re-enter the park through the walk-in entrance. The visitor center was packed but we managed to secure some Junior Ranger books. We then set off for the shuttle and to the Human History Museum where we attended a very excellent Ranger talk about the geology of the area and watched the park film. I have nothing but good things to say about the Ranger talk - when he said it would last a half hour I wondered if we would be bored, but when it was over I have to admit we were all completely engaged from beginning to end and the time flew! Something I learned - reflected on the board behind him...all of the geological layers have seemingly Native American names except for the top layer which is called "Temple Cap" named by the Mormons. Actually all of the sites are named by the Mormons despite the fact that the area already had names bestowed by the Native Peoples who lived there. In 1909 when the park was designated the original name, Mukuntuweap, was used. It was changed in 1917 after pressure from the local Mormon community. All of the sites have modern Christian, not Native, names. Of course this is true of Bryce Canyon too - Ebeneezer Bryce is the polygamist Mormon man after which Bryce Canyon is named. This was not the focus of the Ranger talk - I am condensing facts included in the talk and the films at both parks.
Ok, enough about that...we did an awesome hike to the Weeping Rock after a ride on the Shuttle along the "Virgin River" (That's what the Native Peoples called it....NOT)
The rock was indeed weeping, a result of snow melt seeping through the ground and leaving cracks in the rocks. The result was this beautiful hanging garden where even wildflowers were growing. It was quite wonderful - even magical. Another visitor told me she had visited a number of times and this was the first time she saw it weeping. I am glad we were able to see it this way and to cool off in the shade and mist after a very long and hot day. Plus it was a good place to get your hat damp with some clean mountain water while enjoying the view!
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