Day 10 & 11 of our 30-day Southwest Grand Circle Caravan – Bryce Canyon Bryce Canyon

Your first view of the Canyon is a dramatic feast for the eyes! You walk through stands of Ponderosa pines until they break at the rim of Bryce Canyon, revealing a panorama of goblins, towers, fins and hoodoos of a color you can’t quite name. The rim reaches over 9,100 feet above sea level!

Are there other places where hoodoos (odd-shaped pillars of rock left standing from the forces of erosion) can be found? Yes. They are on every continent, but at Bryce Canyon is the largest collection of hoodoos in the world!

What is a hoodoo? Hoodoos don’t grow like trees, but are eroded out of the cliffs where rows of narrow walls form from the canyon wall. These thin walls of rock are called fins. 

Frost wedging enlarges cracks in the fins, creating holes or windows. As windows grow, their tops eventually collapse, leaving a column. 

The elements further dissolve these limestone pillars into spires called hoodoos. Over time as old hoodoos erode, new hoodoos are formed.

Bryce Canyon's landscape is unique, there is nothing quite like it anywhere else on earth. 

Views from the canyon rim are spectacular, but the views are even better when you hike down in among the hoodoos and other interesting formations. I captured these hikers way across the canyon from us. they look like ants, because they were far down in the hoodoos.

We took a trail ride to the rim, but you can take a trail ride on horseback to the bottom of the canyon. I am sure it is beautiful, But no thanks ... it is at least 3-hours! My real quandary is, why is there a mule on the horse trail? Oh, you can take a horseback ride or a mule ride to the base of the canyon. Would a mule be anymore comfortable than a horse?

Try and describe them to someone, it is an impossible task. Some might call it a forest of stone. But then there are trees growing among the stone. Others would say that the wind, water and time have eroded the sandstone cliffs into characters plucked from the subconscious of a mad man. So silent, so eerie and yet so beautiful.

Photographs do not do it justice, they miss the depth and wondrous colors!

The canyon’s colors comes alive at every turn, especially as the sun rises and sets.

We enjoyed the much cooler temperatures at Bryce, which were at least 10 degrees cooler than Zion! Since it was a bit cooler, we were able to walk several of the trails and loops while in the park.

The Rim Trail travels along the rim of the canyon from Bryce Point (which was closed because the 1926 concrete was failing and it is under reconstruction) to Inspiration Point, to Sunset Point, to Sunrise Point and ends at Fairyland Point. 

We walked from Inspiration to Sunset one day and from Sunset to Sunrise another day. Every step leads to different and beautiful views!

We went to the north end of the park and walked the Mossy Cave trail to the waterfalls. What I found most interesting, was the water that flowed from the Tropic Ditch, to the Mossy Cave waterfalls and onto the Paria River flowed across the most beautiful colored rock. 

Red, pink and tans … but the pick stood out the most!

Of course, I had to put my feet in the river!

Several of the observation points were accessible by the park shuttle which we took several of the days we visited the park. There are additional viewing points on a 37 mile round trip drive into the southern part of the canyon.

While on the bus, the keen eyed bus drivers helped us to see the wildlife! We saw deer and fawn eating and once day we saw two pronghorn antelopes. We can see chipmunks running all over the park, too!

Our first stop on our self-guided tour of the lower view points was Swamp Canyon with an elevation of 7,998 feet. We never saw any swamp from our vantage point.

Piracy Point – Elevation 8,819 – It was here we found a Uinta Chipmunk or 

Golden-mantled ground squirrel posing for us on a ledge of the canyon. Some of you are saying, you don’t know the difference between a chipmunk and a squirrel? Yes, I do … but both of these have stripes on their backs and the squirrel is only slightly bigger with a more rounded face. 

Okay, after further review, it is a chipmunk! He was so cute, just up there posing for us! He stayed there for a good 5 minutes. The first picture shows where he was and the second is his close up!

Farview Point was adjacent to Piracy Point and we walked along the trail to get between the two. Charlie, Charlie and Rick did not venture to Piracy Point with us, they stayed at Farview. While they were there, they found an "surprise" Natural Bridge. Our next stop is the Natural Bridge that the park set up a view point for. This was our "surprise" Natural Bridge.

Here is the Natural Bridge that the park wants people to view! It has an elevation of 8,624. Someday, this bridge will erode and fall. But who knows how long that will take!

Agua Canyon was another view point with an elevation of 8,800 feet, we could not find any agua (water) in the canyon! We did find this spire that looks like a raised fist or a torch!–

Ponderosa Canyon was the next view point heading south. We are rising just a bit in the elevation at 8,904. There were many Ponderosa pines at this canyon. There also was this one set of sand colored hoodoos among all of these red rock hoodoos! This place is amazing!

At Black Birch Canyon view point, we found a Monarch butterfly. I wonder if the elevation of 8,750, affects her breathing, like it does ours! 

We also found a "window" in the hoodoos at this view point.

At Rainbow Point, we walked the Bristlecone Loop to Yovimpa Point. Both points were at the highest elevations in Bryce - 9,115 feet above sea level. 

The views were breathtaking!

If you never have been here, you really need to come! The pictures do not do the views justice!

Activities at Bryce Canyon on Day 9 & 10 of our 30-day Southwest Grand Circle Caravan

We are staying at Ruby’s Inn RV & Campground. Everything in this area has “Ruby’s Inn” in front of the name. I wondered why? 

So, let me tell you a bit more about the history of Ruby. Reuben Syrett, known as “Ruby” brought his wife Minnie, 8-year old son and 6-week old daughter to the eastern edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau in Southern Utah. They established a ranch near the present site of Ruby’s Inn. A few weeks after his arrival, a visitor from the nearby town of Tropic stopped and asked them if they had ever seen Bryce Canyon. “No, what is it?” The neighbor said, “Just a hole in the ground, but you should see it.” 

So, Ruby and his family made a Sunday visit to the canyon rim. They were mesmerized by the views and took the opportunity to tell other people about the canyon’s beauties. They also became hosts to its visitors. In 1919 they pitched a tent on the rim, to host guests and a year later they had obtained permission from the state to build a lodge, the “Tourist Rest”, near the brink of the canyon. The Union Pacific Railroad Company was developing tourism around National Parks, they wanted the land where “Tourist Rest” was built. In 1923, when Bryce Canyon became a National Monument, Ruby had to sell “Tourist Rest” to the railroad. They went back to ranching, but really missed “Tourist Rest.” So, in 1924 a friend convinced them to build another lodge. They built a lodge on their ranch and called it “Ruby’s Inn.” It boasted a kitchen, dining room, lobby, guest rooms with baths, beauty shop, barber shop, tea room and several tourist cabins. The Post Office established services at Ruby’s Inn. The USPS still services the area residents and guests from that location. Ruby’s reputation grew as the National Monument grew to a National Park, and soon Ruby’s Inn became a large business operation. What started with tent houses and a place to serve meals, lead the way for the building of modern facilities, eating establishments, services and expansive entertainment venues. All that serve the tourists at Bryce Canyon, providing all the traveler needs to make a stay in the Bryce Canyon.

Our first night in Bryce Canyon, we attended the Bryce Canyon Country Rodeo. Charlie and I have been to several, but many in our group have never been to a Rodeo. We got there when the gates open and got good seats, not under then grandstand but in the metal bleachers, at the top, with a backrest! 

Before the show started there were several cowboys and cowgirls riding in the arena. There was the cutest little cowboy that would wave to the crowd. We later learned he is only three or four years old! The stock that we could see in the old fashion corrals looked very good and well taken care of.

They started the event with the National Anthem, with cowboys carrying the US and Utah flags.

The first event was Bronco Bustin’. Those guys could really hold on!

The second event was for the little guys, Mutton Bustin’. If you have never seen these little ones ride, or try and ride … it is an event you have to see!

The little bit bigger kids, had Heifer Bustin’. As the announcer explained, the older guys and girls doing the Bronco Bustin’ and Bull Riders all started out on something smaller!

The kids in the audience got to participate in the Rodeo too. They had three different age levels and each got to chase a pig or piglet. The winner was the child who could catch the pig! If you have ever tried to catch a pig, you know how quick they are!

Barrel Racing was the next event up. The girls that participated were very good! 

The youngest participant was less than 5 years old and she was lead around the barrels by her father. Start them young … that is this family’s motto!

A fun event they had was the “Sweetheart Pick-up.” It was a unique event …. One person had to race down the arena, put on a vest, and climb onto a barrel. Once they were on the barrel, their partner rode down on a horse and the person on the barrel had to get onto the horse and then they raced back together. It was a timed event! We saw a boyfriend pull his girlfriend off the horse! We saw a young man afraid to jump from the barrel onto the horse … it was a very funny event.

The Rodeo ended with a beautiful sunset and a fireworks show celebrating Pioneer Days!

Sunday morning we took our church to the rim of Bryce Canyon on Horseback. 

We witnessed the beauty of his work for the first time on the back of a horse! 

We enjoyed a trail ride from town, through the Ponderosa Pine forest to the north rim of the Canyon. We all were a bit scared, since none of us could remember the last time we were on a horse! We turned in our tickets and waited to be assigned a horse. 

Nancy, got a horse named Alice; Charlie (not my Charlie, he passed on this activity) was riding a horse name Bodacious. Rick was on a horse named Feona and his wife, Donna, rode Lady. My horse was a paint named Wrangles.

We had three cowboys that assisted us with our trail ride. Two of them, were in the Rodeo we saw the night before. There was maybe 20 horses and riders in our group. The funniest part of the ride, was watching all of us try and mount the horses! But, we all did it! 

I guess I should say we were lucky … Myself, Nancy & Charlie were the first three riders … 

Rick and Donna were further back and they said they “ate dust” the entire ride! Those horses are very sure footed, but then they follow the same trail day after day!

The first views of the canyon were priceless!

One of our cowboys, rode along the rim while standing on the back of his horse!

After we turned from the rim, we ran into a herd of cows and a babbling brook. Another of the cowboy ranch hands had his horse gallop through the brook.

The trip back to the corral was just as breathtaking as the trip to the rim, except we were able to see another tour … the ATV / UTV tour. The noise did not bother the cows or the horses!

The total ride was 90 minutes … I think that was enough time on the back of the horse! They offer a 3-hour trip down into the canyon, but 3 hours on the back of the horse is probably 90 minutes too long!

On Sunday night, we attended Ebenezer’s Barn & Grill, a Cowboy Dinner Show. We enjoyed an evening of old fashioned western fun, music and great cowboy food in the heart of Bryce Canyon City! We pre-selected our meals; we had the choice of pulled pork BBQ plate, chicken, salmon or steak. Never being sure of salmon, I selected the steak, as did Charlie. All the meals included cowboy beans, real mashed potatoes, coleslaw, biscuit, dessert and beverages. We were seated at tables of 8 in the first three rows. 

Before the show, we had the opportunity to talk to some of the entertainers. One of them looked very familiar, the more I looked at him, the more I knew we had seen him somewhere before. Later in the show, we learned that he is a bus driver for the Bryce Canyon shuttle. He was our bus driver into the canyon that day! A couple of the entertainers also had skills as “cowboys” and those skills were demonstrated before the meal. There was some trick roping, whip cracking and a few jokes! 

After our delicious meal, the Bar G Wranglers provided great western entertainment. The group all played and sang and offered excellent harmony. They each sang two songs, from modern songs to country classics.

I will blog about all we did at Bryce Canyon in another blog … stay tuned!