Bryce Canyon National Park

The past couple of days have been spent exploring Bryce Canyon National Park. It's nice to visit again and the park has reaffirmed itself as my favorite national park, although it's a slim lead over Grand Teton.

I got in Friday afternoon and it was cold, snowy and windy. It was pretty much the same in Page when I left, except it was rain, not snow. Unfortunately the rain meant I couldn't drive through on Cottonwood Canyon Road. Any amount of rain here could lead to flash floods, and the ranger at the visitor center just outside Page advised anyone driving it in the rain. I'm glad I stopped and asked, not only for the information, but also because it was a pretty neat visitor center. They had a lot of information on the geology of Grand Staircase-Escalante, plus some dinosaur fossils found inside the monument.

Yesterday I got up early and tried to shoot the sunrise from my favorite viewpoint, but as there wasn't any sun, it proved rather difficult. After about an hour it finally came out and I was able to take some pictures, including getting one taken of me. Might as well.

After that, I rested up and headed out for my favorite hike in the park, the Fairyland Loop Trail. It drops down below the rim and you get to hike around the hoodoos that make the park so famous. These are pillars of eroded sandstone and are pretty unique to the area.

Once that was done, I drove south on the park road to visit the park's high country. High in this case being a relative term as the entire park sits above 7000' in elevation, with all of the major facilities being above 8000'. It was still pretty neat though, as it transitions from desert and small pine and juniper to thick forests of spruce and fir. Just something else that makes the park unique.

On the way back I put on my big zoom lens in the hopes of getting some photos of the park's many mule deer. I'd seen them everywhere and thought I might as well practice some wildlife shots.

I ended up getting a huge surprise though, as what I initially thought were mule deer turned out to be pronghorn antelope. I'd never seen them in the wild before and to see them right at the side of the road was really special. They're usually very skittish and bolt at the slightest approach from humans.

Today started off pretty much the same as yesterday, except that my trip is winding down. I'm finishing up here and then heading back to Salt Lake City to fly home. I've been to Salt Lake three times now, but have never had a chance to really explore the city. With my flight tonight being a redeye, I'll have plenty of time to check it out.