By the way, I didn't want to mention it, but the 18-mile road inside the canyon is super-duper bikeable, even on a cold day like this, even with snow packed up on the side. I had promised Petr I would not bug him with biking for 2 days after Canyonlands, so I am not allowed to say anything today. I made a mental note for myself about it. The farthest point inside the park is Rainbow Point (9115ft elevation), with some shorter trails heading out from it into a bristlecone pine forest. We get there, park and walk over to the railing by the overlook. When we lift our heads, my jaw drops, my eyes pop and my mind is blown away. I just could not believe my eyes. It's hard to describe. The color are various shades of red, coral pink and white - with all their gradations in between- and the rocks come in all forms and shapes - pinnacle, spires, steeples, points, the so-called "hoodoos" - that seem to defy gravity. This is so vast that I would need 360º vision to take it all in. I had high expectations from this park, and they were more than met this time. You know how it is, when you build expectations from hearing about something from other people who have seen it and when you finally get to see it with your own eyes, it is somewhat of a disappointment. Well, not in this case. I could use the most superlative adjectives I can find in any dictionary, and still I wouldn't do the place justice.
After looping the trail back to the parking lot, we work our way back to the entrance stopping at each overlook, taking pictures and simply taking in all our eyes can endure. It's exactly when I think I have seen it all that the view gets even better. We arrive at Bryce Point, a small detour from the main road which gives you a view of the Bryce Amphitheater, so called because the rocks are arranged in such a form. Imagine one million gothic cathedrals packed next to each other, or one on top of the other, with steeples and pinnacles that have begun to melt in the sun but not to the point that they would lose their original shape. This is how I will remember Bryce, just like the little wet sand conical towers my sister and I used to make on the beach when we were little. Except that these come in kodachrome colors. The rim trail, a 17-mile trail that winds its way through all this beauty, passes just underneath this point, and we cannot resist following it at least for a while to get closer to these rocks. We walk for a few miles, and I think we must have taken 500 pictures by now.
Once we are back at the entrance, we realize that there wouldn't be enough time for the helicopter tour, and the clouds are even lower than this morning, so visibility is also an issue. But we are equally happy to have seen it up close and experienced the silence and the stillness of the place on a solitary trail. I would love to take the entire 2-day trip through it one day.
Leaving the Escalante canyon on our way to Bryce N.P.
The road winding through it.
Welcome to Bryce National Park!
First view from Rainbow Point.
Ponderosa Canyon.
This is by the Natural Bridge overlook. By now I know that this is an arch and not a bridge, an inscription also explains that it has been misnamed.
Farview Point.
Bryce Point.
Bryce Amphitheater, a closeup.
The amphitheater, just zoomed out.
A panoramic view, with the Rim Trail visible through the trees.
This was taken at Inspiration Point, where we started our walk.
Another panorama.
Still the amphitheater.
Here we are getting closer to it.
On our way down on the trail.
Laura waiting for Petr to catch up.
I especially liked this balanced rock about 100ft from the ground.
It may be hard to see but these switchbacks are so narrow, they remind me of Lombard St. in San Francisco. The national park service must have used the same urban engineer to design them. Petr is on the right.
Now it's my turn to go down first.
Looking up at the switchbacks as more people descend into the canyon.
Back on top, this is truly magnificent.