Awesome Bryce Canyon and Kodachrome Basin

After Zion, we couldn't imagine anything more spectacular and then.....Bryce Canyon.  Wow!  The natural forces of our planet are amazing.  Unlike Zion carved out by the seasonal tributaries and the powerful Virgin River, Bryce Canyon has been sculpted by freeze, thaw, crumble, crack, erosion.  Over 220 days of the year in Bryce drop below the freezing point.  Expansion and contraction of the sedimentary sandstone has led to the unique topography of the canyon.

As valleys of run off are carved out when it rains, hoodoos (the spires) reveal the layers of the past in brilliant colors.  Each one of the hoodoos erode as individually as snowflakes.  Our imaginations went wild as we could perceive figures emerging from the stones.  Without doing the hiking, enjoy some of the photos of Bryce, not only of the stone but of the flora and fauna as well.

Bristle Cone Pines as old as 4,000 years old have been found here

White Fir trees, the needles taste lemony and are a source of Vitamin C

The View Looking Toward the Grand Canyon

The Poodle Hoodoo

Bart Simpson??

Can you see the Horse Hoodoo on the right side going down into the canyon?

Frosted Tops

Great Bladdery Milk Vetch - Quite a name for such a little flower with iridescent fruit pod.

Bryce Canyon Amphitheater 

Grottos

Hoodoos like lit candles in setting sun

Windows into the Past

And all of that beauty was in Day 1.  Oops forgot this one.

Is Russ that tough?

Nope!  He's a Sweet Marshmellow kind of a guy!

You said you want somemore?

Here are the photos from our second day and our trek on the Navajo and Queen's Garden Trails.

Morning Lighting Casts and Orange Glow

Thor's Hammer

Time for a Trail Snack

Our Favorite Hoodoo - Queen Victoria

And She's Riding Backward on A Camel!

Beautiful Beyond Words

Good Bye Bryce!

We were in Bryce for three days over the Memorial Day Weekend and left on Tuesday for Kodachrome Basin only 2 hours away.  This basin has yet again another type of erosion pattern that makes for unique spires.  Geologists are not quite sure how these spires were formed.  One of the three theories which seems to make the most sense to me, is the one where water erodes deep vertical crevices in softer rock.  Over time a harder sedimentary rock fills in the crevices.  During the next big erosion cycle, the softer rock washes away, leaving the pipes or spires that filled in the crevices.

Russ led me on a not so easy mountain bike trail.

Yep, Did A Lot of Wheel Spinning in the Sand

Found and Indian cave with embedded handprints.....old, new, not sure.

Terracota Chimneys

Some of the sculpted stone looked like pottery.

See how the crevices could fill with the harder rock on top?

We only spent one night in Kodachrome Basin and left today for the Grand Escalante Stair Case.

All is Well With the Worrall Travelers.

Across America - Zion National Park, Utah

Zion in Hebrew means Place of Refuge

Sunset in the Virgin River Valley

We arrived at Zion on Tuesday, May 21.  Wow! wow! wow!  Incredibly beautiful. Mountains, flowers, colors, waterfalls, river, birds, wildlife.  Our four days here flew by.


One of the joys of growing older is the $10.00 Senior Lifetime Pass at America's National Parks.  One pass allows the holder to bring in two additional people under their pass.  Theoretically, we only needed one pass.  Since National Parks are one of America's greatest assets, we bought two passes to support the parks.  Surely this is the best entertainment and adventure value one can buy and enjoy.  We also bought a National Park Passport and are going to start filling it up with stamps and cancellations from our visits

To0 bad we didn't start this 44 years ago when we first got married.  I'm sure it would be half full by now, but I guess we will be encouraged to retrace some of our former visits.

There is also a kids passport book.  We bought one.....just in case we have a grandchild aboard someday.  Hope, hope.

While in Zion, we geocached,  hiked, biked, trekked up the Virgin River, enjoyed the evening ranger programs, blooming flowers, rise of the full moon, and the glow and woodsmoke of the campfires.  The weather could not have been more beautiful.

Not that we didn't spend some of our time with our electronic gadgets, but we found the family next to us making different memories of their campfires than we did as kids.  What happen to games like "cheeky, cheeky", "Going on a Bear Hunt", and roasting marshmallows?

Maybe it was their sustained silent reading program

Here are some of our favorite photos:

Cactus flowers blooming

White Throne, Organ, Angels' Landing

Likin Lichen Patterns

Mist From Upper Emerald Pool's Fall

Yep.  I Passed on This One.

Russ Taking Photos....Not Over The Edge

Hidden Canyon Hike Along the Edge

River Walk Starts Wide and Lazy, Tapers to Narrow and Wet

Wildflower Gardens Hang on Sheer Rock Walls

River Gorge Narrows, Walls Grow Steeper

Salmon Swimming Upstream - Hopefully not to spawn and die

Roz Trekking Up the Icey Cold Water of the Virgin River

Into the Narrows

Slot Canyon Walk - Very Narrow

Stunning Views in Every Direction

Today is Saturday, May 25.  We left Zion this morning and are now in Bryce Canyon for three days.
As we left Zion, we caught a few last photos:

Checker Board Mesa

Leaving Zion Behind Us

Good Bye Zion

Moving on to Bryce National Canyon

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's on RV Trailblazer