Happy Anniversary!

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Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

 

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May 23 -- part 3, walking up out of the "canyon", and the rest of the day

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Here is a link to the interactive expedition map.  I added restaurant Hummus and Heifer to the map.



Walking up out of Bryce "Canyon."

Aquarius Plateau on the horizon.

A wider view of a sandy (rather than rocky) part of the near landscape.

I think we came up the trail that's visible on the right, but I can't remember being right next to that white hoodoo near the center of the image.  Note the big tree at right.  In a moment we'll be higher and will see its top.

Closer crop of the above.

Zig-zagging up and up.  The same big tree at right we saw before, from a higher angle.

Closer crop of the above -- I didn't notice this little tree until I saw the previous image on "the big screen."  I'm afraid this baby tree has chosen poorly.  I recently read a book by a botanist, who talked about the way seeds must choose when to germinate, throwing all of their genetic dice at once, and hoping for the best.  This looks like a very precarious position to me......

Hoodoo formation in "action"......  Water will continue to find its way into the vertical cracks, and will freeze there, crushing rock.  Gravel/sand resulting from the ice's expansion will trickle out of the cracks, and slowly slowly the hoodoos will separate from each other.

Keeping going.  Up and up.

Looking back whence we came.  There were a bunch of teenagers on this trail.  They kept running up past us, and then having to stop to breathe, so we caught up to them.  Over and over.

Now we are nearly up to the rim.

This next image shows Sunset Point, where we started this hike.  Sunset Point is just left of the middle of the image, above the zigzag of trail in the center of the image. 

Closer crop.  We walked down that zigzag about 2.5 hours before I took this pic.

Back to our room for a rest. That's our balcony, upper left.

What a pretty day.

Old folks sitting on the balcony, waiting for the youngster to finish her walk.

We left the park and went into Panguitch for supper.  This is Red Canyon.

This is Hummus and Heifer, a husband-and-wife vegetarian-and-barbeque place.  We had delicious salads, prepared by friendly people in a quirky and fun location.  Recommended.

My daughter's birthday is May 22.  One of her best friends from high school has a birthday on May 24.  They both love cheesecake.

May 23 is designated as Cheesecake Day.  This slice is from the Bryce Canyon National Park lodge restaurant, and it was a fine way to celebrate Cheesecake day.  There was a huge line at the restaurant; we got take-out cheesecake, and ate it on our balcony.  Mmmmmmm.

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May 23 -- part 2, walking in Bryce Canyon

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Here is a link to the interactive expedition map.



Walking along the "canyon" floor in Bryce Canyon National Park.

Starting to climb back up to the rim.

When there's water to come down, some of it comes down here.

Here are two pictures, overlaid, to show a formation from top to bottom.  It would be helpful to have a person for scale.  I think the sticking out part of the bottom of this is sort of 5-6' tall?

Top of the same formation as above.  You couldn't stand far enough away from this to get the whole thing in one shot.  Or, at least, I, with my camera, could not.

Walking between formations.  I wish I had taken a pic straight up from here.....

Closer crop of the above.

We'll be walking through here in a moment.

Up, and up, and up.

None of this was terribly steep, and there was no "climbing over" anything.  Not rocks, not fallen trees.  But I kept getting out of breath.

I walk.  I walk every day, and my neighborhood has hills, including one steep one, which I power right up, essentially every day.  I kept thinking "What's wrong with me; I can't breathe!"

Then I remembered the helpful ranger we talked to on May 21, who said "Remember the elevation!  Drink, drink, drink, and keep stopping to catch your breath."

That's what I did.  I paused and caught my breath every time there was shade.  And had a drink......

We stood under this tree on the left, enjoying its shade, and had a drink.....

Amazing landscape!  (Trail at right, crossing over to the left about a third of the way up from the bottom.)

The next image shows Sunrise Point, where we will finish this hike.  The area in the top right, with trees, is all fenced and the left end of it is Sunrise Point.  We still have some significant height to attain.

Closer crop of the above.  We'll be walking those zigs and zags, when we get to them.

Sunrise Point is in the next one, too, but my focus was on the precariously-balanced rocks....

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