Bryce Canyon Day 2

Today we woke up later because there were no annoying ravens to wake us up at 5:00am. We didn’t get to sleep as late as we may have wanted because someone thought it would be a good idea to give their children a recorder and harmonica at 7:00 in the morning. Also, there are people in this world that talk very loudly for some reason that we can’t figure out.

We didn’t have to rush to be anywhere so we fixed a big breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast. We ate a half a pound of bacon and 6 eggs between us. I love a leisurely breakfast.

Today’s major activity was a hike into and through Bryce Canyon. A park ranger told us the best hikes to take so we got started on this adventure around 11:00. The temperature is perfect here during the days, topping out around 75 or 80. The first section of the trail was a little downhill and very beautiful. We stopped every 50 feet it seemed for a photo. This section of the trail is called The Queen’s Garden Trail. Photo of the Queen’s Garden is below.

The next section of the trail is called Peekaboo Loop. Here’s where it gets interesting. Somehow, this 3 mile hike is uphill both ways. It literally defies all laws of space and time. I told the ranger we were enthusiastic hikers when she asked me what we were looking to do and I now regret that statement. A normal 3 mile hike would be a piece of cake, but this one kept us walking essentially straight uphill for what seemed forever. We were both exhausted by the time we got finished with the loop. What made it worse was that a thunderstorm was moving in and we couldn’t move any faster to try to beat it because of the terrain. In the end, we were glad we did it because there were some views you couldn’t get anywhere else in the park.

We got to the last section of the trail called Navajo Loop. It is another set of very steep switchbacks up to the top of the canyon through these sheer cliffs. It was very beautiful and on a normal day I would have taken a lot of pictures. Unfortunately, a thunderstorm erupted over us and it began absolutely pouring rain. We put our rain jackets on, but didn’t have our pants with us and we got very soaked from the waist down. The trail became pretty treacherous as well as runoff began making it muddy and slippery. Then the hail began. Thankfully it was only pea size hail so it just stings a little when it hits your head. The lightning was a bit disconcerting as well, but we both made it out unscathed. It’s appropriate to mention that we ran into the thunderstorm just as we were passing the hoodoo called Thor’s Hammer. Thor is the Norse god of thunder, so I guess he wanted us to experience a little of his specialty. We finally got to the top and caught a shuttle back to the Jeep. By that time it quit raining so we were able to get out of out wet clothes at the tent without too much trouble. A good portion of the campsite may have seen me in my underwear since I changed outside the tent, but at that point I really didn’t care.

After that ordeal, we were both pretty wiped out, so I took a 2-hour nap and Kate read for a while. We got up around 4:30 and went to the general store to do some writing and journaling while enjoying some ice cream before we went back to the campsite to cook supper.

After supper we went to hang out at the Bryce Canyon Lodge and relax in their comfortable chairs while we read for a bit. We were waiting on a Dark Ranger program on Native Americans that turned out to be a bit boring. We left early so we could get to the parking lot that had all the telescopes. It turned out to be a smart move since we were some of the first people there. Clouds were rolling in, but we got to see some pretty cool things in these massive telescopes that cost anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000.

We saw the rings of Saturn, which was very neat. We also saw a few of Saturn’s moons. We saw a binary star (a yellow and blue star orbiting each other), a red giant (a really big star at the end of it’s life cycle), Vega (one of the brightest and closest stars to Earth, and a ring nebula.

With just our eyes, we got to see the International Space Station orbiting Earth and Venus so bright it looked like a headlight. It’s so dark at Bryce that you can see things with the naked eye that you can’t see many other places in the US. We saw the Milky Way and the rift in the middle of it. It started raining before we could see everything, but it was definitely a highlight of the trip.

That took us to 11:00pm so we both climbed into bed. It rained twice during the night and a little water got into the tent, but thankfully not much. We’ll be at Zion National Park soon and the average temperature there is 103, so we shouldn’t have any trouble drying out.

Kate just finished reading a book by Don Miller called “Through Painted Deserts”, our friend Adam Cline loaned it to us. One of the quotes from the book seems to perfectly describe how we feel about the stars in Bryce Canyon.

“I wonder at His beautiful system and how it is better than anything I could have chosen to invent for myself. I wonder as I gaze up at the night sky, this love letter from God to creation, this reminder that somewhere there is peace, somewhere there is order, and I think about how great His kingdom is, and is going to be, and I wonder in this rare and beautiful moment, how I could ever want to walk away from it all. There are so many stars I will dream of them. I open my eyes and see stars, then close them and see stars.”

I think Don said it better than I could have.

We’ve also been listening to a book while we travel called “13 Moons” by Charles Frazier, the author of “Cold Mountain”. There is a quote by the main character that I liked almost as much as the one above.

“I don’t think I want to live in a world without sausage biscuits.”

~Andy & Kate