Bryce Canyon isn't really a true canyon - it wasn't actually carved by a running river. This area was once a great basin - a big pool of water with no outlet. Different layers of sediments settled on the bottom of the basin, and as the water either drained away or evaporated, the sediments turned to rock. We're at about 8,000 feet of elevation here, and the temperature drops below freezing about 200 times a year. The constant freezing and thawing of the moisture creates fissures in the formations, pieces of rock begin crack and fall down. Then, the occasional rain and/or monsoon carries away the debris.
Bryce Canyon is stunning though. Absolutely crazy looking formations and colors.
Did a short hike down into the canyon to this little tunnel. It was about 70 degrees, at the top of the canyon and 80 degrees down on the trail. I caught some strange looks because everyone was in shorts and t-shirts but me. I was still wearing all my biker gear because I was still freezing cold from the ride.
Looking up at the beginning of the trail-head after walking through the tunnel in the picture above. Note the people on the observation ledge at the upper right part of the rock formation (you'll need to enlarge the photo). A couple of the previous pictures were taken from that location.
At this point, I'm about 250 miles from Vegas. It's early afternoon, and I figure that I can knock that out by early evening and have a little fun. Google Maps, however, says that I should go about 20 miles north first, then over to I-15. But I can see that heading south for about 50 miles to Hwy 9 looks quicker. Hwy 9 also runs through Zion National Park, which beautiful, but I've already been there. So, I figure that I'll just bust on through the park to the freeway and on to Vegas.
Zion National Park
Once I get to Hwy 9, however, there's a sign that says all vehicles have to pay the $25 park fee to cross through to I-15 - perhaps that's why the map directed me north first, duh! Well, I'm not backtracking 50 miles, and fortunately, motorcycles get into the parks at half-price.
Zion is just as stunning as Bryce Canyon, but the formations are different. Zion is a true, narrow canyon with mountain peaks at an elevation of +/- 7,000 feet, and a canyon floor at +/- 4,000 feet. Rain from the 11,000 foot elevation of the Colorado Plateau to the north flows into the Virgin River, which carves the canyon, flows further south to the Grand Canyon, and ultimately, to the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean. 90% of the runoff from the Colorado Plateau takes this path. This series of formations, from the Plateau, to Bryce, to Zion, and to the Grand Canyon is known as the Grand Staircase.
Since I'm here, it's hard not to just slow down and enjoy the ride.
The tightest part of the canyon isn't open to traffic. You have to take a park bus, which takes about 90 minutes round-trip. We didn't do that the last time I was here, so I figured I should take advantage of that this time. Of course, now, I'm way behind on making it to Vegas.
There's a "first-come, first-served" campground inside the park. The sign says it's full, but one of the rangers said I should still troll through and see if there are any empty spots. About 3/4's of the way through, I've seen a couple spots that have a receipt on the post, but no other sign of occupancy. I thought I'd ask the camp host about them, but then I see a random guy waving at me.
Andre is from Quebec, and is on a 2-month tour of the US park system. He said that the campground has been full for the last two days, and he figured that I was trying to scope out for a spot. Two tents and two vehicles are allowed on each site, so he said that I was welcome to set up my tent there. He'd already been forced out of a couple of park campsites that were full, so he knew what I was up against and figured he help a guy out.
The low temperature was a comfortable 64 degrees that night, and the stars were absolutely brilliant. One of the best views of the Milky Way that I've ever seen.
