Bryce Canyon NP

We woke up to our worst fear this morning: no water flowing out of our taps and a frozen water pump too. Ron went back outside to fiddle with the furnace again. Finally, he found the wires that had been disturbed by the bumps in the road. He put them back in place and to our delight the furnace finally cut on. WE HAD HEAT!! What’s more, there were no explosions from the furnace this time. We turned the furnace up and put our little rotating heater under the RV to try to warm up the pipes from below as well. After about 2 hours, water began to trickle and then flow through our pipes. We were so lucky that our pipes did not burst.  Now that we have a functioning furnace this will make our chilly nights less stressful.  

While we waited to make sure all was well with our RV, the kids got a chance to attend all of their online classes. Then, we headed into Bryce Canyon National Park. My parents weren’t kidding about how beautiful it is. We made a quick stop at the visitor center to get a map and some suggestions about where to hike (with kids).

The colours in this National Park were just like Arches National Park, but the rock formations were different. Hoodoos exist all over the world but the largest concentration of hoodoos on earth are in Bryce Canyon National Park.  Multiple weathering processes create hoodoos, and here in Bryce Canyon frost wedging is the primary weathering force. Bryce Canyon experiences more than 200 freeze-thaw cycles each year. We could even see snow on some of the hoodoos. The white snow and bright blue sky made for a beautiful contrast against the stunning pink/red colours of the hoodoos.

We drove to the end of the park to hike the Bristlecone Loop trail and see Yovimpa and Rainbow Point. The views were incredible. Wyatt did a great job on this little hike of 1.22 miles so we were optimistic for the rest of the day.

Our next destination was Sunrise and Sunset Point. We wanted to hike the Navajo Loop Trail and Queens Garden Trail. This hike would take us between Sunrise and Sunset Point and down into the canyon with the towering hoodoos around us. Navajo Trail was incredibly beautiful. The large hoodoos and tall cliffs were spectacular. We met a group travelling from New York and at one point along the trail we could hear them singing along the canyon walls. Their voices echoed through the canyon and it was beautiful.  

Ariel and Wyatt were curious about the music they were singing and so we took this opportunity to talk to Ariel and Wyatt about the Jewish religion. The kids agreed that it looks like a very happy religion and the songs they sing are so pretty. We stopped to listen for a moment and Ron gave them his business card so that they could keep in touch if they decided to travel to Washington State. In response they invited him to join them in their dance and they all danced hand in hand in a circle while singing their beautiful music. Ron was touched that they included him and Ariel and Wyatt thought that this experience was pretty great.  

We hiked through arches and along corridors and soaked it all in. Ron said that this hike was phenomenal. Our hike along Navajo trail and through Queens Garden Trail was about 2.5 miles.  That means Wyatt hiked almost 4 miles today. That is the longest hike for him yet and there was very little protest or requests for water and snacks. Ron carried him on his shoulders at one point, but only briefly. I think the spectacular scenery distracted Wyatt. We were all super proud of our little dude today!

After a great day of hiking and exploring beautiful Bryce Canyon we headed back home for laundry and dinner. We will sleep better tonight knowing that we have a furnace that works and warmer temperatures in the forecast.  It’s strange to think we originally planned to be home tomorrow. I am so glad we slowed down to really enjoy our drive and the National Parks. 

Goodnight from beautiful Utah!