The Pitts Stop

Utah – Bryce Canyon

May 19: Cannonville, UT to Bryce, UT

A beautiful day, we drove the ½ hour from Cannonville up to Bryce Canyon National Park at 9,000 feet where we had a campground reservation ½ mile outside the park. We ate lunch and then drove the scenic drive through the park, stopping at all the viewpoints on the way back and enjoying the snow that still lingered in a few areas.

Went back to the RV for dinner and then returned around 7:30 to the park’s Sunset Viewpoint to take pictures. We were really disappointed as we were too late and the hoodoos were mostly in shadows.

Bryce is a “young” rock formation compared to most – the rim erodes one foot every sixty-five years – huge changes in a short time compared to many of the rock formations we’ve been seeing. No TV reception here, so we played cards.

May 20: Bryce, UT
Jack needed TV, so spent some time this morning calling around trying to get a campground near Zion with TV. No TV, so after calling half a dozen places, we decide to go to St. George early and commute the forty miles back and forth to Zion with the car.

Went to Bryce early to try to get early morning pictures of the grotto, but too late! The light was already too harsh. We walked the one mile rim walk and back to the RV for lunch. After lunch, we hiked down the Queen’s Garden into the hoodoos – it was great. The trail was pretty steep with 350’ elevation change in the first ½ mile, but we did it with no problems. We had hoped to take the Queen’s Garden trail and extend to the Navajo Loop, but there had been a major rockslide that obliterated part of the Navajo Loop trail. Another beautiful day – 80, breezy and sunny.