A Place of Fantastical Beauty

In the series of marvels that we saw in the our tour of the Great American Southwest, Bryce Canyon may easily be the most marvelous.  (Although how to compare Wonders of Nature each so unique in its own wonderful way?)  Bryce Canyon is the place I found myself gasping in awe and joy the most, my eyes tearing up numerous times at the beauty before me.

But what you are seeing at this point is not yet Bryce Canyon.  It is Red Canyon, which you must drive through when approaching Bryce Canyon from the west.  It is pretty awesome in its own right, but a mere appetizer, a mere hint of the magnificence yet to come.

 

 

Splendid structures formed of erosion, wind and water.

 

After another half hour drive we arrived at Bryce Canyon.  And walked up to to this view:

 

 

Above the map of the whole Bryce Canyon park.  Below the insert of the area called the “Amphitheater”.

 

 

 

Ed and I started our explorations of Bryce Canyon by walking the rim trail from Inspiration Point to Bryce Point.  The photo above and the following pictures and panorama videos were taken on that walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like castle walls in a particularly fanciful fantasy epic.

 

Or the baroque city of some strange alien civilization.

 

These vertical structures are called hoodoos.

 

Do do that hoodoo that you do so well…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see one of the hiking trails that take you inside Bryce Canyon in this picture.  We will be going on these and see the canyon from within and below soon…

 

 

 

An opening in the structures is called a window.  Below is a particular large vertical window:

 

Hoodoo asparagus right center:

 

We complete the rim trail and arrive at Bryce Point.

 

 

 

Looks like a massive stone fist:

 

The hows and wherefores of Bryce Canyon:

 

After our walk along the rim, Ed and I drove out to Rainbow Point:

 

 

 

 

Making stops on the way back towards Inspiration Point, we met this raven, ready for his close-up.

 

 

More chill ravens at Ponderosa Point:

 

At Agua Canyon:

 

This Hoodoo looks like a Picasso sculpture, or a medieval illustration:

 

The natural bridge at Natural Bridge:

 

The far views and get-closer views of Farview Point:

 

We spotted a forest fire in the distance.  Presumably a “controlled” fire purposely started by park rangers.  The smoke got awfully high and voluminous though.

 

Then we finished our canyon rim panorama tour and arrived at Sunset Point, and the beginning of the Navajo Loop Trail, which takes you deep inside Bryce Canyon.

That hike offered completely new, breathtaking perspectives on Bryce Canyon.  Which will be featured in my next blog post.  Stick around.