A Sea of Delicate Castles – Bryce Canyon
Yet again I stand staring, mesmerized by what I see…..
Bryce Amphitheater
Bryce Canyon National Park is yet another beauty to behold. The most amazing part being what is referred to as the ‘amphitheater’. It’s also known as a “cave without a ceiling”. We witnessed a sea of what resembles delicate castles suspended in time. No matter where you look there are tons of different hoodoo formations frozen for a brief minute in the lifetime of this geological wonder. It’s an amazing place with so much depth and texture.
The Bryce Canyon Amphitheater, according to the park service, “contains the densest collection of hoodoos in the world”. There are a couple of factors at play in this area that helped create such an amazing spectacle.
For starters, the type of hard limestone found here is forced to give way to the cold that blankets this area in winter. There are nearly 200 days of frost and thaw temperatures a year at Bryce Canyon. Frost wedging is a major factor in the formation of the hoodoos. Another factor is acid rain which also wears down the limestone. More information on the hoodoos can be found at the Bryce Canyon website.
Hanging on by a thread
The amphitheater was definitely the major highlight at Bryce Canyon. While there, we hiked the Bristlecone Pine Trail and walked among pines that are over a 1,000 years old. The Bristlecone Pine is considered to be one of the oldest living organisms on earth! They are only located in six states.
The reddish baby pine cones shown on the tree above are actually males. In the summer, they release pollen that will fertilize the female pine cones. It takes two years for them to fully develop. They’re a pretty fascinating tree, don’t you think? The oldest tree is 4.765 years old and is located in the White Mountain range of eastern California.
Yes, there were lots of cliffs and drop-offs at Bryce. However, unlike Canyonlands, they actually warn you about them!
Thor’s Hammer to the left of the pink formations
Another thing that’s worth noting about this area is what is considered “the second most scenic drive in the world”. While we only drove about a 20 mile stretch of it to get to Bryce Canyon, what we did see was pretty spectacular. We drive through a couple of red sandstone arches along our way.
Do you see the second arch peering through the first?
There were some cool rock formations along the way and a bike trail running alongside the highway. I really wanted to take our bikes for a spin but we were on a mission with limited time.
a view from scenic highway
There are things that are on my bucket list and then there are things the I never knew about that should have been there. This is one of them. And about that bucket list, I’m compiling round two! All those things I’ve seen but would love to visit at least one more time. Bryce Canyon is at the top. More trails to be hiked and things to explore.
Next up? We head onward to Zion and then travel on into Ely via what is dubbed as the “Loneliest Road in America”. And trust me on this one, they’re not kidding. We couldn’t even get a radio signal!
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{HUGS} from the Crew!
