Stepping Down the Grand Staircase

Side Trip from Hurricane, Utah to Bryce Canyon National Park to Zion National Park and back to Hurricane – 250 miles

Today our plans included a side trip to Bryce Canyon National Park.  I am so glad we are pulling our car because we wouldn’t be able to make these trips if we were only in the RV.  The trip to Bryce is about a 2 hour and 30 minute drive so we planned to get up early in order to get our exercise in for the day.  Al and I were moving really slowly when the alarm went off at 6:00 AM – neither of us jumped up and out of bed. Both of us were a little sore from yesterday’s run and horseback ride so we negotiated the possibility of having an early evening workout instead.  Maybe the 106 degree temperature will have dropped by then!

It took us a while to get going but we packed a picnic lunch started our journey about 8:30.

Coming into Bryce we drove through Red Canyon National Forest.  This was so cool.  The road cut through large red cliffs with all types of odd shapes to them.  It reminded me of the Looney Tunes cartoon The Roadrunner. 

We entered into Bryce Canyon and realized we had just broken even, or actually we were $10 ahead, because we had decided to purchase an Annual Pass to the National Parks back in Little Rock.  We paid $80 for the pass and it would have been $30 per National Park we entered.  With several other National Parks on our agenda for the remainder of the trip, it has paid off!

After entering Bryce we went directly to the Visitor’s Center where we purchased our mandatory magnet for our refrigerator (we purchase a magnet for each campground or destination we go to with the RV) and watched the introductory movie about the park.  We learned that the rare forms throughout Bryce Canyon are known as hoodoos.  Hoodoos are a result to the evolution of the cliffs due to weather.  They are ever so prominent in Bryce where the largest number are found anywhere in the world.  The interesting thing about these hoodoos and Bryce Park is that they are constantly changing. 

 We learned from our Pink Jeep Tour Guide (in the Grand Canyon), Sean that the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, and Bryce Canyon make up the Grand Staircase.  The Grand Staircase shows the history of the geological formation of the earth’s surface.  Bryce Canyon is at the top of the Grand Staircase, Zion is in the middle, and the Grand Canyon is on the bottom.  It is neat that we have been able to take in the wonder of all three of these “steps” of history and time.

We enjoyed our day at Bryce Canyon – we drove up to The Natural Bridge, which isn’t really a natural bridge at all.  It is a natural arch formed over time by erosion. 

On the way home, we decided step down to the middle step and drive through Zion instead of going around.  Zion always amazes me.  In Bryce and the Grand Canyon you see the canyons from the rim looking down but in Zion the road takes you from the top to the bottom.  As you drive from the east entrance to the west, the walls of the beautiful mountains are right next to you.  You start at a higher elevation and most of what you see is the white tops of the rock formations, which are made from the calcium in the rocks.  As you move through the layer and begin to descend the color of the surrounding iron-rich cliffs.  It’s amazing to see how nature has developed these beautiful wonders!   It looks as if somebody has pulled a tractor across the stone and created these lines that swirl around or maybe somebody has taken a paintbrush and swirled paint around in circles.   But really, the water created this beautiful effect on the rocks millions of years ago. 

It was such a thrill to drive through Zion but as we got deeper into the valley, the temperatures continued to rise.  When we were in Bryce, with an elevation of 8,800 feet, the temperature was in the mid 80’s.  By the time we got to Hurricane, which is sitting at an altitude of 3,300 feet, the temperature measured as high as 108 degrees!

Upon our return, Al fixed the fender (he has been forced to become quite the handyman on this trip) as we are heading to Grand Junction, Colorado tomorrow.  We grabbed leftovers for dinner and got in a quick 30-minute TRX workout.  Before bedtime, Blake enjoyed a quick dip in the pool and Tilley enjoyed her nightly walk around the campground.

Tomorrow we cross over into Colorado.