Hoodoo Do What? Bryce Canyon, UTAH

We reluctantly left Lake Powell early in the morning, it really is a beautiful spot.  If you are coming anywhere near Grand Canyon it is well worth the 2.5 hours drive North to stay for a few days.

The changing landscape

Crossing over into Utah gave us views much the same as Arizona but eventually we started to see different types of rock formations; redder, taller and lots of rolling hills.  We found a great campground although we were put a long way from the toilets and it was really cold at night, down to about 4 degrees so it was a looooong walk when you needed to go.  We had wanted to stay inside the park but there is only 2 campsites and both of them are without electricity hook ups.  We can do without light but we can’t do without heat unfortunately.

Time for winter woollies!

Hoodoos!

Bryce Canyon National Park is really beautiful.  It is $25 to get in and valid for 7 days.  There is a great visitors centre there with a museum in the back.  The park itself is lovely.  Lots of view points looking out to the red hoodoos with some wonderful shapes. There is a spot you can look down to a natural arch which is a great photo opportunity.

All the view points are at about 8,000 feet so we had the kids in their woollies but as soon as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds it was nice and warm.  The difference in temperature when the clouds came out was huge…so on went the woollies again.

NZ’s DOC (department of conservation) would have a heart attack at the lack of railings over here.  It was the same as the Grand Canyon, some aspects of it were fenced off so no one could fall but the majority of the “rim walk” was not fenced and along some really high (and un-survivable) drops.  We can the kids in the push chairs because we thought it was safer than having them run about and we hung onto those like our lives depended on it.  We had a laugh with some English people who had brought their grannie along in her wheelchair, “at least you lot can strap your kids in, our Grannie has to hold on!”.  Too true.

We didn't see too much wildlife here, apparently they have bears and wolves everynow and again but we did spot some nice Elk bucks.

We had a wonderful walk with the kids along some nature trails in the park, they absolutely loved it.  Leo sprinted ahead to look for bears (highly unlikely chance he would find any) and Spencer would stop at every flower and yell “flower!”.  We wore them out nicely for a while and then Leo visited his second long drop…..mummy got the job of making sure he didn’t fall in again somehow.

Just outside the park is Ruby’s Inn (a family run show since 1900’s) so we grabbed a bite to eat and then went for a walk through the old village across the road from it.  They seem to sell a lot of rocks here in Utah of all different types.

People are starting to notice our Florida plates and ask us what we are doing all the way out here, they are then shocked further to hear we are so far away from home.  We  are following the Rugby World Cup very closely and love hearing how excited all our friends and family are about it.  GO THE BLACKS!    OK and the Springboks….just not as much as GO THE BLACKS!!!