Bryce Canyon National Park, Pt 2

Bryce Canyon National Park

Bryce Canyon Amphitheater

We pulled into Bryce Canyon just in time to see the sunset, and what perfect timing we had. The sky lit up the amphitheaters beautifully and there were so many people on the lookouts with cameras, it was amusing. The cool thing about Bryce is that it was formed not by a river, but erosion from freezing and thawing water. All of the rocks here looked and are really fragile and crumbly, almost like dried out mud towers we used to make at the beach when we were kids.

Fairyland Loop Trailhead, elevation 7,758 ft

Our second hike of the trip was the Fairyland Loop Trail that wound its way through the Fairyland Canyon on the North side of the park. We started out early in the morning so we wouldn't be fried by the afternoon desert sun. The 8 mile hike took us up and down a total of 2,300 feet and we had an up close and personal view of the hoodoos & pinnacles of the park. After the very cold and damp month of May in Portland, being outside in the 85 degree sunshine was heavenly.

Dan overlooking the Fairyland Canyon

Dan in his hiking gear. It wasn't raining, but windy.

Me in my desert hiking gear.

good morning Tombstone!

After driving from 9 am to 7pm yesterday, we managed to travel from Flagstaff, AZ to a small town in Southern Arizona, Tombstone. We thought it'd be nice to sleep in a bed for once this trip, so we found a cute little motel that is themed "Tombstone". We stayed in the "Morgan Earp" room, and I've got to say, it's a really nice motel.

Last night for dinner, we found the "Longhorn Restaurant" and Dan ordered the "Too Tough To Die" burger, which consisted of 2 half pound patties, three buns, and all the necessary toppings. It was gone in about ten minutes. We finished our much needed meal with some amazing apple cobbler. Yummers.

Today, our plans are to continue East through the Southwest to see some Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico and then work our way over to Carlsbad Caverns. Should be another fun day!

On a side note, racial relations here in the southwest are surprisingly heated. We were warned by locals to not cross the border, as we were initially planning. People here in AZ that live close to the border are being kidnapped from their homes. There were over 23,000 murders in Mexico this past year. And, if you do cross the border, you have to have your passport on you and even then, you might be arrested and thrown in jail for a year for no reason. A popular source of income is to kidnap young people and send body parts home to loved ones for a small ransom. The main reason for all of this violence isn't the Arizona law that was recently passed, but the drug cartels fighting over who gets what border town. How exciting, well, too much excitement for Dan and me. So, we're staying in the states. Don't worry mom.

Our Southwest Adventures so far

Antelope Island State Park, Salt Lake City, UT

Dan and I departed from Portland last Friday morning on our road trip adventure to the southwest. Our first stop was in Boise, ID to visit a professor from college and grab some lunch at a cool little pizza joint called Flying Pie Pizza. After departing Boise, we made our way to our campsite on Antelope Island in the Salt Lake City, UT.

Dan on Antelope Island State Park, Salt Lake City, UT

Antelope on Antelope Island State Park, Salt Lake City, UT

We were lucky to have breakfast at our good friend Scott's house and he made some delicious banana french toast for us and it kept our tummies full for the next 6 hours of driving to Arches National Park. Going into Arches, we didn't have any campground reservations so were lucky to come across a primitive camping area with some space left. Once we claimed our spot, we set off to explore the park.

Dan and I on the Primitive Loop, Arches National Park, UT

Memorial Day weekend, as we learned, was a very busy weekend for the National Parks. We had to wait for parking spots, dodge pedestrians, and deal with foreign drivers from both Asia and Europe. It made for some interesting times.

Double O Arch, Arches National Park, UT

Arches was a beautiful park and had some amazing rock formations, none like we had ever seen before. After driving through the park, we decided to hike the Devil's Garden Trail to go see Landscape Arch. As we were walking through, we saw a sign with "Primitive Loop, Difficult Trail" and smiled. It got us away from the hundreds of people walking the same trail and gave us an up close view of the park. 6 miles and 4 hours later, we arrived back at the car after doing one of the most amazing hikes of our lives.

On the Devil's Garden Trail, Primitive Loop, Arches National Park, UT

Arches National Park, UT

more to come soon!