Bryce Canyon National Park

The route we chose from Moab to Bryce Canyon National Park went though a series of unexpectedly spectacular regions, which bordered each other with little in between. Firstly past the quirky landforms of Goblin State Park, then through Capitol Reef National Park, the evergreen mountain region of Dixie National Forest, then through part of Grand Staircase National Park. It seems that the entire southern Utah is quite spectacular.

You’d imagine that we’d seen enough spectacular scenery by now however, there is always something new.

Bryce Canyon didn’t disappoint. It clearly gets a lot of visitors as the region abounds with all sorts of ‘tourist stuff’ like motels, restaurants and museums of stuffed animals, cowboy shows, horse treks and scenic flights. We camped nearby Dixie National Forest in a spot on our own – apart from a herd of cattle who came to check out and lick the car in the middle of the night!

Again taking the guidance from the rangers, we entered the park at 7.30am and drove the 26km scenic drive stopping at each viewpoint along the rim and taking a couple of short walks before it got too hot.

We were mostly alone at each viewpoint and this made the whole experience just perfect, complete with squirrels happy to sit and pose for photographs.

The beautiful  pink, orange and white cliffs look very pretty (yes pretty) and The Hoo Doos catch the morning light making great photo subjects.

Hoo Doos are the standing pillars of all shapes and sizes formed by water and wind erosion, some defying gravity as they slowly erode.

Some Hoo Doos look translucent in the early morning light, but perhaps it’s reflected light. They really are very pretty.

We left in the afternoon for the short drive to Zion National Park.