Coloring the sunshine hours, they are the ladies of the canyon.

I got up early in order to visit Bryce Canyon National Park in the early morning light. I got to Sunrise Point and took some photos before deciding to do a rim-to-rim hike so that I could take advantage of the shuttle system. Starting at Sunrise Point I walked all the way to Bryce Point and even did an additional loop among the hoodoos around Peekaboo Canyon. After finishing the hike, I headed off towards Pipe Spring National Monument that was once an old homestead. I took the short tour to learn about the area for a bit, got my stamp, and then headed off to my final destination for the day, the north rim of Grand Canyon National Park. I didn't get there early enough to get my stamp, but I was able to really enjoy the place. My first glimpse of the canyon was through the huge windows of the lodge. I walk outside to the observation area and really took in the crisp air and views. I walked various trails near the lodge and even met a nice group of older ladies that were camping and doing their annual trip from Arizona. We chatted for a while and even grabbed a bit to eat at the snack bar before relaxing by the outdoor fire at the lodge for a while chatting. I had drive outside of the national park boundaries to find a camping spot, but was able to locate a nice dead-end just off of a dirt road not too far from the entrance in which I could set up my hammock for the evening.

Collage of pictures taken at Pipe Springs (it wasn't that large of a place).

Does Superman check the coin return slot in phone booths?

This morning I was in Escalante Grand-Staircase National Monument. The big draw here were the slot canyons. My first stop was for a decent hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls. After that it was a 25 mile dirt road built onto a washboard to reach the gulches of Spooky and Peek-a-boo. Slot canyons are a lot of fun to explore. They are very thin chasms that are just large enough to slide, wiggle, and crawl through in something equated to outdoor spelunking. After research I had chosen these two since they allowed for a loop hike instead of just out and back. I had a blast crawling through in many spots which I had to exhale to comfortably squeeze through. As long as there isn't rain in the area, and thus the potential for flash floods, it can be fun. I later tried to hike to Brimstone, through some really hot canyons and open desert trail. At one point I thought I missed the turn off, so I headed back, only to think again that I had been on the right track so I returned. after going even further, always thinking it was just around the other corner, I finally had to turn back. I was getting overheated due to lack of shade and my water was going to run low. I found a small shaded brush area and rested for an hour before heading back to the parking area. I later found that at the point I had stopped, the opening for the gulch really was around the next corner. After leaving Escalante, I headed towards Bryce Canyon so that I could be there in the morning light.


















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def: Capitol punishment - It is what Congress inflicts on the public.

Today I hit Hite and Glen and Bullfrog in the Glen Canyon Recreational Area to pick up some NPS stamps as I was passing through on my way to Capitol Reef National Park. Capitol Reef had a lot of petroglyphs as well carved into the rock walls of the area. There were also several old orchids that early settlers had planted which were still active so that visitor could pick apples, plums, and such on their own. There were several nice deep canyon drives around that I was able to enjoy before I started seeing raid clouds on the horizon and decided to head out before something like a flash flood would get show up. Besides the orchids, there were several old uranium mines that spotted the area. After leaving it was on to my way to Grand-Staircase and some canyoning adventures.