Our Amazing Vacation - Bryce Canyon

The final leg of our trip took us to Bryce Canyon National Park.  I remember being very impressed with Bryce as a teenager.  We passed through the park in the wintertime and the hoodoos were dusted with snow; it was beautiful.  In the past, we just drove to the overlooks and enjoyed the scenery...this time I was determined to "hike the hoodoos" or in other words, actually go down into the canyon itself.  This was my FAVORITE hike of the whole trip.  There was something new to see around every corner and the rock formations were fascinating.  I loved, loved, loved it!  The hike was over a mile, all downhill for the first half and all uphill the second, but it was so worth it and the kids did a fabulous job.  We'll have to go again in a few years, though, not only to do longer hikes and see more of the canyon but also because Joseph slept through the whole thing!

 Here we are at the trail head.  It was a gorgeous day!

 Looking down into the canyon we could see that we would be descending quite a ways.  The trail we followed is called the Navajo Loop Trail.

 Right off the bat you pass Thor's Hammer...I think it looks more like a person!

 The trail was a series of switch backs that went all the way down, from higher ground it makes the trail look like stairs.  At the bottom the walls of the canyon towered above you.

 Looking down we could see three little caves.  The kids hurried down and each laid claim to one.

Merritt liked his hidey-hole.

Grant wouldn't smile because he was pretending to be a bear.

Grace wanted to stay in her cave, she said it was very nice in there.

And Joseph slept through it all.  Good thing I slathered his face with sunscreen!!

 I loved all the twists and turns this trail took.  The rock overhung the trail and made a lovely shady spot.

 I had to make sure Chad ended up in some of the pictures!

We took pictures of some random guy just to remember the trail features.  This portion of the trail led to the next picture...

a really cool small tunnel, which is behind us.

We are nearing the top!  Looking back the way we came, the trail zig zags down and curves between the rocks.

 We made it!  Here's the view from another of the overlooks.

 After all our hiking fun we stopped for ice cream in the little tourist trap town outside the park.  The had a "jail" and the kids wanted to eat their ice cream in it.

Now they want out, but I locked the door and threw away the key!  Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!!

We had such a great time on our vacation and have now already started to wonder, "Where will we go next year?"