Summer of Hell - Days 9-10: Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef
Bryce Canyon National Park is not as well known as Zion or the Grand Canyon, but the red and orange canyons and the hoodoos are really unique! Sara liked Bryce best of all. Sara and Harriet went horseback riding on the second day (to make up for missing the mules), plus we hiked Cassidy Arch Trail at Capitol Reef National Park on the long drive to Moab.
Drive to Bryce Canyon
We left Zion early for the 1.5hr drive to Bryce. It was a shame to go so soon, especially with Sue and Rex there, but there are so many cool things to see on this trip!
We got to the Bryce Canyon National Park campground, parked the RVs, and jumped on the free shuttle bus to go hiking.
Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail hike
We hiked the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail plus a bunch more on the walk back to the RV.
The view from Sunset Point at the beginning of the trail is spectacular. It's hard to get a sense of scale from these photos; those towers of rocks are called hoodoos, some are 200' tall!
We headed down the STEEP switchbacks and into aptly-named Wall Street.
It was a hot day and hotter in the canyons. It was nice to start climbing back up Queen's Garden Trail and see more spires, including "Thor's Hammer"!
The path switchbacks back up out of the canyons and through some small cut passageways.
Another plug for doing the trip with friends: it made everything awesome.
We walked back to the RV (easier than waiting for a bus) and grilled our dinner under the stars. It got very dark very quickly and the bathrooms had a Mountain Lion sighting warning!
No one got eaten walking to/from the bathroom in the middle of the night - but I went along for company with whomever was heading to the bathrooms.
Horseback riding
The next day Sara and Harriet went horseback riding.
Rim Trail hike
The rest of us went for a hike along the south portion of the Rim Trail. We took the bus to the furthest point and walked back halfway.
Very different experience from the other busier national parks - Bryce doesn't have any fences at the edge of the trail! Slip here and you're dead.
We picked up Sara and Harriet right when they were getting off the horses, bussed back to the RV, and were back on the road before noon.
Drive to Capitol Reef
Some excitement on the five-hour drive to Moab: cows on the road!
Capitol Reef
We stopped at Capitol Reef National Park mid-afternoon for a few hours to hike the Cassidy Arch Trail. Great hike, but not much shade except right at the arch.
There are cool little mini-arches here too!
Drive to Moab
Back on the road for more of that loooong drive. Without power lines, telephone poles, vehicles, or any other sign of life this seems like it would be a bad place to break down.
On the downhill above I hit the max speed record for the trip! It felt remarkably stable.
We got to our Airbnb at Moab and abandoned the RVs: we took super long luxurious showers, did a hundred loads of laundry, and soaked in the pool.