Road trip to the Mid-West! Part 1: Bryce, Utah.

Not too long ago I went on vacation with some friends to visit a part of the United States I never thought I would venture... the Mid-West. We went there to explore the amazing natural landscape of Utah and Arizona. Our main vacation points were Bryce Canyon (Utah), Antelope Canyon  (Arizona), Horshoebend (Arizona) and THE Grand Canyon (Arizona). We also landed in Vegas so we tried to spend some time doing Vegas things in the very limited time we spent there. It was a whirlwind of a vacation. The first night we arrived in Vegas we had just enough time to run around town for a couple of hours. We checked out the light show in Old Vegas, ate some cheap casino food (Nathan's Chili Cheese Hotdog...YUMMY!) and gambled away some vacation money. I lost 50 bucks playing roulette before the real vacation even began :/  I think I lasted 10 minutes max.  This is why they call Las Vegas "Lost Wages". When all bets were off we retired to catch as many zzz's as we could because we would be driving to Utah bright and early the next morning. We would be moving from hotel to hotel for the next five 5 days trying to catch look out points before sundown. Talk about a serious road trip!

Our first stop was to Bryce Canyon in Utah. This area is roughly a 5 hour drive from Las Vegas. As we made it across the highway the scenery was mostly brown mounds and desert like landscape with bushes sparsely spread across the ground. There were some sad looking cacti-like plants and some straggly short trees amongst the bushes as well.  It was definitely different from the lush green forest view we are used to seeing here in B.C.  Though there was some beauty to it I think there was some fear in all of us that we had come all this way to just look at a bunch of brown rocks. Let me quickly point out that this definitely was not the case so do not let the highway scene scare you!

As we drove into Utah and through Bryce Canyon Park we started noticing some changes. The  striations in the rocks were becoming more vivid. There were red, oranges, and some off whites in the sedimentary layers. Some places the rocks were completely red with iron. Also, instead of mounds we started noticing more unique formations called Hoodoos. At first there were just patches of them, then suddenly they were everywhere. Hoodoos are rock formations caused by erosion from water. They are column like in structure. Many of them are shaped like hammers, or heavier on the top. Others look pointy. Some just look really odd.  The structures in close proximity were all pretty uniform and if you didn't know it you would think they were man made dwellings in the side of a mountain. It's a surreal spectacle. Aside from the land the weather had also started to change. The air was cold outside with a bone chilling wind. The ground had patches of snow here and there as we got higher and higher. Some info about Bryce Canyon. It's considered an amphitheatre which means it's a space that echos sound. .  It's rim varies from 2,400m - 2,700m high. At one point I felt my ears tingle a bit in the car. A bag of chips in the car also got extremely puffy and fat. We were at a very high altitude.

 

The first panoramic view I had of the canyon was breathtaking. I had never before seen a place as alien looking and beautiful as Bryce Canyon. I had done a little research and looked up pictures on the internet but it didn't prepare me for the vastness of the land and depth of it all. The hoodoos themselves were so unique sometimes I found myself mesmerized by their sheer population. They seemed alive and unreal  the same time. They seemed like they had stories to tell. Now if you are impressed by the photos above I have to say I didn't doctor any of the photos above. The original versions of the pictures were so amazing already that I couldn't make them better. However, incomparable to what you see with your naked eyes.

My experience at the Canyon was one of awe.  Just seeing the Canyon reminds me of how little I am, and of how many things in the world I haven't experienced yet. It gave me a sense of mystery and wonder. I realized there are still so many things to explore. Everyone needs that reminder. I would love to go back to Bryce and do some hiking. We were there for a day or so and we it was definately not enough time. Here are a few more photos of this amazing place!