Bryce Canyon was an Easter egg for me. Maybe that’s an unusual term to reference a National Park as it’s usually describing something in the digital world, but Bryce Canyon was a joyful surprise, hidden away with a really great personal message, and because of this, it’s ended up being one of my favorite National Parks.
Part of the Utah Mighty 5, which also includes Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Zion; Bryce Canyon lies in the southwest quarter of Utah surrounded by other natural wonders such as the Dixie National Forest, Lake Powell, Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, Red Canyon, and several State Parks. There is so much to see and do in the area! From our campsite in Kanab, it took just over an hour to get to the outskirts of Bryce Canyon National Park where we caught a shuttle bus to the visitors center. While going carless isn’t required at Bryce, it certainly makes the day more enjoyable as the shuttle system is super easy to navigate and eliminates the stress of trying to find parking.
After stopping at the Visitor center to pick up our Junior Ranger booklets as well as maps and advice on the best trails we decided to head to the lookout to get a sense of the canyon. When entering the park and driving through, it just looks like any other forested area. It’s not really apparent that there is a huge amphitheater of towering red hoodoo rocks and trails winding down to a valley floor so magnificent it seems almost hallucinatory. Asher, taking it in for the very first time looks out and asks me,
“Is this a dream? Sometimes I can’t tell.”
– Asher looking out over the hoodoo’s of Bryce Amphitheatre
Asher’s sentiment was an apt perception of how it felt while wandering amongst the red rock hoodoo stacks. How can this beautiful place be real? It seemed like the perfect backdrop for a fairy kingdom or fantasy novel setting with the towering stacks, arches, and spires in amongst sparse bushed trees. Bryce Canyon has the largest assembly of hoodoo stacks out of anywhere else in the world. Their rust-red color makes them even more unique, and they rise up out of the earth in intricate formations up to 200 feet high.
I really wanted to be among the hoodoos and walk the canyon floor, but to be honest the path down already looked daunting let alone thinking about how to get back up! So first we hiked the Sunset to Sunrise rim getting a sense of the grandeur of the canyon and then descended down to complete the Queen’s Garden and Navajo trail loop. Going down turned out to be ok despite sheer drop-offs and loose gravel. It surprised me though, how many people were attempting it in sandals! The boys and I were slipping a bit in our runners and it was busy work reminding them to hug the canyon walls and not walk on the outside edge.
I was so glad that we decided to take on the challenge of descending the canyon. It’s a totally different experience walking within the red rocks while looking up at the twisting turning hoodoos towering overhead. A personal goal of mine on this trip was to be able to enter in. To fully engage in experiences rather than feel like I was on the outside simply facilitating. Sometimes as a Mom, I am so busy planning and organizing and implementing and refereeing and cleaning (ETC), that it feels like my participation is based on creating something for others to partake in. On this trip, I’ve been able to immerse myself into involvement on another level, and Bryce Canyon is a good example of this. Standing and walking along the rim is the equivalent of appreciating the beauty from the outside, making the effort to go down to the valley floor was an immersive experience of that beauty.
The older three boys each carried their own backpack with lunch and lots of water. Hiking in the high desert is hot thirsty work and we took frequent breaks for drinks and snacks and found a quiet spot in the base of the canyon for lunch. It took about 3hrs to complete the 4-mile (6.5km) loop including a grueling switch-back ascent of 625 feet (nearly 200 meters) straight back up out of the canyon. Bryce Canyon Rim sits at an elevation of 8960 feet, so hiking and ascending is more difficult than at lower altitudes. At the bottom of the climb, we stopped and gave each of the kids a pep talk. No one else could help them complete this walk, they were going to have to find inner strength and push themselves to get it done. The only way out was up, and we would take breaks as needed but the important thing was to have a strong positive attitude. Everyone was tired and the switchbacks rising up like a giant wall looked terribly daunting, but they took the pep talk to heart. Asher and Lane buddied up and took the lead, heading up the hill together while Elias decided to stick next to Cole who needed to go slower because of his asthma.
Julian had already fallen on the trail and was sporting two bloodied knees to go with his previously broken collarbone, and because the trail was slick and such a long way up I decided to load him into the carrier. I was so proud of the boys as they powered through with no complaints and myself for making it up carrying both Julian and the hiking backpack (an extra 60-plus pounds!) This was a big deal for me because after my concussion I felt really at odds with my own body; feeling like I was not as strong and capable as I was previous to my injury due to some ongoing physical symptoms such as balance and coordination struggles. After carrying 30-60lbs for the entire hike, I felt like I was starting to feel strong again and be able to trust my body which was such an uplifting realization.
After leaving Bryce Canyon National Park, we stopped at Old Bryce Town which is a street of western-themed shops including the recommended Ice-Creamery. Everyone was happy to have a delicious treat after a long day!
Along with the Junior Ranger notebooks, the boys did a building challenge while on our way to our next destination. Using Plus-plus blocks and a base plate, they each created a hoodoo rock canyon as we learned about the weathering and erosion process that creates this natural phenomenon. It’s so amazing to be able to tie in our real-life adventures to curriculum goals and academic learning! Every time we can create something to show our learning, it helps cement that intellectual gain, and I love to see how creative they are when composing their own interpretation of the magnificent hoodoos.
Comments are closed.