7/3 A day full of Bryce Canyon

My sunburn is finally better!!! Last night was the first night that I haven't been kept awake by pain. So no more pain, but this morning my neck is peeling like a snake. I still plan on wearing the neck scarf, to keep from repeating my mistake.

This morning we drove into Bryce again. We parked the car at the Museum and took the shuttle to the Lodge but we forgot our walking sticks. So we took the next shuttle back to the car, pick up the sticks, and got back on the shuttle to the Lodge again. No big deal.

At the Lodge we got off (again) and walked around the campground to the North Rim Trail.  We hiked to Sunrise Point, ready to take the Queen's Trail down into the canyon. We had to wait a few moments while a group of guests riding horses and mules came up. As soon as they passed, we started down. Amazing.

The combination of red and cream-colored rocks is so beautiful.

The Hoodoos come in all shapes; towers, spikes and balls,

and some look strangely like thatched roofs.

It's not all Hoodoos here, though. In places the rocks and elements have created red sand, like a rosy desert.

All along the way I just kept taking pictures, knowing they would not really capture the unique beauty of this place.

At the end of the trail was the Queen's Garden, with beautiful tall Hoodoos, including one that does, indeed, look a little like Queen Victoria, standing tall and looking off at the horizon.

From there we hiked the Navaho Trail. It was wonderful, when we got to the canyon floor, to see the Hoodoos and cliffs from the ground up.

And what makes the trees in this area grow so twisted?

Some rocks reminded me a lot of old castles; how I loved this one.

At the lowest point, we were surprised to see a couple of trees growing straight up. They get enough light that they reach for the sky.

Birds of the canyon: pretty Stellar Jays

and the ubiquitous, clever, crow.

Unfortunately I wasn't thinking when we started; we took the easy trail down, which meant the had to take the harder trail up! After we finished the hike we took the shuttle to the get our car and drove the whole 18 miles, stopping at each scenic view. I couldn't tell if it was more beautiful looking at the grand scope,

or closeup.

Dear Randy kept waiting for me to take pictures. But how could I pass this up?

Natural Bridge scenic view is closeup view of the biggest arch in the canyon.

And Ponderosa Point glows.

One the way out of the park, saturated with natural beauty, Randy pointed out antelope grazing along side the road. The animals here are not afraid of people, but it is always a surprise to see them; they are scruffy-looking. I guess they didn't get the Disney memo on how wildlife is supposed to look.