Thursday, June 10, 2021
Today we left early from our campsite to visit Bryce Canyon.
The mountain bridge was cool to drive through on our way to the canyon.
We arrived at the Visitor’s Center just after it opened.
We got in line to sign up for the park’s astronomy Night Sky presentation. The 10:00 PM session was full so we are signed up for the 10:30 PM talk.
There was a sandwich board that suggested visitors download the National Park Service app.
It was worth downloading because you can save any park you want for offline viewing which we used a lot because many locations we visited or stayed didn’t have cell service. The app allowed us to see the trails and located where we were on the trails or we could read about what we wanted to make sure we saw at the parks. We would recommend adding this app to your phone if your trip involves visiting national parks.
The first thing we did was drive the 18 miles to the end of Bryce and back. Along the way we would stop at the various pull overs and viewpoints. The sky was clear blue and the temperature was very warm by afternoon. One of the first things we saw were the prairie dogs running around and having fun. We pulled over and watched them. As we were watching a badger came running over trying to get one of them. They would warn the others by making noises and when the badger came flying over to their hole they would dive in and the badger couldn’t reach them. It kept running from one home to another. It was fun to watch especially since the badger didn’t get any of them while we were watching!
Some of the beautiful Bryce Canyon scenery as we drove along the main park road and stopped at the viewpoints. No filters or editing was done to any of the pictures from our phones.
The night before we packed our lunches and cooler. Sunset Point was a perfect place for lunch at a shaded picnic table.
After lunch we started our three mile hike into the canyon. The Navajo trail loop was where we started and then joined the Queen’s Garden trail. The elevation change was 600 feet. It was so beautiful and not too crowded with people. We took our time when the trail was heading back up the canyon. We carried water which is a necessity in the hot sun!
Our trail led us through many hoodoos which are tall skinny spires of rock that protrudes from the bottom of a basin and vary greatly in their sizes and shapes!
A companion on our hike! 
Thor’s Hammer 
Looking back at the trail that we hiked up!
After spending a full day in the park we stopped at Red Canyon on our way back to our campground.
Red Canyon is about 9 miles from Bryce Canyon and is part of the Dixie National Forest. One can go hiking along the trails and there isn’t an entrance fee.
We rested up until we needed to head back around 9:00 PM to Bryce Canyon for the Night Sky Show with the park ranger. They used red lights to lead us to our area for the presentation. The ranger had a laser pointer that had a long enough range that we could follow and know the constellations she was talking about and explaining. By the time the presentation was over we could see the Milky Way. It was so dark that we could see really well. We didn’t have city lights to interfere. We were glad that we attended. Tomorrow will be a long day after staying up so late!