While Margo was with us for a week in Zion, we took a day trip to Bryce Canyon National Park.  Though it’s only an hour away, the landscape is completely different from Zion.  Bryce Canyon National Park is known for its beautifully sculptured pinnacles and fluted walls carved from millions of years of water erosion. The colorful blend of orange and red in the rock make it all the more striking. 

We started our day at Sunrise Point hiking the Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail. It was a fairly easy 3 mile hike that offered gorgeous views from the canyon rim as well the opportunity to hike into the canyon and get an up close view of the hoodoo formations. 

After our hike into the canyon, we drove the park road toward Rainbow Point stopping at many of the scenic vistas along the way.  Once at Rainbow Point, we hiked the Bristlecone Loop Trail which passes through a grove of ancient Bristlecone pine trees.  Bristlecone Pine are the oldest living thing on earth, with the very oldest being 4000+ years old!  They are neither the tallest or the largest, but are a super hardy tree that can withstand intense wind and temperature over thousands of years.

In our short time there, Bryce Canyon certainly left an impression on us. Looking forward to our next visit, hopefully in winter after a light dusting of snow!