"Yeah, Hoodoo You Love?"

Day 19

Bryce Canyon National Park in Bryce, UT (8,100  foot elevation)

After a quick breakfast in the rig in the parking lot (all of the services within the park are now closed for the season), we made our way from Sunset Point to the Queens Garden Trail. Even before we started the "official" hike, we were swept away by the phenomenal views along the rim during the walk from our lodge to the trailhead. Massive geological formations called hoodoos made for some of the more unique vistas of the trip thus far. 






We made our way into the canyon along the Queens Garden Trail, so named for a particular hoodoo that bears a striking resemblance to a portly Queen Victoria (fourth from the last photo), which took me a while to find, truth be told. 














To make for a more challenging outing, we decided to tack on the Navajo Loop Trail, which would present a more challenging ascent back to the rim through a series of steep switchbacks. Though my feet protested the decision, my eyes were grateful for the opportunity to set themselves upon ever more impressive views. Highlights of this leg of the hike included a jaunt down a slightly different Wall Street than I'm used to as well as a visit to Thor's hammer which inspired some rare comic moments out of my travel partner. A relative "lowlight" was a detour to the Two Bridges which was, well, two bridges. 













In need of some recharging following our four hour hike, Jon decided to go full-on white trash and set up folding chairs in the parking lot of our lodge to feast on a lunch of cold fried chicken. Git 'er done.

Stomachs full, we set off for a drive along the scenic Rim Trail to take in some other sites across the park. Our first stop, Bryce Point was particularly striking.





Next on the tour was the aptly-named Inspiration Point, Jon got a client call and I decided to push onward to Upper Inspiration Point to make up for my having cut thing short at Teton National Park a few days earlier; I didn't want another semi-Inspiration Point on my record.




The last stop on the tour was to the Bryce Amphitheater, upon my insistence. When we arrived at the signpost, Jon was fairly convinced that this was what we'd come to see. 

I lobbied to push on, certain that one of the marked stops along a scenic route wasn't an outdoor theater inspired by a summer camp. We were not disappointed.





As dramatic storm clouds gathered and thunder rumbled in the distance, we hustled back to the RV to set off for the lodge and a quick walk to Sunset Point to try and catch the famous Bryce sunset. As it turns out, those are pretty hard to see when there's an End of Days sky above you.




With the rain pelting down and the biting winds picking up, we reluctantly returned to the rig and set off for dinner at a diner just outside of the park that bills itself as "the best restaurant available in Bryce Canyon." You have to respect that level of self-awareness. On the drive, we (sort of) caught our sunset. It was right up there with our experience of Mount Rushmore.

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