Bryce Canyon is only about an hour and a half away from Zion, so you might think that they would be very similar but they aren’t. They both have canyons but the geology, and therefore what you come to see, is very different. It’s actually quite amazing that such profoundly different geological forces were at work in areas that were so close, but in fact, that is the way it is with all 5 of the national parks in Utah. They are all amazing but they are all different. Bryce is home to the Hoodoo’s, which is what the red sandstone columns in the pictures above are called. I’m not going to go into all of the details here of how they are formed. In fact, if I have decided upon anything on this trip, it is to learn more about earth science because many of our national parks out west are amazing examples of geological forces at work and I just plain don’t know enough about them. In any case, in order to understand how the Hoodoo’s are formed you have to go quite a ways back in time. This area was covered with oceans and sand and swamps, etc. over and over again over millions of years and that is what left the differing layers of sediment you see in the cliffs. Most of it is sandstone but the top layer is something called Dolomite. It gets cold here in the winter and water that seeps into the cracks in the sandstone freezes and starts splitting the sandstone (red because of iron in it) apart into columns. Now sandstone erodes quite easily but Dolomite does not and since the Dolomite (white sediment) is on top of the column (being the last layer deposited) it in effect protects the sandstone directly beneath it from being eroded by rains. Thus you get these amazing columns in the canyon. We did several hikes down through the canyons and up through it’s high points and through tunnels and through tight passage ways and every corner we turned gave us another amazing view of the Hoodoo’s. There is also a type of tree here called the Limber Pine (picture above) whose claim to fame is that is can inhabit locations and harsh environments where other tree’s are unable to thrive. It’s easy to see them because they are really the only tree’s that are living right on the edge of the canyon, usually with the soil eroded from out under their roots so the roots look like spider legs. We had great weather while in Bryce. It was in the 20’s at night but in the 70’s during the day. The weather in the canyons though seemed to change from moment to moment while we were hiking. The air would be still and the sun hot and you’d be sweating and the next moment you’d be in the shade and a frigid gusting wind would be cutting straight into you. There was a lot of zipping, unzipping, adding and removing layers of clothes on the hikes. We got one other treat on our stay in Bryce and that was a full moon which for some reason was referred to as the “Beaver Moon”. I don’t know why but it was amazing. I wish I could have gotten more photo’s of it but I was perched on the edge of the canyon for over two hours waiting for it to rise above a low cloud bank and the wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping and it was dark and we hadn’t eaten yet, so it was back to the RV and back to our campsite! As with Zion, Bryce was an amazing display of the wonders of nature and taking the time to hike down into the canyon put you right in “mothers” lap. From an ecology standpoint, many of these southwest parks, especially those in Utah, share similar flora and fauna and that’s because the climate and soils are similar. You get the mountain lions, coyotes, cacti, bushes, rodents, lizards, etc. with some variations where more water may collect but there isn’t a lot of differences. Bryce is reason number two why Utah is a must destination for anyone looking to thrill to the natural wonders of our national parks out west, with the unique and amazing flare of the southwest. (Reason #1 was Zion)