Wednesday, August 14th: Bryce Canyon National Park, or … Peekaboo!

Since the part of the Peekaboo trail starting at Bryce Point is closed due to falling rocks, my woman cannot cross the amphitheater. That’s why she starts out at Sunset campground again, going down on the Navajo loop – this time taking the left path. It also zigzags but not as much as the other side. 

Thor's Hammer

At the junction of the Navajo Loop, the Queen’s garden loop and the Peekeboo loop she sees a sign of the “I hiked the hoodoos”- challenge. 

If you can find 3 of those on your hikes, you’ll get a reward in the Visitor Center. Two more to go! The Peekeboo loop is also the path were the horses walk on…this means the occasional shit along the trail and the flies. But also some other critters seem to be fond of it, my woman notices. 

This trail is big fun: lots of uphills and downhills and much less people on it. The hoodoos have several small windows – it is indeed the right place to play “Peekeboo”! 

When she notices a tree holding the rocks, she wonders what would happen if she pushed it away? 

The very new part of the hike for my woman is along the Wall of Windows. 

Doesn't it look like horses...or lions?

What we saw the day before yesterday along the rim, she now sees from the bottom. Way up she sees Bryce Point and someone is waving to her! Hello, up there! Along the trail she finds two more signs of the challenge! 

Mission accomplished. The trail itself is very sandy and sometimes she slides down… wearing not the proper hiking boots! 

The hole she has to go through, gives a nice view. 

And then there is that steep and narrow downhill, making a sharp left turn… If you miss that turn, you go down the steep cliff. 

In all: my boss recommends this trail: a must do! To climb out of the amphitheater she takes the other path up to the rim. After having the well-earned hotdog (yes) she trots along a part of the Fairyland loop. She meets another girl hiking by herself and she asks her how hard it is. The girl seems ok, tells her it’s a great trail but that she is in need of water, which my woman promptly give to her. Maybe tomorrow, my woman thinks. On her way out of the park she collects her pin – a nice souvenir! And what a treat – she rides the tour bus of the park which takes her to Fairyland point – a spot she has never been to! There the bus driver points out some funny looking hoodoos. My woman tells me there is a statue of me! She also tells me the Fairyland loop trail must be done with proper hiking boots – at least that’s what the sign there told her. All right – we will have to come back! I must tell: my woman has no trouble falling asleep tonight!

Tuesday, August 13th: Bryce Canyon National Park, or … the Gert and Liisa trail!

It seems as if we have a plan for each day: today we’ll hike the Navajo Loop and Queen’s Garden trail. This time we will walk it counterclockwise – the Park advises to go clockwise. We first zigzag our way down the path.  

Kissing Rocks

High spruce trees are trying to catch the sun. 

This hike is not so hard and in the park’s newspaper it is mentioned as “the most wonderful three miles hike”. There seem to be more people on the trail than way up above, but this adds to a safe feeling for my boss. It is hard to describe the hike: there are the hoodoos, the trees, the manmade holes in the rocks, the  windows created by Mother Nature, the short eerie bristlecone pine trees with branches that look like brushes you use to clean toilets with. And of course the hoodoos do let your imagination work… which my boss enjoys a lot! 

This is one of the views I just love...

Back at the rim, it’s time to check the damage (=dust) on the legs and to get the hot dog! 

Not so bad for the turtle socks!

My woman returns with some other food – thinking she might as well have lunch on a bench at the rim. A Japanese woman shows up and points out if she may sit next to my boss. She takes out her painting materials and starts to sketch the scenery. How wonderful it must be to be able to do so, my woman thinks! Those hands just work, the eyes look and in no time there is a painting! 

Suddenly my woman notices the green water bottle is gone. She backtracks to the General Store, but it is lost… My woman feels a bit sad… There was this bond between her and the green bottle, which she has used during the whole trip. With this mix of feelings she returns to the campground, where we plan our hike for tomorrow!

Monday, August 12th: Bryce Canyon National Park, or … daydreaming at Inspiration Point

The plan was to get up and walk to the rim before the sun got out, but the darkness outside is never very inviting… But, we weren’t really that late, since the sun was hiding behind the clouds at Powell point. 

 Slowly the rays of the sun could reach the hoodoos in the amphitheater: first the top of the tall ones, later also the smaller ones at the bottom. Colors come alive and the orange, pink and white are lit up. Now it’s time for the hoodoos to stand still again – no more creeping around in the darkness.

 Some rays find some special spots – as if to accentuate the beautiful details. 

My woman is like sponge, trying to absorb as much as possible…hoping she will never forget her days here in Bryce Canyon. Around noon time, we here some rumbling in the sky and we decide to roll down out of the park to Ruby’s Inn campground. Don’t go too fast woman, because the storm is just ahead of us. On our way down, a car suddenly pulls up next to us, a window opens and a head protrudes. “Belgique????” we hear them scream and before I know my boss is having a conversation while bicycling down (luckily it’s not uphill). That Belgian flag and those black, yellow, red ribbons on the helmet do help! At the campground we notice the wet road – we even see some piles of hail in the corners of the cabins. Lucky we didn’t go too fast! Later that afternoon the sun appears again and my boss decides to go back to the amphitheater. She takes the free shuttle into the park, while I’ll be taking a nap. She gets off at Sunset Campground and follows the path to the rim. 

Some exercise will do her good: let’s walk all the way up to Bryce Point – at this highest point she can take the shuttle back. What a good idea to come back into the park to enjoy it some more! Sometimes she puffs while climbing along the path, but it is a good workout. Did you know there are all kinds of trees in the park: leopard trees, tiger trees… 

A leopard on a tree?

A tiger tree

At Inspiration Point she thinks about school and her students, wishing they could all come here to do this work out. Walking in such a nice environment uplifts her mood…wouldn’t that be great if everyone felt so proud about themselves and each other?!  

A view of Tropic ... the red dot in the distance

Of course ... my Indian Paintbrush...