Bryce Canyon National Park
Kay at Cliff’s Edge
One of Many Hoodoos
Hole in the Wall

ANOTHER EARLY START Arches National Park did not get as cool during the night as we had expected, but it did get down to about 50 degrees. We awoke early, had a blueberry muffin and our coffee, and were off to Bryce Canyon National Park. We traveled US Hwy 101 north to I70, then I70 west to US Hwy 89 south. My oh my, what a ride on the interstate. This undoubtedly was the most spectacular section of interstate either of us has ridden. We climbed from 4,000 feet to 8,000 feet, then dropped down a couple thousand feet again. DunnGone pulled the mountains in 3rd gear at about 30 miles per hour. We knew that Bryce Canyon National Park was at 8,000 feet, and dreaded the climb, but after turning on US Hwy 89 south, then on Utah Hwy 12 east, we were at Bryce with seemingly no elevation change!

QUICK SET-UP We quickly found our site and parked DunnGone. For some reason, all of our recent sites have us leaning down on the driver’s side, and in front, and we didn’t have enough blocks to compensate—just means the water doesn’t always drain in the shower! One thing about boondocking, i.e. no hook-ups, is that it doesn’t take long: just pull in, level as best as is possible, run the slides out, and it’s done.

BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK Thunderstorms threatened all day, but we successfully drove around them. Then, just as we finished setting up, it began sprinkling. Bryce Canyon National Park runs in a north/south direction, and there is a well-paved, 18-mile road from the Visitor’s Center to the south end of the park; virtually all the notable features and view points are on the east side of the road. Consequently, we drove through a light rain all the way to the end, then began stopping on our way back north. About 2 miles from the end of the road we had sleet and a small amount of hail!! We saw Rainbow and Yovimpa Points at over 9,100 feet; Farview Point at 8,800 feet; Swamp Canyon at just under 8,000 feet; Paria View; Bryce Point, which was our very favorite; Inspiration Point; Sunset Point; and Fairlyland Point. Photographs do not do these justice, as the color saturation, depth, and sheer magnitude defy only two dimensions. Nevertheless, we’ve included a few photographs just to illustrate.

NOTE Two interesting observations are the number of Californians and/or foreigners driving rental cars with California licenses, and how the culture of national parks change based on geography. The aforementioned drivers were terribly aggressive, driving on our bumper and passing on double yellow lines. Culturally, Bryce Canyon National Park reminded Donald of Yosemite National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, and other “west coast” parks and monuments—quite different than Mesa Verde and Arches. Also, Bryce Canyon had several shuttle buses, well paved and maintained roads, and what seemed like adequate staff. Also, the Visitor’s Center stayed open until 8:00 PM nightly. Kay was especially amazed that the entrance fee to the park was $25.00 a car!! This is about 5 times the average for national parks. We hope the park gets the money and not the government. Maybe every park should charge this amount. We bought a year’s park pass and it will certainly pay for itself just in this trip.