I’d always heard Bryce Canyon was a no-miss destination.  Sure the little rustic cabins were cozy and nice and the park was covered in statuesque trees… but it wasn’t until I walked out to the edge of the canyon and looked out that it really hit me:  Bryce Canyon is HUGE! A vast semicircular expanse of red and orange hoodoo spires, shear rock faces jutting out of the ground, and twisted hiking trails spiraling down through all of it.  Not at all what I expected.

After yesterday’s ride I was feeling pretty bad and wanted to try to recover a little bit before the next day’s even longer ride.  I took today off of biking and instead took the van to the top, stopped at a few scenic pullouts, and BS’d with the tour guides while everyone enjoyed their spirited bicycle ride through 9000′ of minimal oxygen. Suckers!

Since we had to wait for the rest of the group to make it to the top, a few of us and our very patient tour guide took us on a small hike out to see the bristlecone pine trees.  These trees are among the oldest living organisms on earth with some trees over 4700 years old.  The one on this trail is “only” 1600 years old. That tree has seen a lot of history go by…

Once everyone finished their ride, we all showered (ok, I didn’t.. but I didn’t do anything either!) and set out on the Navajo Loop trail down through the canyon amongst the hoodoos.  This is probably one of the coolest trails I’ve ever been on.

I managed to get a few shots the next morning before breakfast and the beginning of our ride to Zion national park.