Day 21: Brian Head, UT to Bryce Canyon National Park

We were off to a productive start waking up at 6:45am, bringing oatmeal in the car with us and pulling in to Bryce Canyon National Park at 9am on the dot. We were concerned that we were going to be held up by the giant herd of sheep crossing the road about 10 minutes from where we were staying, but luckily it only caused a minimal delay.

We parked at the Visitor Center in the park, got our recommendations from the ranger, and took the free park shuttle to one of the top lookouts, Bryce Point. We took a few pictures and then opted to add on to the itinerary we had been given, hiking 1.5 miles along the Rim Trail to the next lookout, Inspiration Point. We made quick time and continued along 0.7 miles to Sunset Point, and then another 0.5 miles to Sunrise Point. There, we descended the Queen’s Garden Trail, which took us into the hoodoos (spire-looking rock formations) that we had seen from above. This was a really cool route to take, and the views only got more spectacular as we traveled more of the 2.4 miles and connected with the Navajo Loop Trail. We couldn’t have imagined how intricate and wondrous the inside of those structures were from above, and it was truly breathtaking to get to experience it from below, even if the final hike up back to Sunset Point was pretty strenuous. The entire hike was supposed to be a 600 foot climb, but it seemed like 550 of those feet came in the last 0.2 miles of the Navajo Loop.

Feeling thoroughly accomplished, we took the shuttle bus out to Ruby’s Inn, where we ate burgers (garden for Arielle) and fries at the diner. This was hardly our most exciting meal of the trip, but we were hungry and needed some fuel. The only thing we hadn’t done yet that was recommended by the ranger was drive the length of the 17-mile scenic road to Rainbow Point, stopping at Natural Bridge, which is actually an arch, along the way. The view was impressive, but didn’t compare to actually being down in the canyons and hoodoos.

The same was true for the Natural Bridge on the way back, which is actually an arch. We drove out of the park and stopped at the same ice cream place we had the day before, this time opting to split a single giant scoop of the Orange Cremo flavor.

We bought a few groceries from Ruby’s Inn, watching with amazement as one man purchasing beer screamed at the cashier who tried to put his case in a plastic bag because he hated plastic. He wasn’t getting that the cashier was simply trying to follow Utah law that alcohol can’t be carried openly, and his dramatic reaction was a bit much. We got on the road to make the hour and twenty minute trip back to Brian Head, which was similarly slowed briefly when we ran into that same herd of sheep again grazing in the same spot and taking ownership over the road. We stopped just a few miles from the condo to look at Cedar Breaks National Monument, which was just off the main road and provided similarly magnificent views to what we had been seeing throughout our time in Utah.

We had a low-key evening, cooking frozen cod fillets and carrots for dinner and getting to bed early again for our final National Park of this leg of the trip the next morning.

Approximate number of miles covered: 159