September 20, 2010

Bryce Canyon National Park


Bryce Canyon Amphitheater

Andrea and I spent this past weekend at Bryce Canyon National Park in Southern Utah. Salt Lake was getting hit with a late-summer heat blast, so we wanted to go somewhere cool. Since we're both feeling the pain of plantar fasciitis, so an easy car-camping (yes, its allowed! :-) weekend was just what the doctor ordered.

If you've ever been to Bryce, you already know that the landscape is absolutely out of this world. We had perfect weather; the nights were cold, but while the sun was out it was warm and comfortable. On Saturday morning we got to Bryce Point around 5:30am and waited for the sun to rise, which was pretty spectacular. The rest of the morning was spent exploring the trails in Bryce Amphitheater. We went for a run on the rim trail in the afternoon, where the vistas were so stunning that any heel pain didn't register in the brain! I wish I had brought my camera on that run, because the amphitheater looked even more amazing than it did in the morning! On Sunday morning I did bring my camera on our run (starting at Fairyland Point), and was able to get some nice action shots with the unique scenery.

Note for runners: The Rim Trail is awesome for an easy run with some rollers. You can make an our-and-back as long as you want, and the views on the way back are always different than what you saw on the way out, so it never gets old. The Fairyland Trail to Rim Trail loop is the coolest place either of us had ever run (we came to that conclusion just a few miles into the loop and it continued to get better and better). If you start from Fairyland Canyon, you'll have a solid 600+ foot climb to re-gain the canyon rim. The trail is smooth double-track the whole way. Bottom line: If you're in the vicinity of Bryce, and you're a runner, take advantage of these trails. Of all the parks I've visited, Bryce in the best for trail running. The trails are really easy for hiking, but running makes it a nice challenge and allows you to see most of the park in a short period of time.

As always, I took plenty of photos...


The amphitheater...


...again, just before the sun broke over the horizon...


...and just after it broke over the horizon


Crowd at Bryce Point












Wall Street


Thor's Hammer










The "Utah Wobbler" - only my parents appreciate the significance of this photo! :-)


Running on the Fairyland Trail


Andrea running in this panoramic












We stopped to see some ponies on the way back to SLC. Turns out they are actually pretty lame animals... unicorns are way cooler.


We made our traditional stop at the Dairy Queen in Scipio, UT

1 comment:

  1. I visited Bryce several years ago and our visit lasted... one day. It had to be like that then but your photos reminded me how much I loved it there and how much I want to spend more time exploring it. And running it would be such a blast.
    Really cool pictures. Thanks.

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