Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks

A couple of years ago I did a trip through the Southwestern USA but never posted pictures from Bryce Canyon or Zion National Parks. After getting some questions from friends planning a Zion traverse, I thought perhaps it is time to get back to this story.

I drove up to Bryce Canyon after an overnight stop in Las Vegas. My last visit was 10 years before. Coming from Death Valley where I could walk about in shorts, it was a bit of a shock to encounter snow. I found a tent spot that was not covered too much in snow and pitched a tent. Then went to the main observation point for some late evening pictures as the sun set.

I hung out there for almost 3 hours waiting for the best light for pictures. There was a large group of Italian motorcycle riders there in the middle of a cross country tour. They were lively and animated.



The wind was strong and the temperature dropped dramatically by the end. My gloved fingers were pretty numb. After sunset, I went to a restaurant just outside the park entrance to eat and warm up. When I was ready to return to my campsite, the car thermometer read 18F and falling. The motel attached to the restaurant had very reasonable rates, so I wimped out and checked into a room without even returning to the camp. Although my sleeping bag was rated for these temperatures, I was on vacation and was not really inclined to suffer. The next morning I went back for some sunrise pictures and then to collect my tent before heading to Zion.

I stayed in Zion for a few days and hiked up the canyon walls a few times. I tried to fit in my long training runs for the Jemez Trail race, but those kept getting cut short since I kept encountering snow packs blocking and hiding the trail. The drop-offs along some the canyon walls were just a little too steep for me to risk slipping in the ice and snow. Still, it was a good workout climbing to the top of the canyon several times.









There was one thing in Zion I had never seen before. A turkey with all its feathers extended crossing the road. The roads in the park are all red, matching the surrounding rock color, and the turkey’s feathers made some harsh scraping sounds as the bird dragged the feathers across the pavement.



In this trip, I also had a few stops covered in previous posts:
- Death Valley
- Guadalupe Peak
- Davis Mountains

I also had an overnight stops in Las Vegas. Since I was getting in late and just passing through, I hadn't planned to go to the Las Vegas Strip, but the now closed Sahara on the strip was offering the cheapest rooms in town for $20 a night + $10 in resort fees and taxes. It was a deal not easy to pass up. It appeared that all the airlines were taking advantage of the deal for their pilots and flight attendants. I might have been the only one on my floor that was not an airline employee. However, it was quick to see why the rooms were so cheap since even the non-smoking rooms still smelled from 50 years of smokers and the first room I tried to check into had already been used so I had to ask for another cleaned room.