Our next stop on the tour of Utah’s Big Five National Parks was Bryce Canyon. We got into Bryce, Utah the night before, and were super excited to find breakfast included with the hotel (Bryce Canyon View Lodge). Even better – it was a hot breakfast buffet!!! Woohoo! All of the chain motels/hotels had stopped breakfasts due to Covid, so this was our only included meal for the whole trip. I’m not sure if my excitement is coming through or not – I’m talking FOOD here!
Anyway, the reason that was all relevant was because it meant we got a later start getting into the park. By later, I am talking 8:30 am. This is noteworthy, because we went to the parking lot for the Navajo Loop trailhead, and it was full. We did several laps, but no luck at all. We were too late to be part of the early crowd, but too early to catch anyone leaving. I was bummed, but I suggested we ditch the crowd and do the farthest out point in the park – Bryce Point. We drove out there (seeing the Prairie Dog burrows on the way), and it was significantly less busy. This spot was breathtaking. We got out of the car and walk out to the lookout, and the view really did take my breath away.
We then drove to Inspiration Point, which was equally stunning. This point required a little longer of a walk to get to an observation area that jutted out over the canyon. We spent quite awhile at this stop – watching birds soar, walking around the rim trail, looking down at people hiking at the bottom, etc. It was crazy to think that we weren’t all that far from Zion, but the views were so drastically different!
After we had thoroughly enjoyed the views here, it was time to try our luck at the Navajo Loop trailhead again. However, the girls did learn through their Junior Ranger books that Ponderosa Pines smell like vanilla and butterscotch in the cracks of their bark. I’m sure the other tourists enjoyed watching our family sniffing tree bark on the way back to the car! By the way – in case you were wondering, they really do smell delicious! So…anyway….back to the first stop we went. And, of course – no spots. To make matters worse, now the lot was blocked off so that you couldn’t keep doing slow laps around to find a spot. We decided to give up and save the hike for another trip. We definitely got to see the amazing hoodoos and enjoyed the views we had. Until next time, Bryce Canyon!
Car Full of Harmony 