June 2019

We visited Bryce Canyon National Park with my sister, Linda, and her son Tyler and his wife, Kristen, and their two children, Owen (8) and Morgan (5). This is definitely one of my favorite national parks, with its unique hoodoos (phantom-like rock spires) and amazing trails that descend into the canyon.

After setting up camp at Ruby’s Inn and Campground we caught the free shuttle and rode into the park.

We got off at Sunrise Point and after taking some pictures of the Bryce Amphitheater we set off on the Queens Garden Trail, a stunningly beautiful 1.8 mile hike descending into the canyon to the Queen Victoria hoodoo.

Here are some of my pictures from the Queen’s Garden trail.

The next morning we returned for our 9 am horseback ride through the hoodoos. Richard was too big to go and Morgan was too small so we left them behind in their jammies as we boarded the 8 am shuttle into the park. We headed to the horse corral at the Bryson Canyon Lodge and mounted our trusty steads. Tyler and Owen got sturdy mules and Linda, Kristen and I got pretty horses. Here we are in our group shot.

It was a fantastic ride, going deep into the canyon and then back up to the top. We were told to let our horses choose their path but sometimes they got perilously close to the edge and it was hard not to steer them away from it! We all had a great time.

Since it was our last night together (Linda and her family also went to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park with us during their 10-day visit) we decided to return to the park for dinner at the Bryce Canyon Lodge. We enjoyed our fancy meal and at the end the kids helped pay the bill.

The next morning, after Linda and her family headed back to Las Vegas to return their RV and fly home, Richard and I decided to ride our bikes into the park. There is a beautiful 5-mile bike path from our campground up to Inspiration Point in the park. It was uphill most of the way out there so we worked hard getting to the end of the trail. Once we arrived I hiked up to the top of Inspiration Point, which was a short but steep trail. The views from up there were breathtaking and definitely worth the climb.

After that we had a nice 5 mile downhill coast most of the way home. What an amazing park Bryce Canyon is! This should be a “must do” on your list of National Parks!