bryce canyon national park

A Utah tourism commercial featuring their five national parks has caught my attention lately (one of the few commercials I'm ever excited to see more than two times), reminded me of this amazing stop on our road trip, and really deepened my itch to go to another national park (we also visited Grand Teton and Yellowstone). The commercial portrays the other four parks in Utah as having the same kind of look and feel as Bryce Canyon--huge red canyon rocks, deep gorges, sudden cliffs--and the drive wouldn't be unmanageable for a three day trip (is 9 hours unmanageable?) so I'm eyeing Capitol Reef and Zion as potential next stops on our goal to visit every national park (although California's famous Yosemite is also in the mix).

Bryce Canyon is one of the most beautiful sights I've ever seen. The surrounding pine forest conceals most of the canyon right up to the rim, making your first glimpse of the orange and red amphitheaters of carved rock incredibly dramatic.

We started at some of the more famous lookouts but decided to hike along the upper rim trail, which was decidedly less crowded. Possibly because the trail hugged the edge of the canyon--it was not for the faint of heart.

We were brave enough to saddle right up to the edge...

The two most famous rock formations in Bryce Canyon are "The Thumb" and "Thor's Hammer" which (surprise!) look like a thumb and a hammer.

Over the course of our road trip, I really perfected my ability to take self-timer photos. This photo was taken as the camera was wedged in the crook of a low tree branch.

canyon drive

On our way to Bryce Canyon from Salt Lake City, we came to an actual fork in the road (well, an off ramp on the highway): we could either stick to Interstate 15 and make good time or take the slightly longer route on Hwy 89 that snaked through the canyons north of Bryce Canyon. Taking the interstate had its advantages; we would be a major highway with rest stops and gas stations, and we would know exactly where we were going and how long it would take to get there. Highway 89 was twisty and fairly remote, only passing through one town and then continuing on through the unknown until it reconnected with 15 just north of our destination.

I think you can guess which path we chose.

This drive was one of the best surprises of our trip. We came across a small abandoned farm and met some of the locals.

If you're ever on a road trip, I highly recommend taking a slightly less direct route. Interstates are great, but cruising down a two lane highway in the middle of a gorge is better.

temple square

Since Salt Lake City was one of our overnight stops on our road trip, we decided to spend the next morning exploring Temple Square, the headquarters for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Neither Dane nor myself is Mormon, but we had heard a lot of buzz about the beauty of the square. And I must say, the grounds were very clean and meticulously landscaped. We also had an absolutely gorgeous blue-sky morning, which never hurts.

The square was a mix of sacred and secular elements existing side by side.

I find religious sites very interesting to visit. I really know very little about Mormonism, and it was fascinating to see their church and tabernacle and to read all of the little plaques scattered about that noted important events and people in their history. I also appreciate that so much passion is always poured into sacred sites by their believers--these types of places always seem to have such a reverent and earnest quality in the air. I felt the same when visiting Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame de Paris--the devoted love for the site was palpable.