Daniel Tours America (c)DanielClarke.com Daniel Tours America - http://America.DanielClarke.com
My Blog My Photos My Diary My Movies My Map Message Board
Daniel Tours America
Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT
10th May 2008
Bryce Canyon national park

Bryce Canyon is possibly the strangest place I have ever been.  Its beauty equals, even exceeds, that of Arches, yet it is one hundred times more strange.  It has an almost martian quality about it, many times I thought that if the trees were removed it would look like a 1950s artist's conception of another planet.  I often felt like I was in another world, a fairy story, a Christmas grotto, or stereotypical hell.

The concept is similar to the Needles area of Canyonlands (speaking of which, the pictures from the 8th are not showing up due to a problem with the website, which I have reported to them; thanks for your patience), in that the attraction of this park is a series of spires and columns created by weathering fins. The big difference is that these spires are more numerous, smaller, sharper, and have a very odd texture. They look like organ pipes, stalagmites, chimneys, poodles....

The spires are known as hoodoos, and all day I had that song from Labyrinth in my head (you remind of the babe / what babe? / the babe with the power / what power? / the power of voodoo / who do? / you do / do what? remind me of the babe).

The most stunning part was Wall Street, a narrow crag in the rock in which a tree grows. I waited a good 10 mins for the perfect (i.e. touristless) photo, and was well rewarded with some rich shots.

It was a beautiful day, cold, crisp and clear - my favourite type of weather.  The park has 200 sub-freezing days per year, and there was still snow on the ground up to 5' thick.  It is these days that have shaped the park, chipping away at the hoodoos constantly.  My camping last night was the coldest yet, below freezing.  I altered the Walker-Ellis tent to turn it from a summer to a winter model by adding a bedsheet over the flysheet, but was still blue this morning. 

I hiked another huge trail today, and it was exhausting.  Nearly 7 miles, at 8000' elevation, with a full mile change in height (aggregate), with just 70% of sea level's oxygen available to me: it was very difficult indeed.  After that, I opted to do more of the American style of sight-seeing:  driving a half mile between the many look-outs and pausing for a snap.  At least I actually stepped out of the car, rather than photographing from out the window.

Dinner last night here at the campsite was great:  for $12 I had two chicken breasts and unlimited everything else, in a cafeteria-style dining hall. Awesome.

There are many foreign tourists here, particularly Germans and French-speakers (I think from Quebec).  I love to listen and work out where they're from, even though I don't speak most of their languages. My ears had been on the listen-out for a Hungarian speaker and now, a week into this tourist area, I finally found one.  Chatting to them for a few minutes in Hungarian made my day and gave them the surprise of their day.

Some Dutchmen were out in force, riding 80-100 year old (my guestimate) motorbikes, mostly 'Indian' marques.  They all had clogs on their knapsacks and bore 'Amsterdam to Las Vegas' plates.  When they all started their engines (a very long process), and shifted into first gear using a hand-operated lever, their pulling away was deafening. 



Next: Bryce day 2, Zion national park
Previous: Capitol Reef national park, scenic route 12


Diary Photos

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Spire hoodoo, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Daniel and hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Wall Street, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Wall Street, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Wall Street, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Wall Street, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Wall Street, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Winding road out of Wall Street, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

A magyarok - the Hungarians. Utah.

Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon national park, UT

Dutch motorcycle tour, Utah

Dutch motorcycle tour, Utah

Dutch motorcyclist, Utah

The Book of Mormon, Utah


661 Words | This page has been read 29 timesView Printable Version