Kudoos to Who Knew Hoodoos

Thursday. July 10th, 2012            Bryce Canyon, Utah

This morning we were planning on heading to Bryce Canyon.  I have to admit that we were all moving slowly this morning and I contemplated (briefly) not making the 2 1/2 hour trip each way to Bryce Canyon.  But I am so thankful that we made the effort as I think this is my favorite hike of all-time yet.  Absolutely stunning and so hard to describe.  Our pictures will not even start to show the incredible formations and views that we had.  It was frustrating for me as I kept taking pictures to try to capture a look or view....it is just not possible but hopefully you get a glimpse of the beauty we enjoyed.



We drove up to about 8,000 feet elevation so the temperature was very pleasant here- mid 80's.  We went to the visitor center and enjoyed a short movie about Bryce.  We were told by Heather and Joel to do the  Navajo/ Queen's garden hike.  It was a little over 3 miles with  over a 600 foot elevation change (going down and then back up!!!!).  It was a big hike and I was a little nervous as we were all a bit more tired today but we forged ahead and we were so glad that we did! 



 We started on the Navajo loop (yes, this is backwards Heather and Joel but things were a little crazy when we started.)  It goes down steep switchbacks into a canyon- such an incredible view as you look down.  We went back and forth, back and forth until we came to these towering canyon walls that made cracks for us to walk through.  There were even some trees growing up on the bottom of the canyon floor. The boys had fun climbing up steep inclines to explore what was at the top and there were little holes for Annika to climb in.  It was amazing to see so many different textures, sizes and shapes everywhere.  It was a child's dream place to run, play and explore.



Josh going through the
crack in the canyon.



After going down through the canyon, we continued on the canyon floor.  It seemed to me that after every turn there was an even more amazing view than the last.  I could  not help myself from taking pictures and trying to capture each sight.  I was by far the one lagging behind in  our group. :) 

So...Hoodoos.  Who knows what Hoodoos are?  They are actually the rock spires that are created by water erosion. There were spires everywhere and what give this canyon such a unique look.  The spires give such creative looks and I am so amazed- all I kept saying was, " It is so beautiful....just so beautiful."  The kids did amazingly well with my addiction to taking pictures and I am trying to not have them be in too many pictures. :)

As we were walking along, we came upon this man-made "Hoodoo Garden" out of rocks.  They were everywhere:  on the ground, on logs, in the trees...it was amazing.  We think that hikers going through have added their own Hoodoos in honor of this beautiful canyon. The kids had a blast creating their own Hoodoos to add to this little piece of the tapestry.




Hoodoos



Dave even made an original Hoodoo out of pine cones :)



Making Hoodoos



We made some tiny ones and some big ones.  Christopher even made one that balanced on the top of a log.  Fun!!



Chris standing in part of the Queen's garden.

Our next loop took us to the Queen's garden which was an area of spire formations and a specific spire that looked like the Queen (there had been a picture of a statue of her and the spire did have quite the likeness).  Annika wanted to tell Uncle Corey and Aunt Heather that she did visit the Queen in her garden today.  There are quite a few tunnels going through the rocks that are always fun and make for super pictures! 


Starting the climb out of the canyon.



At this point, we started our 600 feet elevation back to the top of the canyon.  Everyone walked on their own but it was a good hike up. I am proud of the kids and all the hiking that they have done and am so thankful that we were able to see this incredible place.  Our last look was of a spire named "Thor's Hammer".







Love swimming at night!



Wow!  We made it and were ready to head back to the Fraser's house.  On our way home, we could see a storm in the distance.  We have seen a storm in every desert that we have been in.  We are starting a saying, " We are in the desert, of course it is raining."  Fortunately, it only rains when we are in the car so we do not mind at all but our kids will definitely have a skewed perception of deserts.  As we neared St. George, it started POURING!!!!  We stopped for milk and Chinese and were sprinting through the rain.  It must be unusual as people were outside taking pictures of the rain. :)  It sure was nice as it did bring the temperatures back down to seasonal AND reasonable!  We had a yummy dinner and then headed out for a nighttime swim ( we needed to wait for the lightening to stop).  What another amazing day that we had exploring God's incredible creation!