We woke up this Sunday morning and did a Bible reading and discussion on Genesis 6. It talks about the wickedness of man and God’s decision to Flood the earth. After that we set out to find new adventure from 
our temporary base here in Panguitch, Utah. The weather today was beautiful- right at 80 degrees with a nice breeze. We went just a short distance on 89 South before turning on to scenic Highway 12. We quickly entered the Dixie National Forest and then a beautiful area called The Red Canyon-
Some Hoodoos
it was right on Highway 12 and the rock formations and arches over the road were some of the brightest red colors we had seen yet. We would have stopped for pictures or a quick hike but we knew we were in for something special with our next stop. We continued on another 15 minutes and entered Bryce Canyon National Park(BCNP). The park was named after Mormon settler Ebenezer Bryce who settled the area in the mid 1800’s. We made our quick obligatory stop at the visitor center for a magnet, discussion with the ranger and to see the award winning 22 minute Bryce Canyon movie. The movie was very good. These movies often show the park in all seasons, which is nice for us, since we only get to see the different sites in the summer. After the movie, we loaded back into the car and headed to our first stop, Sunrise Point. Lindsay and I had a somewhat ambitious plan for today’s hike.
“Wall Street”
We would combine portions of The Rim Trail, The Queens Garden Trail, and the Navajo Loop into one longer and beautiful loop hike- (Moons handbook suggested a counterclockwise direction while the ranger suggested a clockwise direction- we went with the ranger’s suggestion and went clockwise). As we loaded our packs, the thunder could lightly be heard off in the distance. We set off after taking in the beautiful views from Sunrise Point. The views down into the canyon were spectacular. Hoodoos and other beautiful rock formations were spread out before us in a sea of red, orange and white rainbow of colors. We set out on the
Some of the switchbacks coming up.
Queens Garden Trail and it descended down into the canyon to the Queens Garden. There a rock formation was supposed to look like Queen Victoria but I could not see it. We hiked a little further in and then had our lunch under a large rock overhang. A little chipmunk was begging Victoria for food- (it could tell she was the kindest of our group). We continued on after lunch in the base of the canyon and got to the area where the trail started to head back up to the top at Sunset Point. Here the trail started to get more steep (or so we thought). We came to the highlight of the trail in the Navajo trail section- an area called “Wall Street” with spiraling walls and little sunlight that made it to the bottom- almost giving it a slot canyon feel. There was a very interesting tree that appeared to have another type of tree actually growing out of it.
We did it! :)
Here the climb got challenging- not extraordinarily steep but a series of switchbacks that wound their way up, up and up over the course of .4 of a mile. The kids left us in their dust (red dust, literally) and Lindsay and I made our way up to the top. The views from the top were breathtaking. We finished the hike with the Rim Trail portion which showed us all the areas that we had just descended and reascended over the last several hours. Upon completing the hike, all 4 of us ranked this as one of the best hikes we have ever taken- non-stop scenery and beautiful views the entire time! We stopped at the General Store and Thomas and I found the soft serve ice cream cone machine- only $1.25 and you could make your own! He and I proceeded to see just how much ice cream we could fit on top of one cone- the answer is a lot! It became a race to pay for it and eat it before it melted all over our hands. We made our way back to the car and continued on to some of the other lookout points: Inspiration Point, Bryce Point and Paria View. Leaving the park we made our way the short 35 minutes back to the campground where I played in the pool with Thomas and Victoria till it closed. What a wonderful day here at Bryce Canyon and it never did rain on us.
The beautiful Bryce Amphitheater