Contrasting Canyons

During our visit to Zion Canyon on Saturday we spent much of our time looking up at canyon walls. The park service provides an excellent shuttle service that transports you to seven different vistas--all free of charge. Zion is a beautiful green canyon with easily accessible hiking trails. Although there is much wildlife around, there is little to be seen. Zion's most famous wildlife is the Zion snail, about 1/16" in size, and found nowhere else in the world. We didn't notice any tourists walking around with microscopes.

Bryce Canyon is many times the size of Zion. Bryce also has a shuttle service but we opted to make the 18 mile drive to the vista where the road terminates at Rainbow Point. We expected to spend our time riding around the rim and pulling off at scenic sights to soak in the beauty of the park, but there are also opportunities to take hikes ranging from one to twenty-six miles. Bryce is like a scaled down Grand Canyon. They have similar origins and continue to evolve, albeit slowly.

The contrasting colors within both parks dramatizes the photo experiences. The greens of the aspens, cedars, ponderosa pines , grasses and underbrush along with the red and white sandstone cliffs and hoodoos creates postcard landscapes. The hoodoos look like sandcastles under construction at the beach. We even visited a natural bridge which more correctly should be called an arch.

At the very first stopping point there were several trails leading to the canyon floor. The sight of people hiking down the switchbacks and the appearance of others at the floor of the canyon persuaded us to make the trek. We started down the Navajo Trail and returned via the Sunset Trail. Altogether about 2 hours to make the trip. It was seven tenths of a mile down and what seemed like forty miles back up. Many children and senior citizens made the hike. It was simulating and downright challenging for out of condition types.

Zion and Bryce Canyons are 'gotta see it to believe it' parks. Monday morning we travel to Moab, UT for a visit to Arches National Park. Seems like we're finally heading eastward.