Day 11: Last morning at Lake Powell and on to Bryce Canyon

Miles driven to-date: 3,259
States visited to-date: 14


Steve was excited to watch the World Cup soccer game featuring the U.S. but because ESPN didn’t come in very well in our room, he got up at 6:30am and watched the game on the TV in the lodge’s gym. I joined him there a bit later and we worked out while cursing at the ref as the team lost.

With only a couple of hours left at Lake Powell, we decided to rent a kayak. It was another gorgeous day (we have been really lucky as far as weather) but hot enough that it felt great to jump into the cool water. We wished we had more time to explore some of the lake’s coves, but it was time to get back on the road again. We really hope to return some day to rent a houseboat!

We hit the road again and drove to Bryce Canyon National Park. My friend Kelly had said great things about Bryce but I didn’t really know what to expect. We were greeted by a beautifully laid out park ~ we had read that at 56 square miles, it is about “as big as the Grand Canyon’s broom closet.” We found the park to be very manageable to explore, and we were mightily impressed by the lodge and restaurant right in the park. Steve had tried to get reservations in one of the adorable cabins with amazing views but they were booked so we stayed at a motel a few miles away; we vowed to come back someday to stay right on site.

We enjoyed a great early dinner at the lodge’s restaurant and giggled when the waiter told Steve that because of Utah state law, he had to finish the last sip of his beer before he could receive his refill. We then explored by hiking the Rim Trail to see amazing views of the famous Bryce Amphitheatre, pictured below:

Bryce is known for its “hoo doos” – unique rock formations caused by millions of years of erosion. The coral-colored rocks are gradually eaten away by melting snow and rain and eventually form these stalagmite-like structures. It was truly breathtaking.

We made our way from Inspiration Point to Sunset Point in time to see the sun drop below the skyline, creating incredible shadows on the hoo doos. Hiking at over 9,000 feet, we were out of breath pretty easily!

Having heard about the incredible stargazing at Bryce, we decided to stay at the edge of the canyon after the sun went down to catch a glimpse of the many stars. As you can imagine, that part of Utah doesn’t have a lot of light pollution so almost immediately bright, twinkling stars began to emerge. We had to wait almost 2 hours, however, for it to get really dark so we enjoyed a couple of beers along the canyon’s rim as we waited. We had picked up two kinds of Utah beers at the campground store: “Provo Girl” and “Polygamy Porter.” We loved the slogans of the latter: “Why have just one?” and “Bring some home to the wives!” Here’s a photo of Steve enjoying a beer as the stars came out:

It got chilly as we waited, but it was well worth it – the stars were amazing and we could see much more of the Milky Way than we had ever seen before. It was quite peaceful because we were all alone, though I could tell Steve was a little nervous about our proximity to the park’s wildlife; he turned to me at one point and casually asked, “What’s our mountain lion plan?” We eventually headed back to the motel to get some rest before hiking the next day.