May 19 - United States: Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

We woke up at 7:30is hand Jon broke out the pancake mix.  Then Kat and Craig packed up their tent and got ready for the drive back to Salt Lake City.  Aida the dalmatian was very happy to go because she was sick of having to be on the leash.  We hung out for a bit and then waved good-bye as they left the campsite.

Southern Bryce Canyon

Jon and I decided that - instead of going on a hike - we would explore the southern areas of the park.  And this can only be done by car.  So we set out and drove to all the view points listed on the map.  Interestingly enough, none of them were as breathtaking as the views closest to our campsite.  And so Jon decided that "Inspiration Point" in the north would be the spot for this evening's sunset pictures.

A little trivia: Bryce Canyon is named fro Ebenezer Bryce, an early rancher who proclaimed, "It's a hell of a place to lose a cow!"

Natural Bridge

The road runs along the west side of the canyon, so we no matter the view point we were always looking east.  To the northeast of Bryce, we can see the smoke of a number of large fires that have been blazing for a few days.  We haven't heard anything about them (not that we have access to the news), but I imagine that they're pretty bad because the weather is so incredibly dry.  And the Smokey the Bear signs says the risk of forest fires is "HIGH".

Fires in the Distance

The Afternoon

We spent the rest of the afternoon lazing around the campsite.  I got caught up on journals and Jon took a nap.  That's a bad sign - Jon taking a nap.  This means that he's not feeling well, and he's actually been complaining of an ear ache.  So I let him sleep for a few hours before waking him up to hit the showers.  After showering, we cooked up the rest of the meat and made pasta.  At 7:30, we headed to Inspiration Point so Jon could get some sunset shots.

Unfortunately, we were about an hour too late.  We'd missed most of the good light and could only get a little of the setting sun off the farther hoodoos.  There were opportunities for some pretty pictures, but Jon was really disappointed.  He was, however, excited to break out our newest Wal-Mart Sale item: The Tripod!

Jon Taking Pictures At Inspiration Point

Back at the campsite, we set up a campfire and and got it going.  We watched the sun go down for a good 20 minutes, and had a lovely sunset because of the clouds.  It was a nice way to end our last night here in Bryce Canyon.

Sunset Over Bryce

The dryness of the climate means that not only is our skin dry and flaking, but the wood dries out really quickly.  So 10 pieces of wood are burned up in about an hour and a half.  Just enough time to enjoy the fire and go to bed.