USA 2019: Bryce Canyon

Our base for the next five nights was a log cabin just south of the bustling metropolis of Panguitch - blink and you'll miss it. And that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing as it doesn't have a lot to offer, particularly on a Saturday night when you are looking for something to eat. You can have whatever you like as long as you don't mind it coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried! But we didn't come to Panguitch for fine dining, we came to be close to the Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks. Our first day was spent at Bryce and it exceeded our expectations. Gob smackingly unique is the only way of describing the scenery. The photographs won't do justice to the colours but here are just a few (of the hundreds I've taken) below. I'm looking forward to getting back home and doing some serious post-editing with Lightroom to bring out their best. Not that they aren't worth looking at as they are untouched.

Our small, but cosy, log cabin on the Cottonwood Meadow Ranch. No TV but there is wi-fi so we are not entirely isolated from the world as we can still listen to The Archers via the BBC website.

Bryce Canyon is famous for its geology, specifically the hoodoos, which are columns of sandstone shaped over the millenia by essentially repeated freeze/thaw cycles.

On a clear day you can see for miles. It was a clear day and we could see for miles. From an elevation of some 9000+feet, how far could we see? 100 miles or so one of the signs said.

Ooops, the next three shots are out of sequence. These were taken at Red Canyon, part of the Dixie National Forest, on the way up to Bryce.

We did a short walk here which took us close up to some hoodoos and the same rock formations that we see in Bryce, on a much, much, much smaller scale, of course. But we could get up close to them and be amazed.

Just two of many unusual rock formations at Red Canyon. The eponymous Red Canyon is a hike away and I'm not sure that we'll be making that trek. The description of the trail sounds as if it could be a step too far for us.

This little elusive fellow is a Uinta Chipmunk (Neotamias umbrinus). Mr Google tells me that this is likely to be of the subspecies, N. u. adsitus, which is localised in southern Utah and northern Arizona. I bet you really wanted to know that.

Back to Bryce. Hoodoos don't grow like trees but are eroded out of the cliffs where rows of narrow walls form. These thin walls of rock are called fins. Freeze/thaw action enlarges cracks in the fins, creating holes or windows. The windows grow and eventually their tops collapse, leaving a column. Rain action helps to sculpts the columns into the characteristic bulbous spires called hoodoos. There is a continuous cycle whereby new hoodoos are formed whilst the older ones are reduced to lumps of clay by the action of snow and rain.

Another Bryce landscape.

And here is a series of random shots taken as we explored the area. There is an 18 mile scenic drive into the canyon which goes along the upper rim, with a number of stopping points where there are the best views. I think we stopped at pretty much all of them - and why wouldn't we when there was scenery like this to see?

The interplay of shape and shadow makes for an everchanging vista.

See what I mean?

This is where my lack of geology lets me down. However I did glean enough to know that what I'm looking at here (and everywhere else in Bryce, for that matter) are the colourful layers of sedimentary rock. Look carefully and see how many layers you can spot. They really do form a natural kaleidoscope.

Mrs P showing off the skills she's learnt at Ruth Neville's Pilates classes at the Old School back home. All those Monday morning sessions have paid off big time.