We left the campsite around 7:30 and headed into Bryce Canyon City for coffee and hot water. We ended up at a Sinclair gas station and it had it all – we even filled all our larger water containers! And they had free ice for ice water. With our provisioning complete, the next stop was Bryce Canyon National Park. No need to stop at the Visitors Center so we went to Sunset Point. It was so magnificent. Photos just can’t do it justice!
We hiked from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point which was just incredible as well!
We decided to do the Queen’s Garden Trail & Navajo Loop Trail combo, about 3 miles. The hike took us from Sunrise Point into the canyon, to the Queen Victoria rock (photo of rock that looks like the queen), Thor’s hammer (photo of rock that looks like a hammer), the two bridges, and through many switchbacks heading up to Sunset Point. It was a great hike but we did find out that we did the hike backward – ascending the switchbacks had been very tough and most people were descending!
Once back up at Sunset Point we grabbed a picnic table and made lunch. It was getting a little busy and parking in our lot was full. But there was so much space at this trailhead area it did not feel crowded. We again put the solar panel on top of the car to keep the battery charged for the 12Volt cooler. This was working well and no one stole it!!
We decided not to move the car and took the free shuttle from the Sunset Campground to Bryce Point. The rock formations were a little different at this end of the canyon. We hiked the Rim Trail back to Inspiration Point (1.5 miles) and took the shuttle back to our car at Sunset Point. The shuttle was really great and made it convenient to go to different areas of the park without moving your car.
We decided after all that dusty hiking we should go find the showers in the Bryce Canyon Lodge area. We drove all through the North Campground, which was pretty cool, then headed to the General Store to purchase the shower tokens. It was $4.00 for a token that gave you a 10 minute shower. We hadn’t taken a shower for a few days so it felt great! It was a little chilly so I decided not to wash my hair. I was afraid I would get too chilled.
The general store also had a water station so we refilled everything and headed out of the park to find another campsite. We chose one just a little further down the road fro our other campsite. It was nice and flat. Again, when we pushed the logs in the fire around a little the fire restarted!! THIS HAD HAPPENED AT THE PREVIOUS CAMPSITE LAST NIGHT! I can’t believe campers are not making sure their fires are out! Just crazy! With the dry bush and wind it would be pretty easy for a forest fire to get started.
A beautiful sunset capped off the great day at Bryce Canyon National Park. We really loved how this park was set up. Parking lots were easily navigated, the free shuttle went throughout, there were easy-to-access water stations at all the places we stopped, and bathrooms too. Lots of space so even with busses of people it did not feel crowded.
We awoke to a chilly morning, made some eggs and enjoyed a morning campfire. Today we were off to Zion National Park on the West side of Utah.
