New Views of the Hoodoos
Bryce National Park - October 2004
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New Views of the HoodoosBryce National Park - October 2004Click here for Web Site Menu |
Main Amphitheater of Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon is not really a canyon, but a bowl-shaped amphitheater carved into the side of a high sandstone cliff. At 9,000 feet elevation, the cliffs are the top 'step' in a series of plateaus known as the Grand Staircase that descend southward toward the Grand Canyon. Named after an early Mormon settler, Bryce became a National Monument in 1923 and a National Park in 1928.
Traveling the Peekaboo Trail
Starting from Bryce Point, the Peekaboo Loop Trail winds down into the southern portion of the main bowl. The trail is famous for the number and variety of eroded rock pillars and columns known as 'Hoodoos'. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and rainy during much of my visit.
Wall of Windows
A high thin ridge known as the Wall of Windows extends into the southern portion of the main bowl. The name comes from a series of large holes or windows that break through the top of the ridge.
Heart of Wall Street
The most famous of Bryce's slot canyons is a narrow gorge known as Wall Street located on the Navajo Loop Trail near the center of the amplitheater.
Giants of Wall Street
Near the lower mouth of Wall Street, a number of ancient ponderosa pine trees stand guard over the canyon's secrets.
Two Bridges
The aptly-named Two Bridges formation is located down a small side-canyon off the Navajo Loop Trail
Skyscrapers of the Silent City
The northern rim of the bowl is a forest of rocky pillars, towers, and blocks known as the Silent City.
Sun breaking over the Navajo Trail
Wouldn't you know it... just as I was finishing my hike, the clouds that had covered the sky most of the day, finally started to break and flood the canyon with the last rays of the afternoon sun.