What do you get when you mix switchback roads, a height size restricted tunnel, snow in the forecast, first come first serve dry camping and 8000 feet of elevation?
Eric’s excuse for a 90 mile roadtrip to Bryce Canyon National Park.
The Mount Carmel tunnel is a mile long and 16 feet wide. It is also 13 feet 4 inches high in the center, which is exactly where we kept Betty for the passage out of Zion canyon and onto the high plain of the Grand Staircase. Betty just made height and weight for the transit through the tunnel, which is run alternating one-way by the park rangers since two Bettys would never fit. The transition from sunlit canyon to pitch black, mile long, darkness is a shock with the headlights casting just enough light to illuminate the rocky roof of the tunnel just one foot higher than the coach. The awe inspiring experience is only highlighted by the impossibly twisted road that switch backs through guardrail-less hairpin turns with 1000 feet drop-offs for the 3 miles leading up to and following the tunnel. It was a good systems check on the AFIB status and we are happy to report no issues.
Mission one – snag a campsite. With both of Bryce’s campgrounds under construction, and one completely closed, no online reservations. First come first served. Mission accomplished as we rolled before 11am with a long line of RVs on the exact same mission behind us. We had planned to make the trip on a Monday instead of Saturday, but mother nature had other ideas. The forecast is for snow all next week!
Mission two – see the hoodoos. Sheri had been obsessing over them for months. With no idea what to expect, we decided to go full on tourist since it was a day trip. Ride the shuttle, hike the longest trail and don’t miss Navajo Row. After a quick trip to the visitor center to map-up and catch the Welcome to Bryce movie, we found out Navajo was closed but the ranger recommended a Bryce Point to Peekaboo Trail to Queens Garden to Sunrise point as an amazing 6 mile alternative. While we wouldn’t dance among the hoodoos, we would get a near and far “Holy Hoodoo”experience.
The shuttles are smaller than Zion, they only make 4 stops in 4 of the 18 miles of the park. We took this bus to Bryce Point for our first of many OMG moments.
Bryce Canyon rivals Carlsbad Caverns in otherworldly awe. A hoodoo is a formation eroded out of the cliffs where rows of narrow walls of rock form, called fins. Frost gets into cracks in the fins creating holes or windows. As windows grow, their tops collapse leaving a column. Wind and rain dissolves and sculpts the columns into bulbous spires called hoodoos.
The six miles of trail were moderately crowded, but there was plenty of alone time to discover hoodoo heaven. This is the largest collection of hoodoos in the world.
Speechless.
The hike ended at the General Store where we picked up firewood and s’mores supplies for our first campfire this season then headed back to Betty for spaghetti dinner and another hike to Sunset Point to see more hoodoos in twilight.
We agreed that we would have stayed longer, but it’s 34 degrees on this full moon night and snow is coming. Bryce Bryce Baby.