Along the Queen's Garden trail I, Bryce Canyon NP After resting up in Kodachrome Basin State Park I set off for Bryce Canyon National Park on day 7.  It was a quick drive between the two locations - less than an hour - and I pulled up to the entrance station at Bryce early in the morning.  I was delighted to see that the informational sign at the station showed that there was vacancy in the campground.  At this point in my trip I was running blind - no more reservations with a guaranteed campsite from here on out!  I circled through the campground and picked out a suitable spot, paid and set off to explore Bryce.  I decided that the best strategy would be to drive to the end of the road and then stop along the return trip - that worked well in Arches NP so I figured the same would work here too. 

Upon my arrival at Rainbow Point, the end of the road, I was greeted with a chilling wind as I stepped out of my car.  Having spent the last few days hiking in sunny, 80 degree weather my body was a bit shocked by the windy conditions and 40 degree temperature here.  I had to unload my suitcase in the parking lot and dig out my warm gear then make a quick change in the restroom.  Not a pleasant experience but I wasn't going to let a little cold weather ruin my visit, I'd endured worse in Yellowstone and Grand Teton before.  Once I was sufficiently bundled up I set off to get my first real view of Bryce Canyon.  I had caught quick glimpses as I drove along the park road but for the most part the road is situated so that you can't see the canyon - maybe wise planning so as to discourage visitors from blocking the road to take pictures from their vehicles.  The view was amazing.  I was speechless as I walked up to the first view point along the canyon rim.  Bryce Canyon caught me by surprise and was quickly becoming my favorite park on this whole journey.  I wandered around Rainbow Point and Yovimpa Point and started back along the park road, stopping at every available turnout and view point to see the canyon.  Each stop was getting better and better with more amazing views, each one slightly different than the last.  Inspiration Point was definitely a highlight along with Natural Bridge, and Sunset and Sunrise Points.  I could have sat in any of these spots all day just to watch the light changing the views of the canyon.  I eventually decided on hiking the Navajo Loop Trail and Queen's Garden Trail despite my dread of having to climb back UP out of the canyon.  Being down among the hoodoos was well worth the effort and gave a whole new perspective to the landscape here.  I was amazed not only at the geology of the area but also that every nook and cranny of this landscape was home to massive Ponderosa Pines just clinging to the crumbling rock, fighting to stay alive.  I reluctantly started the slow climb back out of the canyon and headed back to camp for a quick dinner.  I had been looking forward to catching sunset in the park all week long and didn't want to miss it.  Mother Nature had other plans for me and shortly before sunset a massive rainstorm moved into the area, ruining any plans I had for the rest of the night.  I headed back to camp, set up in the rain and crawled into bed early as there wasn't much else to do.  I could tell this was going to be a rough night - the weather forecast was calling for a nighttime low of 15 degrees and with the rain I knew it was most likely Sunrise Point, Bryce Canyon NP to get even colder.  I hauled every blanket and piece of warm, dry clothing I had into my tent that night.  I was comfortable - more so than other campers as I heard a few cars start up in the middle of the night so that they could turn on the heater and take the chill off - but it wasn't exactly an ideal camping situation.  I ended up sleeping in several layers including having the foot of my sleeping bag stuffed into my zipped up winter jacket so that my feet stayed warm. 

After waking up the next morning and knocking the icicles off of my tent I packed up quickly so that I could catch sunrise in the canyon - I had been denied a sunset here and I wasn't about to miss sunrise!  It was beautiful and I wished I could stay in the park for weeks to see this again and again.  But after a couple of hours of wandering around Sunrise Point and Inspiration Point for a second time I had to tear myself away from beautiful Bryce and head for my next and final destination - Zion National Park.

Hoodoos III, Goblin Valley State Park UT The next leg of my Utah journey started with an uncommon reason for wanting to visit a place.  Vandalism.  Goblin Valley State Park is a place I only knew about because of the 2013 scandal involving a boy scout troop whose leaders decided to topple some of the hoodoos - or goblins - as they, in their "expert opinion", deemed the goblins to be unsafe.  The news story piqued my interest as the place did seem to be quite unique and worth a visit.  As it happened, it fit nicely into my route even though it is in the middle of nowhere, somewhere west of Canyonlands National Park.

After departing Moab early on the 4th day of my trip I arrived at Goblin Valley in the late morning.  I checked into camp and headed out immediately to see these goblins for myself.  The place was amazing.  Walking down the stairs into the valley seemed like I was descending into a different planet.  And I wasn't the first to have that impression - the 1999 sci-fi movie "Galaxy Quest" was filmed here.  While I agree that Goblin Valley makes a great movie set I think it would be an even better place to play a giant game of hide and seek.  Acres and acres of these strange goblins scattered about the landscape.  It would be so easy to get lost in here.  I greatly enjoyed wandering around among the goblins - next time I'll bring a few friends and spend the day hiding out.

Road to Goosenecks, Capitol Reef NP After a warm (finally!) night in Goblin Valley I set off for my next stop - Capitol Reef National Park and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.  I had slightly misjudged the distance I would be traveling on this day and didn't leave myself much time to stop and explore either location.  Given the recent developments with the downsizing of Escalante I do wish I would have allowed myself more time in this area.  Both Capitol Reef and Escalante were beautiful and I tried to take in as many of the roadside vistas as I could but I know I was only scratching the surface as to the beauty that is to be seen here.  I do hope to return to both someday soon and explore a bit of the backcountry.  Namely Cathedral Valley in Capitol Reef and Hole in Rock in Escalante.

I did manage to stop and see the pictographs in Capitol Reef, wander through the orchards in Fruita and started the hike to Calf Creek Falls but had to turn back due to weather and lack of time.  As I passed though the higher elevations of the Dixie National Forest I was a bit disappointed that I hadn't been there a week or two earlier when the fall foliage was at its peak.  When I drove through the trees were nearly all bare, leaving me to only imagine what it would have looked like with miles and miles of road surrounded with golden Aspen leaves.  I passed a few dirt roads that begged to be explored but they would have to wait for another time.  I had to be in a hurry to get to my next camp - Kodachrome Basin State Park.

Panorama Point, Kodachrome State Park Utah This was a last minute addition to my trip but I'm so glad I decided to take the time to stop here.  I had intended to use Kodachrome as my base camp for my next stop in Bryce Canyon National Park but when I arrived in Kodachrome I decided that it needed to be explored a bit as well.  The park is small and tucked out of the way not far from Bryce - you can actually see Bryce from a few vantage points in Kodachrome - and it has the cleanest campground I've ever seen in my life.  After a rainy morning I hiked around for most of the afternoon and covered most of the trails in the park.  The "Indian Cave" and its mysterious "handprints", the views from Panorama Point trail, Shakespeare Arch, and the Grand Parade trail.  It was all uniquely beautiful.  This little park was certainly an unexpected highlight of my trip.

After an exhausting day driving across three states I was ready to set out on the real adventure - visiting the first of the National Parks on my trip.  I woke to decidedly chilly temperatures in camp - an unwelcome morning ritual that would continue throughout the trip - and headed straight to Arches National Park.  Traffic in the park seemed light (compared to what I'm used to experiencing in Yellowstone) and I decided to head to the furthest section of Arches to begin my day at Devils Garden.  The sights along the drive through the park were amazing - nothing like I'm used to seeing here in Montana.  I couldn't resist the urge to stop and take a few quick snaps along the way.  There was road construction going on in most of park during my visit so making any roadside stops was a bit tricky.  Once at the Devils Garden Trailhead I set off to explore the area on foot.  Landscape Arch was beautiful - I only wish you were allowed to get a little closer to it and get a view from below.  I tried to continue on the "trail" further into the garden but I wasn't feeling too sure footed and after watching a few other visitors scrambling up the rocks on their hands and knees I decided to turn back.  It wasn't worth the risk of harming either myself or my camera gear.  I wandered through the garden from the other end of the loop trail and eventually made my way out as the crowds of people started to increase.  I stopped at Skyline Arch, Fiery Furnace, Panorama Point, Balanced Rock and viewed Park Avenue from afar.  With the road construction there was no access to the Park Avenue area so it was a little disappointing not to be able to explore that section of the park more thoroughly.

Mesa Arch, Canyonlands NP I took an opportunity to check into my next camp in Moab in the afternoon and beat the heat of midday hiking.  After a quick rest and a shower I was ready to set out once again and explore a bit of Canyonlands National Park.  I arrived at Mesa Arch just before sunset and stayed for a while to enjoy the view.  I watched a lone vehicle winding its way up the narrow trail of Shafer Canyon - wishing I could be down there driving as well.  I made a decision at this point to change my plans a bit.  When I started the trip I had thought that spending one day in each of the parks would be the best plan.  Between the visitation limits in Arches (7am to 7pm so that the road crews could work at night) and the vastness of Canyonlands I decided that I needed to rethink my original plan and focus on spending more time in Arches.  There was still more to explore there and Canyonlands was just too much to take in in one day.  A return trip with multiple days dedicated to Canyonlands will be needed to fully explore the area.  Ideally to drive the 100 miles of White Rim trail and camp out in the middle of the park somewhere.  I headed back to camp after dark and prepared for another day of hiking in Arches.

Up early on yet another chilly morning and I headed into Arches again.  First stop was the Windows area.  When I first arrived there was already two busloads of visitors milling about.  I wandered around, I tried to get a couple of photos with the fewest number of people obscuring the views and was just about to turn back and give up when I realized that the largest groups were leaving as well.  I hung back for a few minutes and lucky enough the entire area was cleared out.  Everyone left and I found myself all alone in the Windows.  Not knowing how long my good fortune would last I ran around frantically trying to get as many pictures as I could.  It was amazing.  I was already glad that I had decided to return to Arches for a second day of exploring.  After thoroughly checking out both North and South Windows and Turret Arch (which reminded me of the homes from the Flintstones cartoons) I dashed over to Double Arch to explore there a bit too. After that I headed out to tackle the hike to Delicate Arch.  When I arrived at the trailhead the parking lot was full.  I circled around a couple of times and Turret Arch, Arches NP luckily enough found an open spot.  I set off for Delicate Arch, watching the string of other hikers make their way up the open rock face that was the trail.  My arrival at Delicate Arch was both a delight and a disappointment.  The arch was a wonderful sight - perched out on the sandstone crest with the La Sal Mountains off in the distance - but the crowd of people milling about the base of it posing for pictures and taking selfies ruined the overall experience a bit.  Seems no one cared that their quest for a selfie was disrupting other visitor's experiences.  I hung around for a while, hoping to get a chance to take a photo or two without anyone clowning around at the base of the arch but eventually gave up.  I wasn't going to have the same thrill of having Delicate Arch to myself like I had at the Windows.

I drove around the park a bit more after that, making sure I had seen everything that I could in my short time there and returned to Moab to explore the town a bit.  Tomorrow I would be leaving the area and heading for my next destination - Goblin Valley State Park.