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.