This is a cool arch I saw when visiting Bryce Canyon NP. It’s probably named, but I don’t know what the name is. Bryce Canyon is such a fantastic National Park. I’d like to get back there to explore the park some more.
Update: I found out in my notes that this arch is called Natural Bridge. It’s located about 4 miles down the main road from the lodge and Sunrise Point. rk
Southern Utah is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Southern Utah is home to five National Parks along with multiple National Monuments and State Parks. Here are ten reasons to go visit Southern Utah in 2018.
#1: Arches – Utah has the greatest concentration of arches in the world. It even has a National Park named after Arches.
#2: Hoodoos – Hoodoos are skinny spires of rock. You can see a bunch of them at Bryce Canyon.
#3: Canyons – Canyons are beautiful. Canyoneering through them is great fun. The Narrows in Zion National Park is a great one to start with.
#4: Hiking – There are thousands of miles of trails in southern Utah through the desert, canyons, and mountains. Angels Landing in Zion National Park is recognized as one of the most thrilling in the country.
#5: Stargazing – The dark skies of southern Utah are perfect for seeing the Milky Way.
#6: Riding the Rocks – Whether rock crawling in a Jeep or biking on the slick rock around Moab, you can get your adrenaline rush in southern Utah.
#7: Exploring History — Canyonlands National Park is a great place to see Dinosaur Fossils and Petroglyphs.
#8: Lake Powell – Boating through the lake to see remote arches and flooded canyons is a ton of fun.
#9: Orchards – The orchards of Capitol Reef National Park have 3100 trees of dozens of varieties. It’s free to pick and eat as well!
#10: Backcountry camping – Some parts of Canyonlands National Park and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument are days away from civilization. It’s a great place to get away from civilization.
rk
During our visit to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah last summer, I knew that we would not have time to see and do everything that we wanted to do. Of course, we went to the visitor center and then to the most often visited portion of the park to see the iconic hoodoos from Sunrise Point to Sunset Point. After a couple of short hikes down into the canyon in that area, we decided to drive to the far end of the park to do a hike to Yovimpa Point. This turned out to be a great idea.
After parking near Rainbow Point, we took the 1 mile long Bristlecone Loop Trail. This is at the highest part of the park at over 9000 ft elevation. The loop itself goes through a wooded area featuring Bristlecone Pines and other fir and spruce trees. After spending several days in the desert, it is nice to see some trees.
At the ½ way point, you can get some amazing views of the Grand Escalante Staircase from Yovimpa Point. This is a great place to relax and enjoy the view before completing the hike back to Rainbow Point. One thing that we saw here that was notable to us was a dead tree of some sort. In and around the dead tree were chipmunks, birds, and insects all living their life in the dead tree.
One of the nice things about the Bristlecone Loop Trail that makes it different from others in Bryce Canyon is that the elevation change is fairly minimal. You only have about 195 feet of elevation change over the course of the trail. That makes this a nice relaxing hike after doing more strenuous hikes in Bryce or perhaps nearby Zion NP.
On the drive back towards the lodge for lunch, we were able to spy some Prairie Dogs and several Pronghorn Antelopes right along the main drive through the park. At the lodge, we finished up our time at Bryce with Elk Chili for lunch which was one of the highlights of our trip. I hope the next time you are in the area you are able to enjoy Bryce Canyon as much as we did.
rk
near Dragoon Arizona
Pictures like the one above make me think of some of the classic cartoons of my youth and the beautiful backdrops of the American West used by the cartoonists drawing my Saturday morning entertainment. I thought it would be interesting to try and identify the exact inspiration for some of my cartoon favorites.
Yogi Bear – Yellowstone National Park. That is obviously way too easy to identify. Jellystone = Yellowstone NP. Not to mention, what a great place to have a picnic.
Wile E Coyote and the Roadrunner – Monument Valley. That beautiful background scenery must be Monument Valley in southern Utah. Interesting side note, Monument Valley is not part of the National Park system. It is actually a Navajo Tribal Park.
Speedy Gonzalez – Saguaro National Park. Every time you see Speedy you see those Saguaro cactus in the background. The Saguaro only grows from Tucson up to the Phoenix area.
Saguaro Cactus in Saguaro National Park
Scooby Doo, Where are You – California. The original hipster detectives must be from California. That whole first season in 1968-1969 was set in California including notable episodes like the Miner 49er, Foulplay in Funland, and the one with the ghost of Captain Cutler in that glowing deep sea dive suit.
Quick Draw McGraw – Southwest Texas. Probably near some abandoned ghost town between Big Bend and Guadalupe National Parks.
Honorable Mention: Bugs Bunny – Albuquerque NM. How can you forget Bugs making that wrong turn in Albuquerque.
Honorable Mention #2: Not a cartoon, but who hasn’t ridden Thunder Mountain at Disneyland or Disneyworld and not seen the resemblance to Bryce Canyon in Utah?
Honorable Mention #3: Not a cartoon of my youth, but the Disney made Cars movie with Lightning McQueen is set on old Hwy 66 somewhere in Arizona. Have you seen Cars Land at California Adventure? Wow!
rk
Since we are at the beginning of the year, I thought it would be a good idea to list which National Park would be the best to visit during each month of this year. Of course, at Bighorntravelblog we believe it is always a good time to visit a National Park, but there are some compelling reasons to visit these parks in the month indicated. I hope that this inspires you to consider visiting National Parks when planning your vacation time in 2017.
January – Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado is known for its great skiing in places like Breckenridge, Vail, and many others. Why not combine a ski trip with a visit to beautiful Rocky Mountain National Park. Rocky Mountain National Park has plenty of winter activities including ice climbing, mountaineering, snowshoeing and skiing. This is also one of the few national parks that allows backcountry camping in the winter.
February – Bryce Canyon National Park. If you think the orange-red hoodoos look amazing in the summer, then you should see them in February when the rock spires are coated with snow. It is very beautiful and the clear cold skies should make for some great stargazing as well.
March – Death Valley National Park. Despite the name, in the spring flowers bloom throughout Death Valley. Perhaps you will get lucky and during a March visit get to see the Superbloom which happens about once a decade (which is about how often they get any substantial rain in the park).
April – Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Late April after Spring Break is usually one of the more inexpensive times of year to fly to Hawaii. The weather here is always perfect plus you could tack on a visit to Haleakala National Park as well.
May – Grand Canyon National Park. The Grand Canyon is always a great place to visit. In May you can beat the summer crowds and heat and dodge the snow that is here in the winter.
June – Great Basin National Park. Summertime is when the crowds really come out to the National Parks. Why not take this time to visit one of the least visited National Parks in the lower 48. This is one the best places to see the stars in the lower 48. Summers are the one time a year you can see the yellow bellied rock marmot. The yellow bellied rock marmot hibernates for 9 months a year and is usually only seen in mid summer as they sunbathe on the rocks.
July – Zion National Park. Now I know, Zion is a zoo with crowds in July. But July is the best time to hike the Narrows or the Subway. Wading through the cold water of the Virgin River feels great when it is over 100*F and the risk of flash floods washing you out of the canyon is minimized.
August – Olympic National Park. Olympic is normally very rainy and wet, but in August you have your best shot of sunny skies and relatively warm weather. The clear skies are also make this a great time for a side trip to the Space Needle in Seattle to get great views of Olympic and Mt Ranier National Parks.
September – Yosemite National Park. Yosemite is another park that in the summer months is difficult to traverse due to crowds. But visiting in the winter isn’t great because many of the roads are closed and huge portions of the park aren’t accessible. September is a great time to visit as school is in session so the crowds are down and all of the park is open for business.
October – Acadia National Park. Acadia in October is stunning. The New England foliage is showing their full color and the weather is perfect. Add in some lobster rolls was watching the ocean crash on the black rocks and I can’t think of a better place to be in October.
November – Biscayne National Park. Visiting this park in South Florida in the summer is like giving yourself over to the mosquitoes as a human sacrifice, but the bugs die down in late fall but the weather is still nice. This is the best time of year to visit this park.
December – Yellowstone National Park. Snowmobiling through Yellowstone is one of my bucket list items. Wildlife is easy to spot in the snow and the cold air really shows off the steam rising from the hot springs and geysers.
rk
The best bargain in travel is the United States National Park Pass. The cost is negligible really. We purchased an annual family Interagency National Park Pass last June for $80. If you are a senior, it is only $10 for a lifetime pass and the US Military get in free always.
Having the National Park Pass gets you into all National Parks, Monuments, and Federal Recreation sites at no additional cost with no limitations on visits. Before I had the National Park Pass I had been to 6 National Parks in 43 years. Since June, I have been to 9 National Parks with 7 of them new. In addition, my adult children have used the pass to visit 3 other National Parks and between all of us have scheduled trips this winter and spring to at least 7 more. The National Parks are spread all over the country so while some of our trips have been based around the Parks, others have been because we have been in the area. Work trip to New Hampshire, then drive up to Acadia in Maine. Weekend getaway to Seattle, lets squeeze in Mt Ranier etc.
The United States National Park system represents all that is great about America. To quote writer and historian, Wallace Stegner, national parks are “the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.” The National Park system preserves the most beautiful, special, and culturally important places in our country. To visit them widens your view of the world and fills you with awe to the beauty created by God.
Parks visited so far this year by our family include Acadia NP, Congaree NP, Cuyahoga NP, Zion NP, Canyonlands NP, Arches NP, Capitol Reef NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Grand Canyon NP, Saguaro NP, Mt Ranier NP, Olympic NP, Shenandoah NP, and the Great Smoky Mountains NP. Scheduled trips over the next six months include Joshua Tree NP, Yellowstone NP, Grand Tetons NP, Badlands NP, Big Bend NP, Guadalupe NP, and Carlsbad Caverns NP. I’m sure we will sneak in a few more as well!
rk
I took this picture back in July in Bryce Canyon. The hoodoos are really amazing!
rk
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