I saw a photo of 'hoodoos', tall spires of limestone formed 40-60 million years ago. The sun, rising in the morning sky, appeared to be coming right through them and they were just beautiful. The picture is titled 'Could be Castles' and is by Don Ament. (not shown here due to copyrights)
I knew that one day I would travel to Utah to see Bryce Canyon National Park. The day finally arrived in June of 2010.
The Park is named for Ebenezer Bryce, one of the first Mormon settlers in the area. And Bryce Canyon is not actually a canyon at all. Bryce's formations were not carved by a source of moving water, such as a river. Instead, wind, rain, and ice carved the hoodoos from the sedimentary limestone.
Bryce is 1,000 feet higher in elevation than nearby Zion NP. At an elevation of 8300 feet, this was my view at Bryce Point:
It was absolutely incredible. You could see forever, but right in front of you were these towering limestone columns shooting into the air. They say you can see for 200 miles, but it is hard to tell when you are standing there looking out over the rock amphitheatres.
It was one amazing vista after another in every direction. Here is one looking back to the spot where the above picture was taken.
There is a lot of open country out there. Supposedly, you can see three states from this vantage point, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, though I am not sure how I would identify them.
Again, this is a park with hiking trails, though the day we were there was plenty warm. I figured between the heat and the altitude, slow walking was a better idea, and even that was taxing.
But I am glad I made the trip. The photo may have been worth a thousand words, but being there in person was priceless.
As they say on the welcome sign to Bryce Canyon:
The magic awaits,
The meanings abound,
The memories endure.
B is also for: Bahamas, Badlands, Baltimore, Barcelona, Bar Harbor, Brooklyn, Britain, British Columbia, Budapest