For a several months I have been longing to visit Bryce Canyon National Park. Last time we visited, our baby was 3 years old. That was 9 years ago. I remember the hoodoos around every corner, the beautiful red rock and the family friendly trails with fondness. With fall break looming just around the corner, I couldn’t wait any longer and booked it. As luck would have it, I ended up getting a knee scope before we left, 8 days before to be exact.
I debated cancelling the trip, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. If I am like my mom at all, it is for the fact that we often laugh in inappropriate settings and it is difficult to keep us down. The laughing at inopportune times was passed on to us from my grandma, or GG as we lovingly called her. She had a knack of making everyone laugh even in the toughest of times. It is really quite therapeutic even if others do not understand it. As far as not keeping us down, for some reason, we believe we can accomplish any physical goal even if it seems a bit extreme and we are not in good shape :). Our pain tolerance is a bit higher and our stubbornness ranks up there with the best of them. We don’t like anyone telling us we can’t.
With that background, a week after my surgery, we were off with promises to my orthopedic surgeon that I would be careful and not overdo it.
My TIP for this trip? There is a new convenient shuttle system allowing visitors to park and take the shuttle throughout the park. It comes regularly every 15-20 minutes April through October. This beats fighting for parking spaces.
Our first day we couldn’t resist hiking Queen’s Garden and Navajo Loop Trails. You can veer off and add the Peekaboo Loop trail for a longer hike of 8 miles. We started at Sunset Point ending at Sunrise Point then took the Rim Trail back to the car. It was just right for my knee. If you want to be smack dab in the middle of the hoodoo’s this is the hike. What’s a hoodoo you ask? A natural column of rock in the Western US often in fantastic form. I love the “fantastic form” part of this definition – it hits it right on the nose.
As we were looking out over the vast sea of hoodoo’s we overheard a woman in her 60’s commenting that this was probably the coolest thing she has ever done. My insides got fuzzy and my eyes all but teared up. That is why we do what we do. That is why we travel and adventure together as a family. These experiences we have and the experiences we provide for our children shape us, change us and bring to us a greater appreciation of the world. They bring a sense of awe and wonder as we contemplate the amazing creations before us. My take away from her? Experience cool things.
We can come up with a million reasons not to have cool experiences or we can come up with a million reasons we want to have cool experiences with our families. I choose the latter. For us that often means being creative with our budget to have the money, sacrificing new cars and new clothes or not having the latest and greatest new gadgets. What it does mean is having memories that last a lifetime, experiences that lead to appreciation of others and of our environment, pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones for personal growth, learning of other cultures and peoples and overcoming fears.
In honor of having cool experiences, we headed out on an ATV tour. As ATV’s are not allowed in the park, our tour skimmed the ridge. Nash, our 16 year old got to drive. He was in heaven. The trail had some whoop-de-whoops that made me scream and my kids and husband smile from ear to ear. Next time we will rent some ATV’s and head out on our own for the day.
Tips for your next adventure to Bryce Canyon
- There are several ranger programs and night hikes available to enhance your visit. Check the online calendar to help plan your stay or visit the visitors center for a list of activities.
- Complete the “I Hiked the Hoodoos” program. It is hiking and a scavenger hunt all in one. At the end you can receive a prize from the visitors center. This is a fun activity for the whole family.
- Lightening can be an issue at this park. If you hear thunder, that indicates a storm is within 10 miles and a strike is possible. Because much of this park is on a plateau is becomes extremely dangerous. Move as quickly as you can away from any hoodoos, or other tall objects and get to your car or inside a building.
- Drones are not allowed in any national park including Bryce Canyon.
- Pets are allowed in this park, but only on paved pathways and in park campgrounds. A leash must be used at all times and they can not go on hiking trails.
- You need to be drinking one liter of water every 2 hours to avoid dehydration.
- The most common injury is an ankle injury. No jumping and wear good footwear.
- Take the shuttle which runs April through October every 10-15 minutes.