I was up at 4:30 in the morning, and we were all packed into the car ready to go at 5:35am. Nick of course could have stayed behind and joined us later, but the plan was to start hiking right after sunrise, when the temperatures were still low, the people were few, and the lighting ideal for photography. Nick was not going to miss the hiking, so here he was, reluctantly awake and going to see the sunrise.
We drove to the Sunset Point and followed the trail to the Sunrise Point. While I could not call it a crowd, we were certainly not the only ones crazy enough to get up so early. 
The view point was full of people, many with their tripods all ready to go. The sun was not up yet, but they were already clicking away. I can make fun of them of course, but in the end I pulled out my own tripod and began clicking away as well.
The rising sun painted the Amphitheater bright orange, and the hoodoos’ white tops shined brightly against the red orange rocks. The clicking intensified and then slowly died down. Most of these photographers headed to their hotels for a meal and a nap. Not us. We made a pit stop at the Bryce Canyon Lodge, and then were back at the Sunrise Point to start our “double trail” hike. We walked down the Navajo Loop Trail towards Wall Street.
During our trip we have discovered that many parks have their own Wall Streets. The common feature seems to be massive and tall walls rising above the trail. The Wall Street at Bryce Canyon was our first close encounter with the hoodoos and it did not disappoint. The trail snaked down at a very steep angle while the hoodoos rose higher and moved in close on us. When the walls were no more then 3 yards we knew we have reached Wall Street.
Unfortunately we could not continue down the Navajo Loop Trail because a rock fall has blocked the trail in May 2006, and the park rangers have not yet cleared it. We have spent a couple minutes debating whether not to climb over the rock, but the law-abiding citizen in every one of us spoke against it. Since Navajo trail is really a loop, we went back to the top and this time followed the other part of the trail, which led us past the famous Thor’s Hammer formation.
Again instead of us peering down on the hoodoos from the top, the hoodoos were now looking down at us as we found our way between them. The occasional tall pines growing around the trail seemed greener against the orange rock. Occasional dead trees had no place to fall in the narrow corridors between the hoodoos. So they remained vertical leaning against the rock walls surrounding them.
We continued down the Navajo Loop Trail until we reached the same rock fall but from the other side. Three older gentlemen with well pronounced cowboy attitude were climbing over rocks from the other side. We followed Navajo Loop Trail back until we were able to cross over to the Peekaboo Loop Trail. So alien was the landscape unfolding around us, that it is hard to describe. When we reached the point where our trail intersected with a trail that led up to Bryce Point, we could look up and see the people up at the rim staring down. They looked like ants, well over a thousand feet above us. After finishing the Peekaboo Loop we took the Queens Garden Trail back to the top. The rock formations were whiter in color and seemed more delicate and majestic.
After lunch, we drove South further into the park, stopping at all the view points. At Rainbow Point, we went on a mile walk in search of the oldest living things on earth—the Bristlecone pines. Unfortunately the “promised” 1600 year old Bristlecone pine tree we saw looked dead. It might have died very recently, perhaps in the last 6 months, probably killed by a fungus that seems to be affecting many tree species in this particular area.
On the way back out of the park we searched for the Utah Prairie dogs. Unfortunately, only a couple animals were “out and about.” With the wind picking up and the temperatures dropping rapidly, we presumed the prairie dogs were enjoying their cozy tunnels underground. Outside the park we made one more effort to look for the prairie dogs by driving down a little road leading to the dump. Out of luck, we returned to the hotel, and rested and went out to have a large dinner in one of two restaurants in Topic.
We drove to the Sunset Point and followed the trail to the Sunrise Point. While I could not call it a crowd, we were certainly not the only ones crazy enough to get up so early. 
The view point was full of people, many with their tripods all ready to go. The sun was not up yet, but they were already clicking away. I can make fun of them of course, but in the end I pulled out my own tripod and began clicking away as well.The rising sun painted the Amphitheater bright orange, and the hoodoos’ white tops shined brightly against the red orange rocks. The clicking intensified and then slowly died down. Most of these photographers headed to their hotels for a meal and a nap. Not us. We made a pit stop at the Bryce Canyon Lodge, and then were back at the Sunrise Point to start our “double trail” hike. We walked down the Navajo Loop Trail towards Wall Street.
During our trip we have discovered that many parks have their own Wall Streets. The common feature seems to be massive and tall walls rising above the trail. The Wall Street at Bryce Canyon was our first close encounter with the hoodoos and it did not disappoint. The trail snaked down at a very steep angle while the hoodoos rose higher and moved in close on us. When the walls were no more then 3 yards we knew we have reached Wall Street.
Unfortunately we could not continue down the Navajo Loop Trail because a rock fall has blocked the trail in May 2006, and the park rangers have not yet cleared it. We have spent a couple minutes debating whether not to climb over the rock, but the law-abiding citizen in every one of us spoke against it. Since Navajo trail is really a loop, we went back to the top and this time followed the other part of the trail, which led us past the famous Thor’s Hammer formation.Again instead of us peering down on the hoodoos from the top, the hoodoos were now looking down at us as we found our way between them. The occasional tall pines growing around the trail seemed greener against the orange rock. Occasional dead trees had no place to fall in the narrow corridors between the hoodoos. So they remained vertical leaning against the rock walls surrounding them.
We continued down the Navajo Loop Trail until we reached the same rock fall but from the other side. Three older gentlemen with well pronounced cowboy attitude were climbing over rocks from the other side. We followed Navajo Loop Trail back until we were able to cross over to the Peekaboo Loop Trail. So alien was the landscape unfolding around us, that it is hard to describe. When we reached the point where our trail intersected with a trail that led up to Bryce Point, we could look up and see the people up at the rim staring down. They looked like ants, well over a thousand feet above us. After finishing the Peekaboo Loop we took the Queens Garden Trail back to the top. The rock formations were whiter in color and seemed more delicate and majestic.
After lunch, we drove South further into the park, stopping at all the view points. At Rainbow Point, we went on a mile walk in search of the oldest living things on earth—the Bristlecone pines. Unfortunately the “promised” 1600 year old Bristlecone pine tree we saw looked dead. It might have died very recently, perhaps in the last 6 months, probably killed by a fungus that seems to be affecting many tree species in this particular area.
On the way back out of the park we searched for the Utah Prairie dogs. Unfortunately, only a couple animals were “out and about.” With the wind picking up and the temperatures dropping rapidly, we presumed the prairie dogs were enjoying their cozy tunnels underground. Outside the park we made one more effort to look for the prairie dogs by driving down a little road leading to the dump. Out of luck, we returned to the hotel, and rested and went out to have a large dinner in one of two restaurants in Topic. 
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