Kodachrome and the Canyon

I had maybe 30 seconds of pale sunlight in Kodachrome Basin State Park so the colorfulness that I expected just wasn't there and it was a bit disappointing.    

It did have some rather odd looking rock formations.

 

By the time I arrived at Bryce around 2:30p, the sun was brightly illuminating the Red Canyon adjacent to Bryce.

First thing I learned was that Bryce was not a true canyon--this is what the newspaper "The Hoodoo" says:

"What is Bryce Canyon? Words confound when no comparable exists.  A cave without a ceiling? A forest of stone? Even 'canyon' is misleading since Bryce is carved by freeze-thaw cycles, not a river."

Here's a short video of the canyons; the music is nice, too.

SueTube - Bryce Canyon UT
 

Getting around was simple; a trolley bus stopped at the campground every 15 minutes, deposited you at one of the viewpoints, and another trolley picked you up 15 minutes later.  The driver who deposited my bus riders recommended a hike and said the park had just built an elevator for the mobility impaired.  I thought he sounded serious...

I had already decided that this time, I was gonna take a hike!  On past trips with Frank, hiking was out of the question but many unusual sights and experiences are only available by getting off the main path.

So I decided on Diablo's Loop Trail, described as "Moderate" exertion level with extreme slope and hoped my fake hip wouldn't mind too much.

And besides, there was that new elevator to whisk you back up!


It was a 1.3 mile hoof which means over a half mile DOWN and UP!

Happily, off I go!  Looks pretty easy, right?  I look pretty relaxed, yes?


On the way down, I noted with interest how very out of condition everyone appeared to be as they were making the climb back up from this non-canyon hell-hole!  Ha--I thought, I'm not THAT bad off!

And, why didn't they just take the elevator?

The base of this rock hole was really neat and it had trees growing.   But, this is not the place to be if you are claustrophobic!


Later, I would eat my words big time!   There was NO elevator!  I  happened to have a trolley driver with a wicked sense of humor.

The climb back up was severely inclined on a very uneven walking surface.  And, at the altitude, the oxygen was only 70% of the content at sea level.


Thought I was gonna DIE!

Met many fellow sufferers and we all commiserated and had photo-setup sessions along the route back.  The park really should have posted more cautionary signage both about claustrophobia and oxygen deprivation.


By the evening my entire body was screaming in agony!  Curiously, my hip was OK.  Couldn't sleep and finally took a couple knockout pills.


Here's a video I made on the hike 
‬‏SueTube - ‪Bryce Canyon UT Hike‬‏

Leaving Bryce, I took another Scenic Hiwy 12; a loop around the big canyon basin in this area.  I had a gorgeous drive out the next day.

"Look Ma- No Guardrails!"

Finally, descended into the valley and back to green stuff!


As you know, I was going on to Capitol Reef National Park which was the end of the "canyon loop" but the weather changed my mind.


However, I am very happy with the tour I had; it was everything I had hoped!

I am hunkered down south of Provo, UT waiting for the 2nd bad weather front to pass out of my path this week so I can continue on to Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP. 

It was amazingly gorgeous yesterday and everyone was outdoors!