We went to a lecture given by a National Park Service geologist about the Grand Staircase, and I think I understand it a TINY bit more than I did before. We are even starting to say to each other, oh
look at the Navajo Sandstone here, or, look at that manganese cap on that formation. But really, it is more like....duh....WOW.
Hoodoos and soon-to-be-hoodoos
Looking up from down at the bottom
We did manage to figure out in there somewhere that the reason this hoodoo formation occurs like this at Bryce, more or less alone in all the world (in quantity, at least), is because of a kind of perfect storm of geology and weather. One of the things that makes the hoodoos happen is that sandstone is constantly eroding, so there is a kind of ongoing metamorphosis in these tall formations. And Bryce Canyon has 200 days a year that are warm during the day and freezing overnight. So after it rains or snows, which happens a lot, the ice forms in the cracks in the rocks, pushing the sides farther apart. Then the next day, it melts, and the water continues the erosion. And of course the huge thunderstorms here are an eroding force as well. So the rock formations are hills, then fins, then they begin to get thinner, then they break into somewhat separate pieces, then form spires, and so on. Or something like that. Heck if I REALLY get it.
This sort of shows what it is like before it breaks into individual parts
These are still big rocks, but they will erode into hoodoos
There are a LOT of people from other places here. We are sometimes surprised to find Americans! We have found this in all the national parks, but here it seems even more so. There are LOTS of Europeans. I would guess mostly Germans, but we have also heard a lot of French. There are apparently quite a lot of Japanese tourists here too, but we have also seen a lot of people who seem to be visiting from China as well. At a place like Bryce, you hear a lot of exclamations of all sorts. I have even heard MORE than one person say "Oooh la la," which was pretty close to the coolest thing ever.
By the way, we found out that Bryce Canyon isn't really a canyon at all. It is an eroding plateau edge. (So there.) But when Ebenezer Bryce, who was a Mormon pioneer, lived here, it started being called Bryce's Canyon, and the name just stuck.
Speaking of the pioneers, One of the coolest things we saw was a kind of river that was dug by hand by the Mormon pioneers to bring water farther down into the area. They dug along the path of one of the "rivers" that happen during flash floods, and now water flows there for most of the year, bringing irrigation water much farther down the canyon to farmers and ranchers. Also, it is quite beautiful.
The water picks up all the red silt
All kinds of cool stuff is evident here from the early settlers of Utah, but some funky stuff is left over too. At the end of a long day of hiking (four or five miles can feel like A LOT at this altitude, and it can take about an hour to hike a mile), we decided to treat ourselves to a drink at Bryce's historic lodge. One of our favorite things is to stay at a modest campground (and by the way, with a senior national parks pass, camping is 50% off, meaning we are camping at a national park for $7.50 per night! It really pays to hang around with old guys!), but then do some hanging around at the fancy lodges. So we went to the lodge and asked if there was a bar. They said no. So we asked if we could have a drink in the restaurant. They said only if you are having food...and that the food needed to be 60% and the wine or beer 40% of what we ordered. Hmmmm. So then we asked if there was a place outside the park to just have a glass of wine or a beer, and there is this whole "town" just next to the park that since 2007 has been called Bryce Canyon City, but really should be called Rubyville, because every business is connected and it's all called Ruby's something. Anyway, we found out that if you go inside their restaurant, there is a little liquor store (not always so easy to come by in these parts), and if you get someone to come wait on you, and you show your ID, you can buy a WHOLE BOTTLE of wine. And take it with you and drink it however you like. Which we did.
So some things are funky, but it is part of the charm of this place. By and large, I would say that Bryce Canyon National Park is unlike anything else, and unlike any place else, and may just be the coolest place in the whole world.
We did four days of hiking and it still felt sad to leave. What an unusual, memorable place. Can you believe it really LOOKS like this?
Looking up from a walk at the bottom
One of the best parts is that the air is really clear and you can see for a VERY long way
At times, in the light, the hoodoos just GLOW. (Did I put that picture in twice?)
Sometimes it makes you think about big cities
It is amazing how much color variation there is
A convenient window
Bob surveys the landscape
Lots of times they look vaguely like people. It is fun to hear people say, oh look! I see this object, do you see it? And something's are named for the things they look like. There is one that is named for Queen Victoria. There is "Wall Street" in an area where the walls are high and the space to walk is thin. (It looks more like midtown to me, but whatever.) and of course, Thor's Hammer.
I never have known what John Fogerty was talking about in "Born on the Bayou,," but I can tell you for sure that we spent some great days chasing down a hoodoo there. What a place.
No comments:
Post a Comment