The Land of Giddy...

If Zion National Park is the Land of Make-Believe http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/04/a-make-believe.html than Bryce Canyon National Park is a Land of Happy Hikers. Grins are  prevalent except on the steep climbs. The visitors aren't happy then. But when they halt mid-stride and look around, they'll usually smile again. It's a place to let your imagination run wild. 

Didn't that rock look like a camel's head? Wasn't that Queen Victoria over yonder? Is that a couple in the act of coupling to the left of that pine tree? The Hoodoos (the name for the eccentric rock formations) won't say.

The Paiute Indians believed the stones were the Legend People. However, they were evil in nature. The trickster Coyote turned them into crumbly columns for their digressions. The story is a Native American knockoff of Lot's Wife and the Pillar of Salt. I guess humanity has only so many yarns.

It's a park in constant transition. The rock is sedimentary and soft. Every time it rains (like today) or White Death descends from the sky, a little more is flushed away into the Paria River drainage. So you better hurry to catch this whimsical place before its a geologic memory. 

BTW:  the park is not a canyon, it's an amphitheater. In the 1870's a Mormon pioneer named Ebenezer Bryce helped build a road to the rim and its bounty of timber. His neighbors called it Bryce's Canyon.

Old Ebenezer is credited with describing the nearby turf this way, "it's a hell of a place to lose a cow!" 

From rainy Tropic, Utah.

It's Saturday, (the Hebrew Sabbath) this Wandering, Wondering Jew is taking a day of rest here. 

Hark! Is that an IPA calling me?

A Make-Believe...

Landscape is how I describe Zion National Park. Regardless of the viewpoint or the season, that one thought never changes. This place can't be real. 

Spires, turrets, pyramids, canyons, vertical slabs, one Virgin River, mesas, rock slides, a few mammals and birds, it's all here. Paint it all with colors ranging from subtle pastels to Peter Max Day-Glow pigments. To this mix, add heaps of tenacious pine trees that eke out a living in a few scoops of substrate. Their deep green hues put the finishing touch to the whole well orchestrated scene. Simply Amazing. 

When I see Zion, I want to shout "Encore! Encore!" 

But there is only one Zion National Park in the world. That is why the world comes to Southwest Utah. It's not for the brewpubs. Real brewmasters live elsewhere. 

I've walked 33 miles in three days here. I'm growing older but Zion never grows old. When I return, I'll think once again, "this place can't be real!" 

Excuse me, I've got to look up and gawk now.

Cheers from beyond the Zion Curtain,

Jeff

A note about the pics: 

On Angel's Landing at rush hour. It'll be within a few years, that too will require a permit. Looks like a traffic cop is needed there.

The tilted tree obviously got into my Imperial IPA stash. It was standing straight and tall before it imbibed. For those of you who are concerned, I'm down to two cases of brew. I think I have enough to get me to the Colorado border. I'm kind of worried about my coffee supply though. 

I love the squirrel notice on the buses. It's great the NPS has a sense of humor at times. 

Get out here before you need a visa to see it.

Bye

0 for 2 on the...

Wave lottery.

While I sat in the auditorium watching the winners smile as the losers fidgeted, I fast-forwarded this scene to future generations. I feel sorry for them. 

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.ae/2015/04/close-but-no.html

In the early 30's, Everett Ruess wandered in the Southwest untrammeled by crowds or regulations. It was a unfenced landscape. There were no required permits for his wilderness sorties then. He disappeared in 1934. America's population was 126 million.

In 2015, I wander around via Barley the Van instead of a mule like Everett. Popular hiking trails are rife with people. So much for the wilderness experience. The really sought after destinations like the Wave require a permit for the pleasure of photographing them. My future outdoor plans require at least three permits for me to play in the Great Outdoors. America's population is now 319 million. 

More people are reaching for the same piece of pie. Sadly, the slice is not getting any bigger.

Today I hiked Lick Wash. It was an airy, big view canyon for the most part. Certain sections even contained twinges of Zion National Park. There are no permits required except for overnight stays. I saw no one in 8 miles. I saw one snake though.  I think it'll be just a matter of time before hikers will have to go online to secure a permit to see it. 

I'm glad I was born in 1954 instead of 1994. 

I know, a very sobering blog. 

Jeff